Applying for a Mariage License in Texas

MARRIAGE LICENSE (a) A man and a woman desiring to enter into a ceremonial marriage must obtain a marriage license from the county clerk of any county of this state. (b) A license may not be issued for the marriage of persons of the same sex. APPLICATION FOR LICENSE. .... each person applying for a license must: (1) appear before the county clerk; (2) submit the person's proof of identity and age as provided by this subchapter; (3) provide the information applicable to that person for which spaces are provided in the application for a marriage license; (4) mark the appropriate boxes provided in the application; and (5) take the oath printed on the application and sign the application before the county clerk. APPLICATION FOR LICENSE BY MINOR. In addition to the other requirements provided by this chapter, a person under 18 years of age applying for a license must provide to the county clerk: (1) documents establishing, as provided by Section 2.102, parental consent for the person to the marriage; (2) documents establishing that a prior marriage of the person has been dissolved; or (3) a court order granted under Section 2.103 authorizing the marriage of the person. APPLICATION FORM. (a) The county clerk shall furnish the application form as prescribed by the bureau of vital statistics. (b) The application form must contain: (1) a heading entitled "Application for Marriage License, ___ County, Texas"; (2) spaces for each applicant's full name, including the woman's maiden surname, address, social security number, if any, date of birth, and place of birth, including city, county, and state; (3) a space for indicating the document tendered by each applicant as proof of identity and age; (4) spaces for indicating whether each applicant has been divorced within the last 30 days; (5) printed boxes for each applicant to check "true" or "false" in response to the following statement: MY COMMENT: NO MORE KISSIN' COUSINS IN TEXAS! "I am not presently married and the other applicant is not presently married."; (6) printed boxes for each applicant to check "true" or "false" in response to the following statement: "The other applicant is not related to me as: (A) an ancestor or descendant, by blood or adoption; (B) a brother or sister, of the whole or half blood or by adoption; (C) a parent's brother or sister, of the whole or half blood or by adoption; (D) a son or daughter of a brother or sister, of the whole or half blood or by adoption; (E) a current or former stepchild or stepparent; or (F) a son or daughter of a parent's brother or sister, of the whole or half blood or by adoption."; (7) printed boxes for each applicant to check "true" or "false" in response to the following statement: "I am not presently delinquent in the payment of court-ordered child support."; (8) a printed oath reading: "I SOLEMNLY SWEAR (OR AFFIRM) THAT THE INFORMATION I HAVE GIVEN IN THIS APPLICATION IS CORRECT."; (9) spaces immediately below the printed oath for the applicants' signatures; (10) a certificate of the county clerk that: (A) each applicant made the oath and the date and place that it was made; or (B) an applicant did not appear personally but the prerequisites for the license have been fulfilled as provided by this chapter; (11) spaces for indicating the date of the marriage and the county in which the marriage is performed; and (12) a space for the address to which the applicants desire the completed license to be mailed. (c) An applicant commits an offense if the applicant knowingly provides false information under Subsection (b)(1), (2), (3), or (4). An offense under this subsection is a Class C misdemeanor. (d) An applicant commits an offense if the applicant knowingly provides false information under Subsection (b)(5) or (6). An offense under this subsection is a Class A misdemeanor. PROOF OF IDENTITY AND AGE. (a) The county clerk shall require proof of the identity and age of each applicant. (b) The proof must be established by a certified copy of the applicant's birth certificate or by some certificate, license, or document issued by this state or another state, the United States, or a foreign government. (c) A person commits an offense if the person knowingly provides false, fraudulent, or otherwise inaccurate proof of an applicant's identity or age under this section. An offense under this subsection is a Class A misdemeanor. ABSENT APPLICANT. (a) If an applicant is unable to appear personally before the county clerk to apply for a marriage license, any adult person or the other applicant may apply on behalf of the absent applicant. (b) The person applying on behalf of an absent applicant shall provide to the clerk: (1) the affidavit of the absent applicant as provided by this subchapter; (2) proof of the identity and age of the absent applicant as provided by this subchapter; and (3) if required because the absent applicant is a person under 18 years of age, the documents establishing parental consent, documents establishing that a prior marriage has been dissolved, or a court order authorizing the marriage of the absent, underage applicant. (c) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), the clerk may not issue a marriage license for which both applicants are absent unless the person applying on behalf of each absent applicant provides to the clerk an affidavit of the applicant declaring that the applicant is: (1) on active duty as a member of the armed forces of the United States or the state military forces; or (2) confined in a correctional facility, as defined by Section 1.07, Penal Code. AFFIDAVIT OF ABSENT APPLICANT. The affidavit of an absent applicant must include: (1) the absent applicant's full name, including the maiden surname of a female applicant, address, date of birth, place of birth, including city, county, and state, citizenship, and social security number, if any; (2) a declaration that the absent applicant has not been divorced within the last 30 days; (3) a declaration that the absent applicant is: (A) not presently married; or (B) married to the other applicant and they wish to marry again; (4) a declaration that the other applicant is not presently married and is not related to the absent applicant as: (A) an ancestor or descendant, by blood or adoption; (B) a brother or sister, of the whole or half blood or by adoption; (C) a parent's brother or sister, of the whole or half blood or by adoption; (D) a son or daughter of a brother or sister, of the whole or half blood or by adoption; (E) a current or former stepchild or stepparent; or (F) a son or daughter of a parent's brother or sister, of the whole or half blood or by adoption; (5) a declaration that the absent applicant desires to marry and the name, age, and address of the person to whom the absent applicant desires to be married; (6) the approximate date on which the marriage is to occur; (7) the reason the absent applicant is unable to appear personally before the county clerk for the issuance of the license; and (8) if the absent applicant will be unable to attend the ceremony, the appointment of any adult, other than the other applicant, to act as proxy for the purpose of participating in the ceremony. EXECUTION OF APPLICATION BY CLERK. (a) The county clerk shall: (1) determine that all necessary information, other than the date of the marriage ceremony, the county in which the ceremony is conducted, and the name of the person who performs the ceremony, is recorded on the application and that all necessary documents are submitted; (2) administer the oath to each applicant appearing before the clerk; (3) have each applicant appearing before the clerk sign the application in the clerk's presence; and (4) execute the clerk's certificate on the application. (b) A person appearing before the clerk on behalf of an absent applicant is not required to take the oath on behalf of the absent applicant. ISSUANCE OF LICENSE. (a) Except as provided by Subsections (b) and (d), the county clerk may not issue a license if either applicant: (1) fails to provide the information required by this subchapter; (2) fails to submit proof of age and identity; (3) is under 16 years of age and has not been granted a court order as provided by Section 2.103; (4) is 16 years of age or older but under 18 years of age and has not presented at least one of the following: (A) parental consent as provided by Section 2.102; (B) documents establishing that a prior marriage of the applicant has been dissolved; or (C) a court order as provided by Section 2.103; (5) checks "false" in response to a statement in the application, except as provided by Subsection (b) or (d), or fails to make a required declaration in an affidavit required of an absent applicant; or (6) indicates that the applicant has been divorced by a decree of a court of this state within the last 30 days, unless: (A) the applicants were divorced from each other; or (B) the prohibition against remarriage is waived as provided by Section 6.802. (b) If an applicant checks "false" in response to the statement "I am not presently married and the other applicant is not presently married," the county clerk shall inquire as to whether the applicant is presently married to the other applicant. If the applicant states that the applicant is currently married to the other applicant, the county clerk shall record that statement on the license before the administration of the oath. The county clerk may not refuse to issue a license on the ground that the applicants are already married to each other. (c) On the proper execution of the application, the clerk shall: (1) prepare the license; (2) enter on the license the names of the licensees, the date that the license is issued, and, if applicable, the name of the person appointed to act as proxy for an absent applicant, if any; (3) record the time at which the license was issued; (4) distribute to each applicant printed materials about acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and note on the license that the distribution was made; and (5) distribute to each applicant a premarital education handbook provided by the attorney general under Section 2.014. (d) The county clerk may not refuse to issue a license to an applicant on the ground that the applicant checked "false" in response to the statement "I am not presently delinquent in the payment of court-ordered child support." AIDS INFORMATION. Materials providing information about acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) shall be prepared and provided to the clerk by the Texas Department of Health and shall be designed to inform the applicants about: (1) the incidence and mode of transmission of AIDS and HIV; (2) the local availability of medical procedures, including voluntary testing, designed to show or help show whether a person has AIDS or HIV infection, antibodies to HIV, or infection with any other probable causative agent of AIDS; and (3) available and appropriate counseling services regarding AIDS and HIV infection. RECORDING. The county clerk shall record all licenses issued by the clerk and all documents submitted with an application for a license or note a summary of the documents on the application. VIOLATION BY COUNTY CLERK; PENALTY. A county clerk or deputy county clerk who violates or fails to comply with this subchapter commits an offense. An offense under this section is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less than $200 and not more than $500. PREMARITAL EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS; WAIVER. (a) Each person applying for a marriage license is encouraged to attend a premarital education course of at least four hours during the year preceding the date of the application for the license. (b) The course under Subsection (a) may be completed by: (1) personal instruction; (2) videotape instruction; (3) instruction through an electronic medium; or (4) a combination of these methods. (c) A premarital education course should include instruction in: (1) conflict management; (2) communication skills; (3) children and parenting responsibilities; and(4) financial responsibilities. (d) A course under this section should be offered by: (1) a mental health professional who holds at least a master's degree with a background in family therapy; or (2) a religious practitioner who performs counseling consistent with the laws of this state or another person designated as a program counselor by a church or religious institution. (e) Each county clerk may maintain a roster of area course providers who meet the requirements of this section, including providers who offer the course on a sliding scale or without charge. The clerk may provide a copy of the roster on request to an applicant for a marriage license. (f) An applicant for a marriage license who takes a course under this section shall pay any fee charged for the course. (g) A person who seeks to be listed as a course provider on a list maintained under Subsection (e) shall notify the county clerk of the county in which the person intends to offer a course. The notification must include the applicant's professional license number or evidence of the person's position or affiliation with a church or religious institution, as appropriate, and an address at which the course provider may be contacted. FAMILY TRUST FUND. (a) The family trust fund is created as a trust fund with the state comptroller and shall be administered by the attorney general for the beneficiaries of the fund. (b) Money in the trust fund is derived from depositing $3 of each marriage license fee as authorized under Section 118.018(c), Local Government Code, and may be used only for: (1) the development and distribution of a premarital education handbook; (2) grants to institutions of higher education having academic departments that are capable of research on marriage and divorce that will assist in determining programs, courses, and policies to help strengthen families and assist children whose parents are divorcing; (3) support for counties to create or administer free or low-cost premarital education courses; (4) programs intended to reduce the amount of delinquent child support; and (5) other programs the attorney general determines will assist families in this state. (c) The premarital education handbook under Subsection (b)(1) shall be distributed to each applicant for a marriage license as provided by Section 2.009(c)(5) and shall contain information on: (1) conflict management; (2) communication skills; (3) children and parenting responsibilities; and (4) financial responsibilities. (d) The attorney general shall appoint an advisory committee to assist in the development of the premarital education handbook. The advisory committee shall consist of nine members, including at least three members who are eligible under Section 2.013(d) to provide a premarital education course. A member of the advisory committee is not entitled to reimbursement of the member's expenses.