The Pre-Trip Checklist

A short list, but every item on it will genuinely slow you down at the county clerk’s office or the apostille office if you skip it.

Before you leave home

• Bring your passports. You’ll need identification at the county clerk’s office, and a passport is the standard document international couples use.
• Fill out the license application before your appointment, if your county offers this online. Keep the confirmation number it gives you; you’ll need it at the appointment. Enter your country manually when you get to that field; it’s a manual entry, not something that auto-fills or defaults for international applicants.
• Set up a travel eSIM for data before you arrive. See our eSIM provider notes. One important caveat: it likely won’t give you a dialable US phone number, which matters for at least one form later; see what to do instead.
• Consider travel insurance, the same way you would for any international trip. It won’t touch the marriage paperwork itself, but a missed connection or a lost bag shouldn’t be the thing that derails a trip built around a specific appointment window.

For the apostille step specifically

• Bring cash, a check, or a money order. The Secretary of State’s Authentications office does not accept credit or debit cards, and this is easy to forget if you’re not used to carrying US cash or a US checkbook while traveling internationally. See how can we actually pay for this for the full picture, including options if you don’t already hold US currency or a US bank account.

What to pack

Layers, sturdy shoes, and sun protection matter more than most couples expect at altitude. See attire and altitude prep for the full breakdown, including how many days early to arrive if your ceremony site is high up.

Quick checklist

• Passports packed
• License application completed online (if your county allows it), country entered correctly, and confirmation number saved
• Travel eSIM purchased and ready to activate on arrival
• Travel insurance sorted
• Cash, check, or money order set aside for the apostille step
• Layers, sturdy shoes, and sun protection packed for altitude

Handle these before you fly and the in-Colorado part of the process is mostly just showing up to appointments with the right documents in hand.