Reply To: Marriage License- Is it required prior to the chassuna?

The Satmar Rebbe in Kiryas Joel signs marriage licenses for couples he is mesader kiddushin for. In Williamsburg, the Hisachdus HaRabbonim has rabbis who sign. Since Satmar don’t see each other when they are engaged, they usually get the license during sheva brachos. I live in a small town that has a few Chassidishe bungalow colonies in the summer. Since it is easier to get a license upstate than in the city (don’t have to wait in line, and they let the bride come alone and the groom come alone) they often come to our local year-round Litvishe rov to get their license signed a few months before the wedding. I am also an ordained rabbi (was a rov in a shul out of town years ago) and registered in NYC, so I have signed over 500 marriage licenses over the past 10 years, but mostly for non-Jewish couples (I asked a dayan and he said it is OK to sign for non Jewish couples as long as not two men).