Here is what couples need to do:
APPLICATION
Couples must submit a license application, blood test results and fee to any of 351 Massachusetts city or town clerk's offices. Fees are generally $10 to $30.
Most clerk's offices will begin taking applications at the normal start of business Monday. The famously liberal city of Cambridge will take applications from 12:01 a.m. (0401 GMT)
Applicants must swear that the information in the form is true and no legal impediment exists to their marriage.
ELIGIBILITY
A 91-year-old state law says nonresidents may not marry in Massachusetts if their marriage would be "void" at home. Citing that law, Gov. Mitt Romney has instructed clerks to deny licenses to same-sex couples from other states.
Some clerks, noting the 1913 law had not been enforced for years for heterosexuals, have said they will issue licenses to out-of-state couples.
THREE-DAY WAITING PERIOD
Once an application is filed, couples must wait three days to marry, although they may ask a court to waive the waiting period. The fee for such a waiver generally runs from $65 to $195. Judges typically grant the waiver.
It is expected couples will begin asking for waivers when courthouses open for business Monday morning.
CEREMONY
Once the waiting period has passed or a waiver is obtained, a couple must return to the clerk for a license. They have 60 days for the license to be solemnized by an official, member of the clergy or another person authorized to perform marriages.
A justice of the peace charges $75 to $125. One Christian denomination that recognizes gay unions, the Unitarian Universalist Association, offers free weddings to congregation members. Nonmembers pay $150 to $500.
After the ceremony, the officiator signs the license and sends it back to the clerk, who registers the union. The couple may receive an official marriage certificate.
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