Married in september 2024 but marriage certificate not submitted until January 2025

[waltdudich]

Hi My wife and I got married in September of 2024, the officiant never sent the marriage certificate to city hall. I was not notified until Christmas Eve and made several attempts to get the documentation, it took me going to the person's house in January to physically obtain the paperwork needed to submit it to city hall. The marriage date says September 21st, 2024 but the date filed says January 23, 2025. Do we file separately as single or can we file married jointly?

[Mike9241]

If your marriage certificate is not filed until the year after you got married:

You were legally married on 9/24 unless there is a legal reason why the marriage would be invalid.

file a joint return