1st Engrossment - 89th Legislature (2015 - 2016) Posted on 06/02/2016 10:49am
A bill for an act
relating to marriage; eliminating waiting period for issuance of a marriage license;
amending Minnesota Statutes 2015 Supplement, section 517.08, subdivision 1b.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
Minnesota Statutes 2015 Supplement, section 517.08, subdivision 1b,
is amended to read:
(a) The local registrar
shall examine upon oath the parties applying for a license relative to the legality of the
contemplated civil marriage. If one party is unable to appear in person, the party appearing
may complete the absent applicant's information. The local registrar shall provide a copy
of the civil marriage application to the party who is unable to appear, who must verify the
accuracy of the appearing party's information in a notarized statement. The civil marriage
license must not be released until the verification statement has been received by the local
registrar. If deleted text begin at the expiration of a five-day period, on beingdeleted text end new text begin the local registrar is new text end satisfied
that there is no legal impediment to it, including the restriction contained in section
259.13, the local registrar shall issue the license, containing the full names of the parties
before and after the civil marriage, and county and state of residence, with the county seal
attached, and make a record of the date of issuance. The license shall be valid for a period
of six months. Except as provided in paragraph deleted text begin (c)deleted text end new text begin (b)new text end , the local registrar shall collect
from the applicant a fee of $115 for administering the oath, issuing, recording, and filing
all papers required, and preparing and transmitting to the state registrar of vital records
the reports of civil marriage required by this section. If the license should not be used
within the period of six months due to illness or other extenuating circumstances, it may
be surrendered to the local registrar for cancellation, and in that case a new license shall
issue upon request of the parties of the original license without fee. A local registrar who
knowingly issues or signs a civil marriage license in any manner other than as provided in
this section shall pay to the parties aggrieved an amount not to exceed $1,000.
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(b) In case of emergency or extraordinary circumstances, a judge of the district court
of the county in which the application is made may authorize the license to be issued at
any time before expiration of the five-day period required under paragraph (a). A waiver
of the five-day waiting period must be in the following form:
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STATE OF MINNESOTA, COUNTY OF .................... (insert county name)
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APPLICATION FOR WAIVER OF CIVIL MARRIAGE LICENSE WAITING
PERIOD:
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................................................................................. (legal names of the applicants)
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Represent and state as follows:
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That on ......................... (date of application) the applicants applied to the local
registrar of the above-named county for a license to marry.
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That it is necessary that the license be issued before the expiration of five days
from the date of the application by reason of the following: (insert reason for requesting
waiver of waiting period)
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WHEREAS, the applicants request that the judge waive the required five-day
waiting period and the local registrar be authorized and directed to issue the civil marriage
license immediately.
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Date: .............................
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.......................................................................................
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.......................................................................................
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(Signatures of applicants)
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Acknowledged before me on this ....... day of .................... .
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..........................................
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NOTARY PUBLIC
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COURT ORDER AND AUTHORIZATION:
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STATE OF MINNESOTA, COUNTY OF .................... (insert county name)
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After reviewing the above application, I am satisfied that an emergency or
extraordinary circumstance exists that justifies the issuance of the civil marriage license
before the expiration of five days from the date of the application. IT IS HEREBY
ORDERED that the local registrar is authorized and directed to issue the license forthwith.
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.....................................................
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................................ (judge of district court)
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................................ (date).
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deleted text begin (c)deleted text end new text begin (b)new text end The civil marriage license fee for parties who have completed at least 12
hours of premarital education is $40. In order to qualify for the reduced license fee, the
parties must submit at the time of applying for the civil marriage license a statement that is
signed, dated, and notarized or marked with a church seal from the person who provided
the premarital education on their letterhead confirming that it was received. The premarital
education must be provided by a licensed or ordained minister or the minister's designee,
a person authorized to solemnize civil marriages under section 517.18, or a person
authorized to practice marriage and family therapy under section 148B.33. The education
must include the use of a premarital inventory and the teaching of communication and
conflict management skills.
deleted text begin (d)deleted text end new text begin (c)new text end The statement from the person who provided the premarital education under
paragraph deleted text begin (c)deleted text end new text begin (b)new text end must be in the following form:
"I, .......................... (name of educator), confirm that .......................... (names of
both parties) received at least 12 hours of premarital education that included the use of a
premarital inventory and the teaching of communication and conflict management skills. I
am a licensed or ordained minister, a person authorized to solemnize civil marriages under
Minnesota Statutes, section 517.18, or a person licensed to practice marriage and family
therapy under Minnesota Statutes, section 148B.33."
The names of the parties in the educator's statement must be identical to the
legal names of the parties as they appear in the civil marriage license application.
Notwithstanding section 138.17, the educator's statement must be retained for seven
years, after which time it may be destroyed.
(e) If section 259.13 applies to the request for a civil marriage license, the local
registrar shall grant the civil marriage license without the requested name change.
Alternatively, the local registrar may delay the granting of the civil marriage license
until the party with the conviction:
(1) certifies under oath that 30 days have passed since service of the notice for a
name change upon the prosecuting authority and, if applicable, the attorney general and no
objection has been filed under section 259.13; or
(2) provides a certified copy of the court order granting it. The parties seeking the
civil marriage license shall have the right to choose to have the license granted without the
name change or to delay its granting pending further action on the name change request.