Daily AncestorBy license
By license in a marriage register means the couple married with a marriage license instead of having banns read in church on three Sundays.
Licenses began in the Middle Ages as a way to waive the waiting period of banns. The couple paid a fee and swore that nothing in church law stood in the way of the marriage.
When a register says by license rather than by banns, there may have been separate license papers, kept by the church or by the civil officials who issued them. Those papers, if they survive, can add details the register leaves out.
As seen in a recordEpiscopal parish register, 1780s to 1820s
Married by license, Jno. Haskell to Mary Ober, widow, 3 May 1792
Sources
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "By license." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/church/by-license. Last checked 2026-10-03.