Do you need a permit to get married at a DC memorial or on the National Mall?

Who issues wedding permits on the National Mall?

The National Mall and its memorials are national parkland, run by the National Park Service as National Mall and Memorial Parks. Permits there come from the park's Division of Permits Management, not from the District of Columbia.

• Apply online through the National Park Service permit portal at ncrpermits.nps.gov. You sign in with a Login.gov account.
• Office: 1100 Ohio Drive SW, Washington, DC 20242.
• Phone: 202-426-6841.

The park says a permits specialist guides each couple through the process, so call with questions before you send money to anyone else.

Where on the National Mall can you get married?

The park's weddings page describes two ceremony sites, and the rules for each are quite different.

The timing includes setup and cleanup, so a two hour permit is not a two hour ceremony. Plan the chairs going out and coming back into that window.

How much does the permit cost, and how early should you apply?

According to the park's how to apply page, the Special Use Wedding Permit application costs $90 and is not refundable. Applications are accepted up to one year in advance.

Use of an area is granted first come, first served, so a popular spring or fall Saturday is worth applying for as soon as you know your date. The park also warns that regular mail to its office can take 7 to 10 days to arrive, which is another reason to apply online or in person.

Budget for a few things the permit does not cover:

• Parking. Parking is not included with the permit, and parking for event vehicles is charged by the hour.
• Rentals. Chairs, a table or an arch at the DC War Memorial come from your own rental company.
• Insurance, if asked. The park can require liability insurance for special uses, but its permits page says the superintendent may waive it for small, lower risk activities, and it names weddings as an example.

What rules apply on the wedding day?

These rules come from the park's weddings page and apply at every wedding location:

• List all equipment on the permit.
• Do not attach decorations or equipment to park structures or plants.
• There is no electricity.
• No real candles. Battery-operated candles are allowed.
• No petals, rice, confetti or anything similar dropped or thrown.
• No alcoholic beverages.
• No reception on site.
• You cannot block off the ceremony space. The parkland stays open to the public, so visitors may walk past.

A vehicle may drive up to drop off and collect equipment and people. Talk through the logistics with your permits specialist before the day.

Can you hold the reception on the Mall too?

Not at the ceremony site. The park says receptions may be held at the Henry Bacon Ballfield or the West Potomac Park Private Reception Areas under a separate Special Event Permit, and the application for that permit is $120.

So a memorial ceremony usually means a reception somewhere else. Our Washington DC wedding venues chapter lists a cathedral, hotels, a museum, historic houses and event spaces in the District and just over the line, filed by quadrant, which makes it easier to find one close to the memorial you choose.

Do your photographer and videographer need their own permit?

During the ceremony, no. The wedding permit covers professional photography and videography during the permitted ceremony time and at the permitted location.

Outside that time or place, for example portraits around the Tidal Basin after the ceremony, the park says a separate Filming and Photography Permit is generally needed. Its filming and photography page sets out the costs:

• A $90 application processing cost.
• A location fee per day for still photography: $50 for 1 to 10 people, $150 for 11 to 30, and $250 for more than 30. The count includes the couple, the crew and anyone in the photos.
• Applications are accepted up to one year ahead and at least four days before the shoot.

Tripods are not allowed in restricted memorial areas, including the Lincoln Memorial above the white marble steps, the Thomas Jefferson Memorial inside the outer columns, and the Washington Monument inside the circle of flags. A videographer who relies on a tripod or a slider should plan shots outside those areas.

When you interview DC wedding photographers and DC wedding videographers, ask who applies for the photo permit, whether its cost is in their quote, and which memorials they have shot at under a permit before.

What is the step by step plan?

1. Pick the site: the DC War Memorial for up to 200 guests with chairs and acoustic music, or the George Mason Memorial for up to 100 guests and a simple ceremony.
2. Create a Login.gov account and apply through the park's permit portal as early as you can, up to a year ahead.
3. List every piece of equipment you plan to bring on the application.
4. Book a reception venue nearby, or apply for a Special Event Permit if you want a reception area in West Potomac Park.
5. Agree with your photographer and videographer on who applies for any portrait permit outside the ceremony.
6. Give your officiant, photographer and one family member a copy of the permit to carry on the day, in case anyone asks to see it.
7. Plan parking, drop off and a rain plan with your planner, and confirm details with the permits office close to the date.

Rules and fees can change. Everything above is taken from the National Park Service pages linked in the sources as they read in October 2026, so check them again before you book.