Email:  revjohn (at) churchofdeism.org

Phone:  (307) 258-6872

SnailMail: P.O. Box 55, Alcova, WY 82620

The Church of Deism respects your privacy and will not sell or rent your personal information to anyone. Ever.

By filling in this form you certify that:

[contact-form]

You will receive a confirmation email.  Check your spam folder as some email services don’t like confirmation emails, and congratulations!

*NOTE: Bear in mind that while the Church allows ordinations of anyone over the age of 13, local laws may not allow you to perform marriages until you reach the age of 18. Check your jurisdiction for clarification.

Register at the Forum to become a member of the Congregation.

Thomas Paine once said “God exists, and there it lies.” This brilliant man summed up Deist theology in a single sentence, and demonstrated the simplicity of Deist belief.  This simple phrase illustrated his belief in a Creator while simultaneously stating that anything else you may have heard about God has been invented by men.

What do Deists believe?
Put simply, Deism is the belief in a Creator of the Universe and that the Deity that created it wants us to be good to each other.  The Church of Deism teaches that the Deity fashioned a masterful sculpture we call the Universe, but for a mere human to try to comprehend their Creator is like the stone in Michelangelo’s David attempting to understand the artist himself.  The doctrine of the Church of Deism is based on individualist theological values, and states that all peaceful religious philosophy has equal validity, or more accurately equal invalidity, because no beliefs in the realm of spirituality can be proven over another.  Indeed, none can be proven at all.  Deism is known as the Religion of Reason.

Most Deists believe that all religious doctrine was written by man and that the proof is self-evident, but we give respect and understanding to the peaceful beliefs of others regardless.  That is not to say that members can’t point out and discuss the dangerous practices of revealed religions, however.  In fact, a favorite pastime of Deists is pointing out inconsistencies, hazards and hypocrisies of organized religion.  As Deists we strive to remain respectful to individuals who hold beliefs we don’t agree with, but the religions themselves enjoy no such protection.  It could be said that we have our own version of the phrase “Love the sinner, hate the sin.”

Because of this, peaceful followers of Christianity, Hinduism, Wicca, Islam, and every other spiritual belief are looked upon only as fellow souls seeking the truth regarding the origins of the universe and subsequently, mankind.  Due to the individualist nature of the Church, spirituality beyond the existence of a Creator is accepted or rejected by the person’s own proclivities.

That being said, members of the Church of Deism have a well-founded suspicion of organized religion as a whole.  One only needs to open a history book or read the latest headlines to see that organized religion has a sometimes simultaneous capacity of great good and incredible evil.  The difference usually only depends on which way the winds of the day were blowing, and who claimed to be the keeper of the sacred knowledge.  The Crusades, witch burnings, and Jihad are all prime examples of the terrible harm that organized religions have brought upon the human race throughout time.

The Church of Deism recognizes the existence of the Creator as self-evident.  One only has to feel the emotion of love, see the smile of an innocent child, observe the complexities of DNA, or watch the graceful movements of a tree in the breeze to see divine inspiration.  The Church also teaches that the need for humanity to get along is self-evident too.  Some say that organized religion is good because it demonstrates the differences between right and wrong, but Deists attest that morality is self-evident as well.  Unlike many organized religions, our members debate the validity of moral issues that injure no one.

Can I become a Deist?
Yes.  Anyone 13 years of age and over can become a member of the congregation of the Church of Deism.  There is no requirement, or even a request to attend religious services but Deists are free to attend any religious ceremonies they choose of any religious persuasion while seeking the path to enlightenment.  All Congregants have unlimited access to the news announcements, articles, and are encouraged to share in the fellowship available at the Church Forum.  Differences of opinion are welcome.  It is free to join the congregation of the Church of Deism.

Can I become a Deistic minister?
All men and women over the age of 13 may become ordained in the Church of Deism at no charge.  One only has to fill out the Ordination form completely and honestly.

A minister of Deism may officiate weddings, funerals and baptisms, perform prison ministry, and take confessions.  Ministers may also recruit other congregants and prospective ministers to the faith.  Your level of involvement is your decision, and the methods used to perform these tasks are up to you.  All 50 states recognize the religion of Deism, but there are some counties that have different requirements for marriage officiants.  Prospective Deistic Ministers outside of the United States will have to check their own local laws.  You may choose your own honorary title such as Reverend, Pastor, Rabbi or whatever you like, but ultimately, the choice is yours.  You may not call yourself a doctor.

The Church can provide you with a Letter of Good Standing if you need it to perform a wedding, but contact your local County Clerk to find out if it is required before ordering.  Chances are your Certificate of Ordination is good enough, and many places won’t even require that.

Not all members of the congregation may wish to have the additional responsibilities of ordination due to personal reasons or age restrictions, but of course all Deistic Ministers are welcome to become members of the congregation.  Your ordination is good for as long as you remain a Deist.

Become a Deistic Minister

Doesn’t it violate Deistic doctrine to organize Deists?
The Church of Deism recognizes the possible dangers of organized religion because we are ardent students of history, however the Church has no problem with like-minded individuals gathering in fellowship to discuss the Mystery of the Creator.

Is there a brick and mortar Church of Deism?
Deistic belief precludes the need for a central church for its congregation, so there is no physical church to attend.  Congregants are welcome to join in fellowship in the Church Forum and gain inspiration from the various topics and articles.  Because of the dangers of organized religion, congregants are encouraged to practice their faith as they see fit, following the path of Deism alone or with others.  Some Deists believe that worshiping a Creator is a necessary part of spiritual enlightenment, however most do not.  If you feel that communion with your Deity through prayer or fellowship brings you closer together, by all means do so.

Why the internet?
This is the 21st century.  Virtually all churches have a website because it is the future of spreading the word.  In a world of declining church memberships and various church scandals, the world wide web may someday be the only place to find a church where you feel comfortable.  Others may want to attend church, but for a myriad of reasons aren’t able to.  The Church of Deism realizes this and coupled with a reluctance to engage in anything approaching organized, or “revealed” religion, feels it is the best option.  Because real human interaction of some kind will naturally always remain the Church feels that it is important to ordain Ministers to maximize interpersonal relationships with the congregation.

Can I belong to a “traditional” or organized religion and still be a Deist?
Yes, but the Church of Deism doesn’t see it as important to maintaining Deistic spiritual beliefs, and depending on the religion may actually run counter to Deistic thought.  Avoid any religious service that advocates hate or violence in particular, as you become especially susceptible to the most dangerous aspects of organized religion if you do.

Celebrate your own individualism by not running with the herd.  By its age, history, and past memberships alone it could be argued that Deism itself is a traditional religion, but many historic adherents of Deism were members of other churches.  Einstein was Jewish.  Thomas Jefferson was an Episcopalian.  Thomas Paine was a Quaker.  If membership in another “traditional” religion enhances your spirit, follow your heart.  Deism exists to propel the Human Race forward, not to hold us all back.

Where do I sign up?
Click here to become a congregant and here to become a fully-fledged Deistic Minister, and welcome!

Alabama

State
Regulations

Section 30-1-7
Persons authorized to
solemnize
marriages.
(a) Generally. Marriages may be solemnized
by any licensed
minister of the gospel in regular communion with the
Christian church or
society of which the minister is a member; by an
active or retired judge of
the Supreme Court, Court of Criminal
Appeals, Court of Civil Appeals, any
circuit court, or any district
court within this state; by a judge of any
federal court; or by an
active or retired judge of probate.
(b) Pastor of
religious
society; clerk of society to maintain register of
marriages;
register, etc., deemed presumptive evidence of fact. Marriage
may
also be solemnized by the pastor of any religious society according
to
the rules ordained or custom established by such society. The
clerk or keeper
of the minutes of each society shall keep a register
and enter therein a
particular account of all marriages solemnized by
the society, which
register, or a sworn copy thereof, is presumptive
evidence of the
fact.
(c) Quakers, Mennonites, or other religious
societies. The people
called Mennonites, Quakers, or any other
Christian society having similar
rules or regulations, may solemnize
marriage according to their forms by
consent of the parties,
published and declared before the congregation
assembled for public
worship.

Marriage
License Information

Alaska

State
Regulations

Sec. 25.05.261. Who may solemnize.
(a)
Marriages may
be solemnized
(1) by a minister, priest, or rabbi
of any church or
congregation in the state, or by a commissioned
officer of the Salvation
Army, or by the principal officer or elder
of recognized churches or
congregations that traditionally do not
have regular ministers, priests, or
rabbis, anywhere within the
state;
(2) by a marriage commissioner or
judicial officer of the
state anywhere within the jurisdiction of the
commissioner or
officer; or
(3) before or in any religious organization
or
congregation according to the established ritual or form
commonly
practiced in the organization or congregation.
(b) This
section
may not be construed to waive the requirements for obtaining
a
marriage license.

Marriage
License Information

Arizona

State
Regulations

25-124. Persons
authorized to perform marriage
ceremony; definition
A. The following are
authorized to solemnize
marriages between persons who are authorized to
marry:
1. Duly
licensed or ordained clergymen.
2. Judges of courts of
record.

3. Municipal court judges.
4. Justices of the
peace.
5.
Justices of the United States supreme court.
6. Judges of
courts
of appeals, district courts and courts that are created by an act
of
Congress if the judges are entitled to hold office during
good
behavior.
7. Bankruptcy court and tax court judges.
8.
United
States magistrate judges.
9. Judges of the Arizona court
of
military appeals.
B. For the purposes of this section, “licensed
or
ordained clergymen” includes ministers, elders or other
persons who by the
customs, rules and regulations of a religious
society or sect are authorized
or permitted to solemnize marriages or
to officiate at marriage
ceremonies.

Marriage
License Information

Arkansas

State
Regulations

9-11-213. Persons who
may solemnize marriages.

(a) For the purpose of being registered and perpetuating
the
evidence thereof, marriage shall
be solemnized only by
the
following persons:
(1) The Governor;
(2) Any former justice
of
the Supreme Court;
(3) Any judges of the courts of record
within this
state, including any former judge of a
court of
record who served at least
four (4) years or more;
(4) Any
justice of the peace, including any former
justice of the peace who
served at
least two (2) terms since the passage
of Arkansas
Constitution, Amendment 55;
(5) Any regularly ordained
minister
or priest of any religious sect or denomination;
(6) The mayor
of
any city or town;
(7) Any official appointed for that purpose by
the
quorum court of the county where the
marriage is to be
solemnized;
or
(8) Any elected district court judge and any
former municipal or
district court judge who
served at least four
(4) years.
(b) (1)
Marriages solemnized through the traditional
rite of the Religious Society
of
Friends, more commonly known as
Quakers, are recognized as valid to all
intents and purposes
the
same as marriages otherwise contracted and
solemnized in accordance
with law.
(2) The functions, duties, and
liabilities of a party
solemnizing marriage, as set forth in
the marriage
laws of this
state, in the case of marriages solemnized through the
traditional

marriage rite of the Religious Society of Friends shall
be
incumbent upon the clerk of the
congregation or, in his or
her
absence, his or her duly designated alternate.

Marriage
License Information

California

State
Regulations

Where do I register to perform marriages
in
California?
The laws of the State of California make it
unnecessary
for persons performing marriages to file credentials with
the clerk of the
court or with anyone else. The county and state are
removed from any
responsibility for verification of credentials. The
State does not maintain a
central registry of members of the clergy.
Any such concern for verification
is totally at the discretion of the
parties to the marriage.
What
authorization do I need to perform
a marriage in California?
In
California, it is the ordination or
investment by the denomination that gives
each clergy member the
authority to perform the marriage rite. Family Code,
Sections 400-402
are the statutes pertaining to whom can solemnize a marriage
in
California.
What statutes do I need to know to perform a marriage
in
California?
The marriage officiant who performs the marriage
ceremony must
know the California laws regarding the performance of a
marriage and the
requirements for officiants. Family Code, Sections
420-425 are the statutes
pertaining to the performance of a marriage
in California. Please visit
California
Legislative Information for
the full Family Code sections.

Marriage
License Information

Colorado

State
Regulations

14-2-109.  Solemnization and
registration.
(1)  A marriage may be solemnized by a judge
of a court, of record,
by a court magistrate, of a court of record,
by a retired judge of a court,
of record, by a public official whose
powers include solemnization of
marriages, by the parties to the
marriage, or in accordance with any mode of
solemnization recognized
by any religious denomination or Indian nation or
tribe. Either the
person solemnizing the marriage or, if no individual acting
alone
solemnized the marriage, a party to the marriage shall complete
the
marriage certificate form and forward it to the county clerk
and
recorder within sixty days after the solemnization.

Marriage
License Information

Connecticut

State
Regulations

Sec. 46b-22. (Formerly Sec. 46-3). Who may
join persons
in marriage. Penalty for unauthorized performance. (a)
Persons authorized to
solemnize marriages in this state include (1)
all judges and retired judges,
either elected or appointed, including
federal judges and judges of other
states who may legally join
persons in marriage in their jurisdictions, (2)
family support
magistrates, state referees and justices of the peace who
are
appointed in Connecticut, and (3) all ordained or licensed members
of
the clergy, belonging to this state or any other state, as long as
they
continue in the work of the ministry. All marriages solemnized
according to
the forms and usages of any religious denomination in
this state, including
marriages witnessed by a duly constituted
Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is,
are valid. All marriages attempted
to be celebrated by any other person are
void.
(b) No public
official legally authorized to issue marriage licenses
may join
persons in marriage under authority of a license issued by
himself,
or his assistant or deputy; nor may any such assistant or deputy
join
persons in marriage under authority of a license issued by
such
public official.
(c) Any person violating any provision of
this
section shall be fined not more than fifty dollars.

Marriage
License Information

Delaware

State
Regulations

§ 106. Solemnization of marriages;
production of license;
penalty; registration of persons authorized to
solemnize marriages.
(a) A
clergyperson or minister of any
recognized religion, current and former
members of this State’s
Supreme Court, Superior Court, Family Court, Court of
Chancery, Court
of Common Pleas, Justice of the Peace Court, federal Judges,
federal
Magistrates, clerks of the peace of various counties and current
and
former judges from other jurisdictions with written authorization
by
the clerk of the peace from the county in Delaware where the
ceremony
is to be performed may solemnize marriages between persons who
may
lawfully enter into the matrimonial relation. The Clerk of the
Peace
in each county for good cause being shown may:
(1) Allow
by
written permit within his or her respective county, any duly
sworn
member of another state’s judiciary, to solemnize marriages in
the
State between persons who may lawfully enter into the
matrimonial
relation.
(2) Allow by written permit within his or
her
respective county, the Clerk of the Peace from another county
within
the State to solemnize marriages in the State between persons who
may
lawfully enter into the matrimonial relation. Within the City
of
Wilmington the Mayor may solemnize marriages between persons who
may
lawfully enter into the matrimonial relation, but only if 1 of
the
parties to be married is a resident of this State. Marriages shall
be
solemnized in the presence of at least 2 reputable witnesses who
shall
sign the certificate of marriage as prescribed by this chapter.
Marriages may
also be solemnized or contracted according to the forms
and usages of any
religious society. No marriage shall be solemnized
or contracted without the
production of a license issued pursuant to
this chapter.
(b) For purposes
of this section, the words
“resident of this State” shall include the son or
daughter
of a person who has been domiciled within the State for 1 year
or
more, notwithstanding the actual place of residence of the son
or
daughter immediately prior to the date of the marriage.
(c) In
the
case of absence or disability of the duly elected Clerk of the
Peace, the
chief deputy or, if there is no chief deputy, a deputy
employed in the office
of the Clerk of the Peace, shall be authorized
to solemnize marriages.
(d)
Whoever, not being authorized by this
section, solemnizes a marriage, shall
be fined $100, and in default
of the payment of such fine shall be imprisoned
not more than 30
days, and such marriage shall be void, unless it is in other
respects
lawful and is consummated with the full belief of either of
the
parties in its validity.

Marriage
License Information

District
of Columbia

State
Regulations

NOTE: Pursuant to the
Religious Freedom and
Civil Marriage Equality Amendment Act of 2009, L18-110,
effective
March 3, 2010, same sex couples may apply for marriage licenses
in
the District of Columbia.
NOTE: Pursuant to the Marriage
Amendment
Act of 2008, DC Law 17-222, effective September 11, 2008, a
blood test is no
longer a requirement to obtain a marriage license in
the District of
Columbia.
The Marriage Bureau Section of the
Family Court issues marriage
licenses and minister authorizations for
marriages performed in the District
of Columbia. The Bureau also
maintains a list of officiants who perform civil
marriages within the
Court. Other responsibilities include:

• Filing,
  docketing, and file maintenance of all
  District of Columbia marriage
  records from 1811 to the present, and
  assisting the public in their
  review;

• Fielding
  inquiries about
  marriage license search information made in person
  or through the mail; and
  

• Assisting
  petitioners on “How to File a Petition to Correct a
  Marriage
  Record.”

Marriage License
Information
Identification of both parties is
required in the
form of driver’s license, government-issued
non-driver’s
ID, or passport. The minimum age for marriage in the District
of
Columbia is 18 years, or 16 years with the consent of a parent
or
guardian. Proof of age for the applicants must be shown and may
be
demonstrated by driver’s licenses, birth certificates, passports,
or
similar official documents. The Marriage License Application fee
is
$35.00 (this fee will be waived if the applicants’ original
Domestic
Partnership Certificate registered under D.C. Code §32-702
is presented at
the time of application). The Certificate of Marriage
fee is $10.00. All fees
must be paid in cash or by money order (made
payable to Clerk, D.C. Superior
Court) for the license to be issued.

The Marriage License Application must include social
security
numbers, addresses, dates of birth for both parties as well
as
previous marriage information, that is, the city, state, country
of
each marriage and the ending status of each, such as, by divorce
or
death. Home and work telephone numbers for both parties are
also
requested.

Religious celebrants
and judges other than those of
the D.C. Courts must be authorized by the
Court and registered by the
Marriage Bureau in order to perform legal
marriages in the District
of Columbia. The full name of the intended
celebrant must be given at
the time of the application for verification and
placement on the
license. Otherwise, a request for a Civil Wedding may be
made and a
clerk will attempt to schedule the marriage ceremony with a
court
official on or near the date you request, but not sooner than
ten
business days after your license becomes valid.
By law, three
full
days must pass between the day of application to the day that
the license can
be issued. The fee payment receipt is required to
pick up the license.
Marriage licenses are not issued by mail.

Marriage
License Application [23k]
Scheduling a Civil Wedding
Ceremony
When applying for a
marriage license, you may request a
Civil Wedding, specifying the date and
time you would like to be
married, at least 10 days from the date of
application. You must give
this information to the deputy clerk. The clerk
will contact you by
telephone to confirm the appointment requested.
The
marriage
ceremony room holds approximately 10 to 15 guests. A court
official
will perform your marriage ceremony. You can receive a certified
copy
of your marriage license the same day for a fee of
$10.00.
There
is no fee for the marriage ceremony. Tax-deductible
donations can be
made to the D.C. Superior Court Art Trust Fund.

Civil
Wedding Request Information [13k]
Receiving a Certified Copy
of a Marriage
License
To receive a certified copy of a marriage
license, you must
provide the full names, maiden names, and the date
of the marriage for both
parties. You must pay $10 ($.50 for a plain
copy) by cash or money order.
Make money order payable to Clerk, D.C.
Superior Court. You may either come
to the Marriage Bureau Section in
person to get a copy or request a copy by
mail. The triple seal
certificate fee is $20 (used for adoptions and
foreign
jurisdictions), plus $10 for a copy. This certificate is
generally
used for verification of marriage in another
country.
Application
for Authorization to Celebrate Marriages (D.C. Code §
46-406)

The application fee for authorization to celebrate marriages
in
the District of Columbia is $35 (cash). You must have an endorser
from
the same religious society, who is from currently registered
with the
Marriage Bureau Section, Family Court. If there is no
endorser, you must
request the written “Procedures for the
Registration of Clergy Without
Endorser.” Authorization is
indefinite for District of Columbia marriage
ceremonies.

Application
for Authorization to Celebrate Marriages in the
District of Columbia
[123k]

Procedures
for the Registration of Clergy Without
Endorser [30k]

Marriage
License Information

Florida

State
Regulations

741.07  Persons authorized to
solemnize
matrimony.–
(1)  All regularly ordained ministers
of
the gospel or elders in communion with some church, or other
ordained
clergy, and all judicial officers, including retired
judicial
officers, clerks of the circuit courts, and notaries public of
this
state may solemnize the rights of matrimonial contract, under
the
regulations prescribed by law. Nothing in this section shall
make
invalid a marriage which was solemnized by any member of the
clergy,
or as otherwise provided by law prior to July 1,
1978.
(2)  Any
marriage which may be had and solemnized among
the people called
“Quakers,” or “Friends,” in the manner and form
used or
practiced in their societies, according to their rites and
ceremonies, shall
be good and valid in law; and wherever the words
“minister” and “elder” are
used in this chapter,
they shall be held to include all of the persons
connected with the
Society of Friends, or Quakers, who perform or have charge
of the
marriage ceremony according to their rites and
ceremonies.

Marriage
License Information

Georgia

State
Regulations

§ 19-3-30.  Issuance, return,
and recording of
license

(a) Marriage
licenses shall be issued only by the
judge of the probate court or
his clerk at the county courthouse between the
hours of 8:00 A.M. and
6:00 P.M., Monday through Saturday.

(b) (1) No marriage
license shall be issued to
persons of the same sex.

(2) If
one of the persons to be married is a
resident of this state, the
license may be issued in any county of this
state. If neither the
male nor the female to be married is a resident of this
state, the
license shall be issued in the county in which the ceremony is to
be
performed.

(c) The license shall be directed to any
judge,
including judges of state and federal courts of record in this
state, city
recorder, magistrate, minister, or other person of any
religious society or
sect authorized by the rules of such society to
perform the marriage
ceremony; such license shall authorize the
marriage of the persons therein
named and require the judge, city
recorder, magistrate, minister, or other
authorized person to return
the license to the judge of the probate court
with the certificate
thereon as to the fact and date of marriage within 30
days after the
date of the marriage. The license with the return thereon
shall be
recorded by the judge in a book kept by such judge for
that
purpose.

Marriage
License Information

Hawaii

State
Regulations

§572-12  By whom solemnized.  A
license to
solemnize marriages may be issued to, and the marriage
rite may be performed
and solemnized by any minister, priest, or
officer of any religious
denomination or society who has been
ordained or is authorized to solemnize
marriages according to the
usages of such denomination or society, or any
religious society not
having clergy but providing solemnization in accordance
with the
rules and customs of that society, or any justice or judge
or
magistrate, active or retired, of a state or federal court in
the
State, upon presentation to such person or society of a license
to
marry, as prescribed by this chapter.  Such person or society
may
receive the price stipulated by the parties or the
gratification
tendered.

Marriage
License Information

Idaho

State
Regulations

32-303.By whom solemnized. Marriage may
be
solemnized by any of the following Idaho officials: a current or
retired
justice of the supreme court, a current or retired court of
appeals judge, a
current or retired district judge, the current or a
former governor, the
current lieutenant governor, a current or
retired magistrate of the district
court, a current mayor or by any
of the following: a current federal judge, a
current tribal judge of
an Idaho Indian tribe or other tribal official
approved by an
official act of an Idaho Indian tribe or priest or minister of
the
gospel of any denomination. To be a retired justice of the
supreme
court, court of appeals judge, district judge or magistrate judge
of
the district court, for the purpose of solemnizing marriages, a
person
shall have served in one (1) of those offices and shall be
receiving a
retirement benefit from either the judges retirement
system or the public
employee retirement system for service in the
Idaho judiciary.

Marriage
License Information

Illinois

State
Regulations

Sec. 209. Solemnization and Registration.)

(a) A marriage may be solemnized by a
judge of a court of
record, by a retired judge of a court of record,
unless the retired judge was
removed from office by the Judicial
Inquiry Board, except that a retired
judge shall not receive any
compensation from the State, a county or any unit
of local government
in return for the solemnization of a marriage and there
shall be no
effect upon any pension benefits conferred by the Judges
Retirement
System of Illinois, by a judge of the Court of Claims, by a
county
clerk in counties having 2,000,000 or more inhabitants, by a
public
official whose powers include solemnization of marriages, or
in
accordance with the prescriptions of any religious denomination,
Indian
Nation or Tribe or Native Group, provided that when such
prescriptions
require an officiant, the officiant be in good standing
with his religious
denomination, Indian Nation or Tribe or Native
Group. Either the person
solemnizing the marriage, or, if no
individual acting alone solemnized the
marriage, both parties to the
marriage, shall complete the marriage
certificate form and forward it
to the county clerk within 10 days after such
marriage is solemnized.

(b) The solemnization of the marriage is
not invalidated
by the fact that the person solemnizing the marriage
was not legally
qualified to solemnize it, if either party to the
marriage believed him to be
so qualified or by the fact that the
marriage was inadvertently solemnized in
a county in Illinois other
than the county where the license was
issued.
(Source: P.A.
95 775, eff. 1 1 09.)

Marriage
License Information

Indiana

State
Regulations

IC 31-11-6-1
Persons authorized to
solemnize
marriages
Sec. 1. Marriages may
be solemnized by any of the
following:
(1)
A member of the clergy of a religious organization (even if
the
cleric does not perform religious functions for an
individual
congregation), such as a minister of the gospel, a priest, a
bishop,
an archbishop, or a rabbi.
(2)
A judge.
(3) A
mayor,
within the mayor’s county.
(4)
A clerk or a clerk-treasurer of a city or
town, within a county in
which the city or town is located.
(5)
A clerk
of the circuit court.
(6)
The Friends Church, in accordance with the rules
of the Friends
Church.
(7) The
German Baptists, in accordance with the
rules of their
society.
(8) The
Bahai faith, in accordance with the
rules of the Bahai
faith.
(9) The
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day
Saints, in accordance with the
rules of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter
Day
Saints.
(10) An
imam of a masjid (mosque), in accordance with the
rules of the
religion of Islam.

Marriage
License Information

Iowa

State
Regulations

595.10  Who may solemnize.

Marriages may be solemnized by:
1.  A judge of
the
supreme court, court of appeals, or district court, including
a
district associate judge, associate juvenile judge, or a
judicial
magistrate, and including a senior judge as defined in
section
602.9202, subsection 3.
2.  A person ordained
or
designated as a leader of the person’s religious faith.

Marriage
License Information

Kansas

State
Regulations

23-104a.   Solemnizing marriage; persons
authorized
to officiate. (a) Marriage may be validly solemnized and
contracted in this
state, after a license has been issued for the
marriage, in the following
manner: By the mutual declarations of the
two parties to be joined in
marriage, made before an authorized
officiating person and in the presence of
at least two competent
witnesses over 18 years of age, other than the
officiating person,
that they take each other as husband and wife.

(b)   The following are authorized to be officiating
persons:

(1)   Any currently ordained clergyman or
religious
authority of any religious denomination or society;

(2)   any licentiate of a denominational body or
an
appointee of any bishop serving as the regular clergyman of any
church of the
denomination to which the licentiate or appointee
belongs, if not restrained
from so doing by the discipline of that
church or denomination;
(3)
any judge
or justice of a court of record;
(4)
any municipal judge of a
city of this state; and

(5)   any retired judge or justice of a court of
record.

(c)   The two parties themselves, by
mutual
declarations that they take each other as husband and wife,
in
accordance with the customs, rules and regulations of any
religious
society, denomination or sect to which either of the parties
belong,
may be married without an authorized officiating person.

Marriage
License Information

Kentucky

State
Regulations

402.050 Who may solemnize marriage —
Persons
present.
(1) Marriage shall be solemnized only
by:
(a)
Ministers of the gospel or priests of any denomination in
regular
communion with any religious society;
(b) Justices and judges
of
the Court of Justice, retired justices and judges of the Court
of
Justice except those removed for cause or convicted of a felony,
county
judges/executive, and such justices of the peace and fiscal
court
commissioners as the Governor or the county judge/executive
authorizes;
or
(c) A religious society that has no officiating
minister or priest and
whose usage is to solemnize marriage at the
usual place of worship and by
consent given in the presence of the
society, if either party belongs to the
society.
(2) At least two
(2) persons, in addition to the parties and the
person solemnizing
the marriage, shall be present at every
marriage.

Marriage
License Information

Louisiana

State
Regulations

§204.  Officiant other than
judge;
registration
An officiant, other than a judge or justice of
the
peace, may perform marriage ceremonies only after he registers to
do
so by depositing with the clerk of court of the parish in which he
will
principally perform marriage ceremonies, or, in the case of
Orleans Parish,
with the office of the state registrar of vital
records, an affidavit stating
his lawful name, denomination, and
address.

Marriage
License Information

Maine

State
Regulations

§655. Authorization;
penalties
1. Persons
authorized to solemnize marriages.  The
following may solemnize
marriages in this State:
A. If a resident of this
State:
(1) A
justice or judge;
(2) A lawyer admitted to the Maine Bar;
or
(4)
A notary public under Title 4, chapter 19; and [2001, c. 574,
§6
(AMD).]
B. Whether a resident or nonresident of this State
and
whether or not a citizen of the United States:
(1) An
ordained
minister of the gospel;
(2) A cleric engaged in the service of
the
religious body to which the cleric belongs; or
(3) A
person
licensed to preach by an association of ministers, religious
seminary
or ecclesiastical body.

Marriage
License Information

Maryland

State
Regulations

To Clergy
Before performing the ceremony,
please check
the effective date. The license may not be used prior to
the effective date,
which is 6:00 am. on the second calendar date
after issuance and must be used
within six (6) months of the
effective date. The couple must be married in
the county where the
license was issued. Before returning the marriage
license to the
newly married couple, please complete the following:
1.
Date of
the ceremony and City or Town that the ceremony was performed
in;
2.
Your Signature;
3. Your title and office; and
4.
Mailing
address (please include street and city).

Marriage
License Information

Massachusetts

State
Regulations

Chapter 207: Section 38. Situs;
persons
authorized
Section 38. A marriage may be solemnized in any
place
within the commonwealth by the following persons who are residents
of
the commonwealth: a duly ordained minister of the gospel in good
and
regular standing with his church or denomination, including
an
ordained deacon in The United Methodist Church or in the Roman
Catholic
Church; a commissioned cantor or duly ordained rabbi of the
Jewish faith; by
a justice of the peace if he is also clerk or
assistant clerk of a city or
town, or a registrar or assistant
registrar, or a clerk or assistant clerk of
a court or a clerk or
assistant clerk of the senate or house of
representatives, by a
justice of the peace if he has been designated as
provided in the
following section and has received a certificate of
designation and
has qualified thereunder; an authorized representative of a
Spiritual
Assembly of the Baha’is in accordance with the usage of
their
community; a priest or minister of the Buddhist religion; a
minister
in fellowship with the Unitarian Universalist Association
and
ordained by a local church; a leader of an Ethical Culture
Society
which is duly established in the commonwealth and recognized by
the
American Ethical Union and who is duly appointed and in good
and
regular standing with the American Ethical Union; the Imam of
the
Orthodox Islamic religion; and, it may be solemnized in a regular
or
special meeting for worship conducted by or under the oversight of
a
Friends or Quaker Monthly Meeting in accordance with the usage of
their
Society; and, it may be solemnized by a duly ordained
nonresident minister of
the gospel if he is a pastor of a church or
denomination duly established in
the commonwealth and who is in good
and regular standing as a minister of
such church or denomination,
including an ordained deacon in The United
Methodist Church or in the
Roman Catholic Church; and, it may be solemnized
according to the
usage of any other church or religious organization which
shall have
complied with the provisions of the second paragraph of this
section.

Churches and other religious organizations shall file in
the
office of the state secretary information relating to
persons
recognized or licensed as aforesaid, and relating to usages of
such
organizations, in such form and at such times as the secretary
may
require.

Marriage
License Information

Michigan

State
Regulations

551.7 Persons authorized to solemnize
marriage; records;
returns; disposition of fees charged by mayor or
county clerk.
Sec.
7.
(1) Marriages may be solemnized by any
of the following:
(a) A judge
of the district court, in the
district in which the judge is serving.
(b)
A district court
magistrate, in the district in which the magistrate
serves.
(c) A
municipal judge, in the city in which the judge is serving
or in a
township over which a municipal court has jurisdiction under
section
9928 of the revised judicature act of 1961, 1961 PA 236,
MCL
600.9928.
(d) A judge of probate, in the county or probate
court
district in which the judge is serving.
(e) A judge of a
federal
court.
(f) A mayor of a city, anywhere in a county in which
that
city is located.
(g) A county clerk in the county in which
the
clerk serves, or in another county with the written authorization
of
the clerk of the other county.
(h) For a county having more
than
2,000,000 inhabitants, an employee of the county clerk’s
office
designated by the county clerk, in the county in which the
clerk
serves.
(i) A minister of the gospel or cleric or
religious
practitioner, anywhere in the state, if the minister or cleric
or
religious practitioner is ordained or authorized to solemnize
marriages
according to the usages of the denomination.
(j) A
minister of the gospel
or cleric or religious practitioner, anywhere
in the state, if the minister
or cleric or religious practitioner is
not a resident of this state but is
authorized to solemnize marriages
under the laws of the state in which the
minister or cleric or
religious practitioner resides.
(2) A person
authorized by this
act to solemnize a marriage shall keep proper records and
make
returns as required by section 4 of 1887 PA 128, MCL
551.104.
(3)
If a mayor of a city solemnizes a marriage, the mayor shall
charge
and collect a fee to be determined by the council of that city,
which
shall be paid to the city treasurer and deposited in the general
fund
of the city at the end of the month.
(4) If the county clerk
or,
in a county having more than 2,000,000 inhabitants, an employee of
the
clerk’s office designated by the county clerk solemnizes a
marriage, the
county clerk shall charge and collect a fee to be
determined by the
commissioners of the county in which the clerk
serves. The fee shall be paid
to the treasurer for the county in
which the clerk serves and deposited in
the general fund of that
county at the end of the month.

Marriage
License Information

Minnesota

State
Regulations

517.04 PERSONS
AUTHORIZED TO PERFORM
MARRIAGES.
Marriages may be solemnized throughout
the state by an
individual who has attained the age of 21 years and is a
judge of a
court of record, a retired judge of a court of record, a
court
administrator, a retired court administrator with the approval of
the
chief judge of the judicial district, a former court commissioner
who
is employed by the court system or is acting pursuant to an order
of
the chief judge of the commissioner’s judicial district,
the
residential school administrators of the Minnesota State Academy
for
the Deaf and the Minnesota State Academy for the Blind, a licensed
or
ordained minister of any religious denomination, or by any
mode
recognized in section 517.18.

Marriage
License Information

Mississippi

State
Regulations

SEC. 93-1-17. By whom
marriages may be
solemnized.
Any minister of the gospel ordained according
to the
rules of his church or society, in good standing; any Rabbi or
other
spiritual leader of any other religious body authorized under
the
rules of such religious body to solemnize rites of matrimony and
being
in good standing; any judge of the Supreme Court, Court of
Appeals, circuit
court, chancery court or county court may solemnize
the rites of matrimony
between any persons anywhere within this state
who shall produce a license
granted as herein directed. Justice court
judges and members of the boards of
supervisors may likewise
solemnize the rites of matrimony within their
respective counties.
Any marriages performed by a mayor of a municipality
prior to March
1994 are valid provided such marriages satisfy the
requirements of
Section 93-1-18.

Marriage
License Information

Missouri

State
Regulations

Marriages solemnized by whom.
451.100.
Marriages may
be solemnized by any clergyman, either active or
retired, who is in good
standing with any church or synagogue in this
state. Marriages may also be
solemnized, without compensation, by any
judge, including a municipal judge.
Marriages may also be solemnized
by a religious society, religious
institution, or religious
organization of this state, according to the
regulations and customs
of the society, institution or organization, when
either party to the
marriage to be solemnized is a member of such society,
institution or
organization.

Marriage
License Information

Montana

State
Regulations

40-1-301.
Solemnization and registration. (1)
A marriage may be solemnized by a judge
of a court of record, by a
public official whose powers include solemnization
of marriages, by a
mayor, city judge, or justice of the peace, by a tribal
judge, or in
accordance with any mode of solemnization recognized by any
religious
denomination, Indian nation or tribe, or native group. Either
the
person solemnizing the marriage or, if no individual acting
alone
solemnized the marriage, a party to the marriage shall complete
the
marriage certificate form and forward it to the clerk of the
district
court.
(2) If a party to a marriage
is unable to be present at
the solemnization, the party may authorize
in writing a third person to act
as proxy. If the person solemnizing
the marriage is satisfied that the absent
party is unable to be
present and has consented to the marriage, the person
may solemnize
the marriage by proxy. If the person solemnizing the marriage
is not
satisfied, the parties may petition the district court for an
order
permitting the marriage to be solemnized by proxy.
(3)
The
solemnization of the marriage is not invalidated by the fact that
the person
solemnizing the marriage was not legally qualified to
solemnize it if either
party to the marriage believed that person to
be qualified.
(4) One party
to a
proxy marriage must be a member of the armed forces of the
United
States on federal active duty or a resident of Montana at the time
of
application for a license and certificate pursuant to 40-1-202.
One party or a legal representative shall appear before
the clerk of
court and pay the marriage license fee. For the purposes of
this
subsection, residency must be determined in accordance
with
1-1-215.

Marriage
License Information

Nebraska

State
Regulations

Nebraska Revised Statutes, 42-108:
Marriage
ceremony;
who may perform; return; contents.
Every judge, retired
judge, or clerk
magistrate, and every preacher of the gospel
authorized by the usages of the
church to which he or she belongs to
solemnize marriages, may perform the
marriage ceremony in this state.
Every such person performing the marriage
ceremony shall make a
return of his or her proceedings in the premises,
showing the names
and residences of at least two witnesses who were present
at such
marriage. The return shall be made to the county clerk who issued
the
license within fifteen days after such marriage has been
performed.
The county clerk shall record the return or cause it to be
recorded
in the same book where the marriage license is
recorded.

Marriage
License Information

Nevada

State
Regulations

Note:  After you are ordained, you will
need to
establish your own Deist Church within Nevada to perform
marriages in the
state.

NRS 122.062
Licensed, ordained
or appointed ministers, other persons authorized to
solemnize a
marriage and chaplains of Armed Forces to obtain certificates
from
county clerk; temporary replacements; solemnization by minister
or
other authorized person who resides in another state or who
is
retired.
1.  Any licensed,
ordained or appointed minister or
other person authorized to
solemnize a marriage in good standing within his
or her church or
religious organization, or either of them, incorporated,
organized or
established in this State, may join together as husband and
wife
persons who present a marriage license obtained from any county
clerk
of the State, if the minister or other person authorized to
solemnize
a marriage first obtains a certificate of permission to
perform
marriages as provided in NRS
122.062
to 122.073,
inclusive. The fact that a minister or other person
authorized to
solemnize a marriage is retired does not disqualify him or her
from
obtaining a certificate of permission to perform marriages if,
before
retirement, the minister or other person authorized to solemnize
a
marriage had active charge of a church or religious organization for
a
period of at least 3 years.
2.
A temporary replacement for a licensed,
ordained or appointed
minister or other person authorized to solemnize a
marriage certified
pursuant to NRS
122.062
to 122.073,
inclusive, may solemnize marriages pursuant to subsection
1 during
such time as he or she may be authorized to do so by the county
clerk
in the county in which he or she is a temporary replacement, for
a
period not to exceed 90 days. The minister or other person authorized
to
solemnize a marriage whom he or she temporarily replaces shall
provide him or
her with a written authorization which states the
period during which it is
effective.

3.  Any chaplain who is assigned to duty in this State
by the
Armed Forces of the United States may solemnize marriages if
the
chaplain obtains a certificate of permission to perform marriages
from
the county clerk of the county in which his or her duty station
is located.
The county clerk shall issue such a certificate to a
chaplain upon proof of
his or her military status as a chaplain and
of his or her assignment.
4.
A
county clerk may authorize a licensed, ordained or appointed
minister
or other person authorized to solemnize a marriage whose
residence
and church or religious organization is in another state or who
is
retired, if his or her service was as described in subsection 1,
to
perform marriages in the county if the county clerk is satisfied
that
the minister or other person authorized to solemnize a marriage is
in
good standing with his or her church or religious organization
pursuant
to this section. The authorization must be in writing and
need not be filed
with any other public officer. A separate
authorization is required for each
marriage performed. Such a
minister or other person authorized to solemnize a
marriage may
perform not more than five marriages in this State in any
calendar
year and must acknowledge that he or she is subject to
the
jurisdiction of the county clerk with respect to the provisions
of
this chapter governing the conduct of ministers or other
persons
authorized to solemnize a marriage to the same extent as if he or
she
were a minister or other person authorized to solemnize a
marriage
residing in this State.
(Added to
NRS by 1967, 1289; A 1969,
37; 1993, 1462; 1997, 2040; 1999,
520,
541;
2009,
724)

Marriage
License Information

New
Hampshire

State
Regulations

457:31 Solemnization
of Marriage. – A
marriage may be solemnized in the following
manner:

I. In a civil ceremony by a justice of the peace as
commissioned by
the state and by judges of the United States appointed
pursuant to
Article III of the United States Constitution, by bankruptcy
judges
appointed pursuant to Article I of the United States Constitution,
or
by United States magistrate judges appointed pursuant to federal
law;
or
II. In a religious ceremony by any minister
of the gospel in
the state who has been ordained according to the
usage of his or her
denomination, resides in the state, and is in
regular standing with the
denomination; by any member of the clergy
who is not ordained but is engaged
in the service of the religious
body to which he or she belongs, and who
resides in the state, after
being licensed therefor by the secretary of
state; or within his or
her parish, by any minister residing out of the
state, but having a
pastoral charge wholly or partly in this
state.

Marriage
License Information

New
Jersey

State
Regulations

37:1-13. Authorization to solemnize marriages
and civil
unions.
37:1-13. Authorization to
solemnize marriages and civil
unions.

Each
judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the
Third Circuit,
each judge of a federal district court, United States
magistrate,
judge of a municipal court, judge of the Superior Court, judge of
a
tax court, retired judge of the Superior Court or Tax Court, or judge
of
the Superior Court or Tax Court, the former County Court, the
former County
Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court, or the former
County District Court
who has resigned in good standing, surrogate of
any county, county clerk and
any mayor or the deputy mayor when
authorized by the mayor, or chairman of
any township committee or
village president of this State, and every minister
of every
religion, are hereby authorized to solemnize marriages or
civil
unions between such persons as may lawfully enter into
the
matrimonial relation or civil union; and every religious
society,
institution or organization in this State may join together
in
marriage or civil union such persons according to the rules and
customs
of the society, institution or organization.

Marriage
License Information

New
Mexico

State
Regulations

40-1-2. Clergymen or civil magistrates may
solemnize;
fees.

A.  A person may solemnize the contract
of matrimony
by means of an ordained clergyman or authorized
representative of a federally
recognized Indian tribe, without regard
to the sect to which he may belong or
the rites and customs he may
practice.

B.  Judges, justices and magistrates of any of
the
courts established by the constitution of New Mexico, United
States
constitution, laws of the state or laws of the United States
are civil
magistrates having authority to solemnize contracts of
matrimony.

C.  Civil magistrates solemnizing contracts
of
matrimony shall charge no fee therefor.

Marriage
License Information

New
York

State
Regulations

According to Section 11
of
the Domestic Relations Law, an officiant must be an authorized,
officially
ordained member of the clergy or a public official in the
State of New York
such as a mayor, city clerk, deputy city clerk,
appointed marriage officer,
justice, or judge.   In New York
City, an officiant must be registered
with the City of New York.
Ship captains can not perform marriage ceremonies
in New York.

New
York
State Law requires any person who performs a Marriage Ceremony
within
the City Limits of New York to register with our Manhattan
office
located at 141 Worth Street, New York, NY
10013.
Who
is Eligible to Register

• Section
  11 of the Domestic Relations Law of the State of
  New York shows the
  list of people who are eligible to perform Marriage
  Ceremonies
  within the State of New York.
  Read
  this
  section of the law
  
• Generally, the
  following
  people may register:
  • Clergy members
    or
    ministers of any religion;
  • Leaders of the
    Society
    of Ethical Culture;
  • The Mayor or any
    former
    Mayor of the City of New York;
  • Federal, state,
    or
    local judges or justices, elected or appointed in the State of
    New
    York, who are currently serving or retired;
  • The Clerk of
    the
    Appellate Division of the First or Second Department; and
    
  • The County Clerk
    of any
    of the five counties in the City of New York.
    
• If
  you are a member of the above stated list
  and have not previously
  registered to perform Marriage Ceremonies in the
  City of New York,
  please continue reading to learn how to register.
  

Registration
Procedure

• If
  you wish to register as a Marriage Officiant, you may
  submit
  an
  application online to
  the City Clerk’s Office and visit our Manhattan office
  during
  our regular
  business
  hours to
  complete it, or mail
  in your application materials.
  
• You
  must bring proper
  identification and
  the documentation required under the different options stated
  below.
  The requirements are different for each category of
  Officiant.
  

Procedure
for
Clergy Members and Religious Leaders

• If
  you are a clergy member or minister of any
  religious faith or a
  Leader of the Society for Ethical Culture, there are
  three
  registration procedure options depending on which most suits
  your
  organization or congregation.
• Option 1:
  Your
  denomination publishes a directory.
  • If you belong to
    a
    denomination that publishes a directory of its clergy, you
    may
    present the actual directory or a copy of the cover page of
    the
    directory and a copy of the page where your name is listed; or
    
  • If your name is
    not yet
    listed in a directory, you may present a letter from
    the
    denomination that publishes the directory, confirming
    your
    membership; or
  • If your name is
    not yet
    listed in a directory, you may also submit a certificate or
    letter
    that shows you graduated from the seminary or theological school
    of
    the denomination that publishes the directory.
• Option 2:
  Your
  denomination does not publish a directory, but issues
  Certificates
  of Ordination or Licenses to Minister.
  • If you do not
    belong to
    a denomination that publishes a directory, you may submit a
    copy of
    your ordination certificate, a License to Minister, or a letter
    of
    appointment from your denomination; and
  • If the
    Certificate of
    Ordination is not written in English, you must also
    provide an
    English translation; and
  • You must attach a letter
    from your local congregation that verifies
    that you are the pastor or
    associate pastor of the congregation and
    that your congregation consents
    to your registration with the
    Office of the City Clerk
    (Get
    Sample
    Letter A);
    and
  • You must attach
    one of
    the following documents:
    • A copy of the
      church’s
      Articles of Incorporation; or
    • A
      statement that
      lists the location of the church, the reason for
      the church’s founding,
      the number of trustees of the church, the
      approximate size of the
      congregation, and how often the
      congregation meets
      (Get
      Sample
      Letter B).
      
• Option 3:
  Your
  denomination does not publish a directory and does not
  issue
  Certificates of Ordination or Licenses to Minister.
  • If
    you do not belong to
    a denomination that publishes a directory and
    your denomination does not
    grant Certificates of Ordination or
    Licenses to Minister, you may still
    register by submitting a letter
    from your congregation that states that
    you are the recognized
    spiritual leader of the congregation and the
    congregation consents
    to your registration (Get
    Sample
    Letter C);
    and
  • You must attach
    one of
    the following documents:
    • A copy of the
      church’s
      Articles of Incorporation; or
    • A
      statement that
      lists the location of the church, the reason for
      the church’s founding,
      the number of trustees of the church, the
      approximate size of the
      congregation and how often the
      congregation meets
      (Get
      Sample
      Letter B).
      
• Once
  you have completed the form using the
  correct option above, you must
  visit the Manhattan office to complete your
  registration if you are
  a resident of the City of New York.
  
• If
  you reside outside of the City of New York you may
  mail the signed
  and notarized application, a photocopy of your
  proper
  identification and
  your fee of $15 by credit card or money order payable to the
  City
  Clerk.
  

Marriage
License Information

North
Carolina

State
Regulations

§ 51 1.  Requisites of
marriage;
solemnization.
A valid and sufficient marriage is
created by the consent
of a male and female person who may lawfully
marry, presently to take each
other as husband and wife, freely,
seriously and plainly expressed by each in
the presence of the other,
either:
(1)
a.
In the presence of an ordained minister of any religious
denomination,
a minister authorized by a church, or a magistrate; and

b.         With
the
consequent declaration by the minister or magistrate that the
persons
are husband and wife; or
(2)
In accordance with any mode of
solemnization recognized by any
religious denomination, or federally or State
recognized Indian
Nation or Tribe.
Marriages solemnized before March 9,
1909, by
ministers of the gospel licensed, but not ordained, are
validated
from their consummation.

Marriage
License Information

North
Dakota

State
Regulations

14-03-09. Who may
solemnize marriages.
Marriages may be solemnized by all judges
of courts
of record;
municipal judges; recorders, unless the board of
county
commissioners
designates a different official; ordained
ministers
of the gospel; priests; clergy licensed
by
recognized
denominations pursuant to chapter 10-33; and by any person
authorized
by the
rituals and practices of any
religious
persuasion.

Marriage
License Information

Ohio

State
Regulations

3101.08 Who may
solemnize marriages.
An
ordained or licensed minister of any religious
society or
congregation within this state who is licensed to
solemnize
marriages, a judge of a county court in accordance with
section
1907.18
of the Revised Code, a judge of a municipal court in
accordance with
section 1901.14
of the Revised Code, a probate judge in accordance with
section
2101.27
of the Revised Code, the mayor of a municipal corporation in
any
county in which such municipal corporation wholly or partly lies,
the
superintendent of the state school for the deaf, or any
religious
society in conformity with the rules of its church, may join
together
as husband and wife any persons who are not prohibited by law
from
being joined in marriage.

Marriage
License Information

Oklahoma

State
Regulations

§43-7.
Solemnization of marriages.

A.
All marriages must be contracted by a formal ceremony performed
or
solemnized in the presence of at least two adult, competent persons
as
witnesses, by a judge or retired judge of any court in this state,
or an
ordained or authorized preacher or minister of the Gospel,
priest or other
ecclesiastical dignitary of any denomination who has
been duly ordained or
authorized by the church to which he or she
belongs to preach the Gospel, or
a rabbi and who is at least eighteen
(18) years of age.

B.
1. The judge shall place his or her order of appointment on file
with
the office of the court clerk of the county in which he or
she
resides.
2.
The preacher,
minister, priest, rabbi, or ecclesiastical dignitary
who is a resident of
this state shall have filed, in the office of
the court clerk of the county
in which he or she resides, a copy of
the credentials or authority from his
or her church or synagogue
authorizing him or her to solemnize marriages.

3.
The preacher, minister, priest, rabbi, or ecclesiastical
dignitary
who is not a resident of this state, but has complied with the
laws
of the state of which he or she is a resident, shall have filed
once,
in the office of the court clerk of the county in which he or
she
intends to perform or solemnize a marriage, a copy of the
credentials
or authority from his or her church or synagogue authorizing him
or
her to solemnize marriages.
4.
The filing by resident
or nonresident preachers, ministers, priests,
rabbis, ecclesiastical
dignitaries or judges shall be effective in
and for all counties of this
state; provided, no fee shall be charged
for such
recording.
C.
No person herein authorized to perform or solemnize a
marriage
ceremony shall do so unless the license issued therefor be
first
delivered into his or her possession nor unless he or she has
good
reason to believe the persons presenting themselves before him or
her
for marriage are the identical persons named in the license, and
for
whose marriage the same was issued, and that there is no
legal
objection or impediment to such marriage.
D.
Marriages between
persons belonging to the society called Friends, or
Quakers, the spiritual
assembly of the Baha’is, or the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints,
which have no ordained minister,
may be solemnized by the persons and in the
manner prescribed by and
practiced in any such society, church, or
assembly.

Marriage
License Information

Oregon

State
Regulations

106.120 Who may solemnize marriage; fee;
personal
payment; records. (1) As used in this section, “judicial
officer”
means:
(a) A judicial officer of this state as that
term is defined in ORS
1.210 and includes but is not limited to a
judge of a municipal court and a
justice of the peace.
(b) An
active judge of a federal court.
(c) An
active United States
magistrate judge.
(2) Marriages may be solemnized
by:
(a) A
judicial officer;
(b) A county clerk;
(c)
Religious
congregations or organizations as indicated in ORS 106.150
(2);
or
(d) A clergyperson of any religious congregation
or
organization who is authorized by the congregation or organization
to
solemnize marriages.
(3) A person authorized to solemnize
marriages
under subsection (2) of this section may solemnize a
marriage anywhere in
this state.
(4)(a) When a marriage is
solemnized by a tax, appellate or
circuit judge of this state, the
clerk of the court or the county clerk shall
collect a fee of $25 and
deposit the fee in the Judicial Department Operating
Account
established in ORS 1.009.
(b) When a marriage is solemnized by
a
county clerk, the county clerk shall collect a fee of $25, as
provided
in ORS 205.320.
(c) The fee described in this subsection
may be collected
only if:
(A) The marriage is solemnized during
normal working hours,
excluding holidays;
(B) The marriage is
solemnized in court facilities or
a county clerk’s office;
or
(C) More than a minimal amount of staff time
or other court or
county clerk’s office resources are used in connection with
the
solemnization.
(d) The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court or
the
county clerk may establish a written procedure for waiver of the
fee
required under this subsection in exigent circumstances, including
but
not limited to indigency of the parties to the marriage.
(5)
In addition
to any fee collected under subsection (4) of this
section, a judicial officer
of this state and a county clerk may
charge and accept an agreed upon
personal payment not to exceed $100
plus actual costs for the solemnization
of a marriage if that
solemnization is performed:
(a) At a place other
than the
courthouse where the judicial officer or county clerk serves;
or
(b)
Outside of the judicial officer’s or county clerk’s
normal
working hours.
(6) The charging and accepting of a personal
payment by a
judicial officer of this state or a county clerk under
subsection (5) of this
section does not constitute a violation of any
of the provisions of ORS
chapter 244.
(7) The amount of actual
costs charged by a judicial officer
of this state or a county clerk
under subsection (5) of this section may not
exceed:
(a) Actual
expenses for food and lodging as verified by
receipts.
(b) If
travel is made by personal vehicle, the actual number of
round-trip
miles from the judicial officer’s or county clerk’s home
or
office, whichever is greater, compensated at the rate
of
reimbursement
then provided by the State of Oregon to its employees
or, if travel is made
by a commercial carrier, reimbursement shall be
made of the actual costs
thereof, verified by receipts.
(8) A
judicial officer of this state or a
county clerk shall maintain
records of the amount of personal payments
received for performing
marriages, of actual costs and the supporting
documentation related
thereto for a period of four years.
(9) The parties
to a marriage
solemnized by a tax, appellate or circuit judge of this state
shall
show to the judge proof of payment of the fee required
under
subsection (4)(a) of this section before solemnization. Except
as
provided in subsection (4)(d) of this section, the judge may
not
solemnize a marriage without proof of payment of the fee.

Marriage
License Information

Pennsylvania

State
Regulations

Note:  There are
a few counties in
Pennsylvania that have denied the validity of online
ordinations from
other churches.  Please check with the county where you
wish to
perform marriages to check on the status of this ongoing
situation.

 § 1503. Persons qualified to solemnize marriages.
 (a) General rule.--The following are authorized to solemnize
 marriages between persons that produce a marriage license issued
 under this part:
 (1) A justice, judge or magisterial district judge of
 this Commonwealth.
 (2) A former or retired justice, judge or magisterial
 district judge of this Commonwealth who is serving as a
 senior judge or senior magisterial district judge as provided
 or prescribed by law.
 (3) An active or senior judge or full-time magistrate of
 the District Courts of the United States for the Eastern,
 Middle or Western District of Pennsylvania.
 (3.1) An active, retired or senior bankruptcy judge of
 the United States Bankruptcy Courts for the Eastern, Middle
 or Western District of Pennsylvania who is a resident of this
 Commonwealth.
 (4) An active, retired or senior judge of the United
 States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit who is a
 resident of this Commonwealth.
 (5) A mayor of any city or borough of this Commonwealth.
 (6) A minister, priest or rabbi of any regularly
 established church or congregation.
 (b) Religious organizations.--Every religious society,
 religious institution or religious organization in this
 Commonwealth may join persons together in marriage when at least
 one of the persons is a member of the society, institution or
 organization, according to the rules and customs of the society,
 institution or organization.
 (c) Marriage license needed to officiate.--No person or
 religious organization qualified to perform marriages shall
 officiate at a marriage ceremony without the parties having
 obtained a marriage license issued under this part.
 (June 22, 2000, P.L.443, No.59, eff. imd.; Nov. 30, 2004,
 P.L.1618, No.207, eff. 60 days; Dec. 1, 2004, P.L.1777, No.232,
 eff. 60 days)
 2004 Amendment. Act 207 amended subsec. (a) and Act 232
 amended subsec. (a). Act 232 overlooked the amendment by Act
 207, but the amendments do not conflict in substance and have
 both been given effect in setting forth the text of subsec. (a).
 See sections 28 and 29 of Act 207 in the appendix to this title
 for special provisions relating to applicability and
 construction of law.

Marriage
License Information

Rhode
Island

State
Regulations

§ 15-3-5  Officials empowered
to join persons
in marriage. – Every ordained clergy or elder
in good standing, every justice
of the supreme court, superior court,
family court, workers’ compensation
court, district court or traffic
tribunal, the clerk of the supreme court,
every clerk or general
chief clerk of a superior court, family court,
district court, or
traffic tribunal, magistrates, special or general
magistrates of the
superior court, family court, traffic tribunal or district
court,
administrative clerks of the district court, administrators of
the
workers’ compensation court, every former justice or judge and
former
administrator of these courts and every former chief clerk of
the
district court, and every former clerk or general chief clerk of
a
superior court, the secretary of the senate, elected clerks of
the
general assembly, any former secretary of the senate or any
former
elected clerk of the general assembly who retires after July 1,
2007,
judges of the United States appointed pursuant to Article III of
the
United States Constitution, bankruptcy judges appointed pursuant
to
Article I of the United States Constitution, and United
States
magistrate judges appointed pursuant to federal law, may join
persons
in marriage in any city or town in this state; and every justice
and
every former justice of the municipal courts of the cities and
towns
in this state and of the police court of the town of Johnston
and
every probate judge and every former probate judge may join persons
in
marriage in any city or town in this state, and wardens of the
town of New
Shoreham may join persons in marriage in New
Shoreham.

Marriage
License Information

South
Carolina

State
Regulations

SECTION
20-1-20. Persons who may perform marriage
ceremony.
Only
ministers of the Gospel, Jewish rabbis, officers authorized
to
administer oaths in this State, and the chief or spiritual leader of
a
Native American Indian entity recognized by the South Carolina
Commission for
Minority Affairs pursuant to Section 1-31-40 are
authorized to administer a
marriage ceremony in this State.

Marriage
License Information

South
Dakota

State
Regulations

25-1-30.
Persons authorized to solemnize
marriages.  Marriage may be
solemnized by a justice of the
Supreme Court, a judge of the circuit court, a
magistrate, a mayor,
either within or without the corporate limits of the
municipality
from which the mayor was elected, or any person authorized by
a
church to solemnize marriages.

Marriage
License Information

Tennessee

State
Regulations

36-3-301. Persons who may solemnize marriages.
-
(a)
(1) All regular ministers, preachers, pastors, priests,
rabbis and other
spiritual leaders of every religious belief, more
than eighteen (18) years of
age, having the care of souls, and all
members of the county legislative
bodies, county mayors, judges,
chancellors, former chancellors and former
judges of this state,
former county executives or county mayors of this
state, former
members of quarterly county courts or county commissions,
the
governor, the speaker of the senate and former speakers of the
senate,
the speaker of the house of representatives and former
speakers of the house
of representatives, the county clerk of each
county and the mayor of any
municipality in the state may solemnize
the rite of matrimony. For the
purposes of this section, the several
judges of the United States courts,
including United States
magistrates and United States bankruptcy judges, who
are citizens of
Tennessee are deemed to be judges of this state. The
amendments to
this section by Acts 1987, ch. 336, which applied provisions of
this
section to certain former judges, do not apply to any judge who
has
been convicted of a felony or who has been removed from
office.
(2)
In order to solemnize the rite of matrimony, any such
minister,
preacher, pastor, priest, rabbi or other spiritual leader must
be
ordained or otherwise designated in conformity with the customs of
a
church, temple or other religious group or organization; and
such
customs must provide for such ordination or designation by
a
considered, deliberate, and responsible act.
(3) If any marriage
has
been entered into by license issued pursuant to this chapter at
which any
minister officiated before June 1, 1999, such marriage
shall not be invalid
because the requirements of the preceding
subdivision (2) have not been
met.
(b) The traditional marriage
rite of the Religious Society of Friends
(Quakers), whereby the
parties simply pledge their vows one to another in the
presence of
the congregation, constitutes an equally effective
solemnization.
(c)
Any gratuity received by a county mayor, county clerk
or municipal
mayor for the solemnization of a marriage, whether performed
during
or after such person’s regular working hours, shall be retained
by
such person as personal renumeration for such services, in addition
to
any other sources of compensation such person might receive, and
such
gratuity shall not be paid into the county general fund or the
treasury of
such municipality.
(d) If any marriage has been
entered into by license
regularly issued at which a county executive
officiated prior to April 24,
1981, such marriage shall be valid and
is hereby declared to be in full
compliance with the laws of this
state.
(e) For the purposes of this
section, “retired judges
of this state” is construed to include persons who
served as
judges of any municipal or county court in any county that
has
adopted a metropolitan form of government and persons who served
as
county judges (judges of the quarterly county court) prior to the
1978
constitutional amendments.
(f) If any marriage has been
entered into by
license regularly issued at which a retired judge of
this state officiated
prior to April 13, 1984, such marriage shall be
valid and is hereby declared
to be in full compliance with the laws
of this state.
(g) If any marriage
has been entered into by
license issued pursuant to this chapter at which a
judicial
commissioner officiated prior to March 28, 1991, such marriage
is
valid and is declared to be in full compliance with the laws of
this
state.
(h) The judge of the general sessions court of any
county,
and any former judge of any general sessions court, may solemnize
the
rite of matrimony in any county of this state. Any marriage
performed
by any judge of the general sessions court in any county of
this
state before March 16, 1994, shall be valid and declared to be
in
full compliance with the laws of this state.
(i) All
elected
officials and former officials, who are authorized to solemnize
the
rite of matrimony pursuant to the provisions of subsection (a),
may
solemnize the rite of matrimony in any county of this state.
(j)
If
any marriage has been entered into by license issued pursuant to
this chapter
at which a county mayor officiated outside such mayor’s
county prior to May
29, 1997, such marriage is valid and is declared
to be in full compliance
with the laws of this state.

Marriage
License Information

Texas

State
Regulations

Sec. 2.202.  PERSONS
AUTHORIZED TO CONDUCT
CEREMONY.  (a)  The
following persons are authorized to
conduct a marriage ceremony:

(1)  a licensed or ordained Christian minister
or
priest;
(2)  a Jewish rabbi;
(3)  a
person
who is an officer of a religious organization and who is
authorized by the
organization to conduct a marriage ceremony; and

(4)  a justice of the supreme court, judge of the
court
of criminal appeals, justice of the courts of appeals, judge of
the
district, county, and probate courts, judge of the county courts
at
law, judge of the courts of domestic relations, judge of the
juvenile
courts, retired justice or judge of those courts, justice of
the
peace, retired justice of the peace, judge of a municipal court,
or
judge or magistrate of a federal court of this state.

Marriage
License Information

Utah

State
Regulations

30-1-6.
Who may solemnize marriages —
Certificate.
(1)  Marriages may be solemnized by the following
persons
only:
(a)  ministers, rabbis, or
priests of any religious
denomination who are:

(i)  in regular communion with any religious society;
and

(ii)  18 years of age or older;

(b)  Native American spiritual advisors;

(c)  the governor;

(d)  the lieutenant governor;
(e)
mayors of
municipalities or county executives;

(f)  a justice, judge, or commissioner of a court of
record;

(g)  a judge of a court not of record of
the
state;
(h)  judges or magistrates
of the United
States;
(i)  the
county clerk of any county in the state, if the
clerk chooses to
solemnize marriages;
(j)  the
president of the
Senate;
(k)  the
speaker of the House of Representatives;
or

(l)  a judge or magistrate who holds office in Utah
when
retired, under rules set by the Supreme Court.

(2)  A person authorized under Subsection (1) who
solemnizes a
marriage shall give to the couple married a certificate of
marriage
that shows the:
(a)  name of the
county from which the
license is issued; and

(b)  date of the license’s issuance.

(3)  As used in this section:
(a)
“Judge or
magistrate of the United States” means:

(i)  a justice of the United States
Supreme
Court;
(ii)  a judge of a court of
appeals;
(iii)
a judge of a
district court;
(iv)  a judge of
any court created by
an act of Congress the judges of which are
entitled to hold office during
good behavior;

(v)  a judge of a bankruptcy court;

(vi)  a judge of a tax court; or

(vii)  a United States magistrate.

(b) (i)  “Native American spiritual advisor” means
a
person who:
(A) (I)  leads,
instructs, or facilitates a Native
American religious ceremony or
service; or
(II)
provides
religious counseling; and
(B)  is
recognized as a
spiritual advisor by a federally recognized Native
American
tribe.
(ii)  “Native
American spiritual advisor” includes a sweat
lodge leader,
medicine person, traditional religious practitioner, or holy
man or
woman.
(4)  Notwithstanding any
other provision in law, no
person authorized under Subsection (1) to
solemnize a marriage may delegate
or deputize another person to
perform the function of solemnizing a marriage,
except that only
full-time employees of the office responsible for the
issuance of
marriage licenses may be deputized.

Marriage
License Information

Vermont

State
Regulations

Note:
Vermont’s State statutes are vague when it comes to
the
requirements of the clergy.  Check with the state or county
for
clarification.  The following is found
on
USMarriageLaws.com:

Officiants: Ordained
ministers residing in
this state may perform marriages. Non-resident ordained
ministers may
perform marriages with the permission of the probate court of
the
district within which the marriage is to take place. Ministers
must
complete the marriage license and certificate of marriage and
return
it to the clerk’s office from which it was issued within ten
days
from the date of the marriage.

Marriage
License Information

Virginia

State
Regulations

§
20-23. Order authorizing ministers to perform
ceremony.
When a
minister of any religious denomination shall produce
before the
circuit court of any county or city in this Commonwealth, or
before
the judge of such court or before the clerk of such court at
any
time, proof of his ordination and of his being in regular
communion
with the religious society of which he is a reputed member, or
proof
that he holds a local minister’s license and is serving as
a
regularly appointed pastor in his denomination, such court, or the
judge
thereof, or the clerk of such court at any time, may make an
order
authorizing such minister to celebrate the rites of matrimony
in this
Commonwealth. Any order made under this section may be
rescinded at any time
by the court or by the judge thereof.

Marriage
License Information

Washington

State
Regulations

RCW
26.04.070 Form of solemnization.
In the
solemnization of marriage
no particular form is required, except that the
parties thereto shall
assent or declare in the presence of the minister,
priest, or
judicial officer solemnizing the same, and in the presence of
at
least two attending witnesses, that they take each other to be
husband
and wife.

Marriage
License Information

West
Virginia

State
Regulations

§48-2-402.
Qualifications of religious representative for
celebrating marriages;
registry of persons authorized to perform marriage
ceremonies;
special revenue fund.
(a) Beginning the first day of
September,
two thousand one, the Secretary of State shall, upon payment of
the
registration fee established by the Secretary of State pursuant
to
subsection (d) of this section, make an order authorizing a person
who
is a religious representative to celebrate the rites of marriage
in all the
counties of the state, upon proof that the person:
(1)
Is eighteen years
of age or older;
(2) Is duly authorized to
perform marriages by his or her
church, synagogue, spiritual assembly
or religious organization; and
(3)
Is in regular communion with
the church, synagogue, spiritual assembly or
religious organization
of which he or she is a member.
(b) The Secretary
of State shall
establish a central registry of persons authorized to
celebrate
marriages in this state. Every person authorized under the
provisions
of subsection (a) of this section to celebrate marriages shall
be
listed in this registry. Every county clerk shall, prior to the
first
day of October, two thousand one, transmit to the Secretary of
State
the name of every person authorized to celebrate marriages by
order
issued in his or her county since one thousand nine hundred sixty
and
the Secretary of State shall include these names in the registry.
The
completed registry and periodic updates shall be transmitted to
every
county clerk.
(c)(1) Upon written request from the
registrant,
the Secretary of State shall designate the registrant as inactive
on
the registry.
(2) Upon written notice from the governing body of
the
registrant’s authorizing body that the registrant has died or
that the
registrant’s authority to perform marriages has been
revoked, the Secretary
of State shall attempt to notify the
registrant of the change in the
registrant’s status by United States
mail addressed to the registrant’s last
known address. If the
registrant fails to provide the Secretary of State with
proof of good
standing with his or her authorizing body within thirty days,
the
registrant shall be designated on the registry as inactive.
(d)
A
fee not to exceed twenty-five dollars may be charged by the Secretary
of
State for each registration or reactivation of an individual
designated as
inactive on the registry received on or after the first
day of September, two
thousand one, and all money received shall be
deposited in a special revenue
revolving fund designated the Marriage
Celebrants Registration Fee
Administration Fund in the State Treasury
to be administered by the Secretary
of State. Expenses incurred by
the secretary in the implementation and
operation of the registry
program shall be paid from the fund.
(e) No
marriage performed by
a person authorized by law to celebrate marriages may
be invalidated
solely because the person was not listed in the registry
provided for
in this section.
(f) The Secretary of State shall
promulgate
rules to implement the provisions of this
section.

Marriage
License Information

Wisconsin

State
Regulations

765.16
Marriage contract, how made; officiating
person.
Marriage may be
validly solemnized and contracted in this
state
only after a
marriage license has been issued therefor, and
only by the
mutual
declarations of the 2 parties to be joined in marriage
that
they
take each other as husband and wife, made before
an
authorized
officiating person and in the presence of at least
2
competent
adult witnesses other than the officiating person.
The
following
are authorized to be officiating persons:
(1) Any
ordained member
of the clergy of any religious
denomination or society
who
continues to be an ordained member
of the clergy.
(2)
Any
licentiate of a denominational body or an appointee
of any
bishop
serving as the regular member of the clergy of any
church of
the
denomination to which the member of the clergy
belongs, if
not
restrained from so doing by the discipline of the
church
or
denomination.
(3) The 2 parties themselves, by mutual
declarations
that they
take each other as husband and wife, in accordance
with
the customs,
rules and regulations of any religious
society,
denomination
or sect to which either of the parties
may
belong.
(4) Any judge of a court of record or a reserve
judge
appointed
under s. 753.075.
(5) Any circuit court
commissioner
appointed under SCR
75.02 (1) or supplemental court
commissioner
appointed under s.
757.675 (1).
(6) Any municipal
court
judge.

Marriage
License Information

Wyoming

State
Regulations

20-1-106.  Who
may solemnize marriage; form of
ceremony.
(a)  Every
district or circuit court judge, district
court commissioner, supreme
court justice, magistrate and every licensed or
ordained minister of
the gospel, bishop, priest or rabbi, or other qualified
person acting
in accordance with the traditions or rites for the
solemnization of
marriage of any religion, denomination or religious society,
may
perform the ceremony of marriage in this
state.
(b)  In
the solemnization of marriage no particular form
is required, except
that the parties shall solemnly declare in the presence
of the person
performing the ceremony and at least two (2) attending
witnesses that
they take each other as husband and wife.

Marriage
License
Information

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