2004 Minnesota Statutes

CHAPTER 517. Marriage

     517.001 Definition. 

    As used in this chapter, "local registrar" has the meaning 
 given in section 144.212, subdivision 10. 

    HIST: 2004 c 273 s 2 

     517.01 Marriage a civil contract. 

    Marriage, so far as its validity in law is concerned, is a 
 civil contract between a man and a woman, to which the consent 
 of the parties, capable in law of contracting, is essential.  
 Lawful marriage may be contracted only between persons of the 
 opposite sex and only when a license has been obtained as 
 provided by law and when the marriage is contracted in the 
 presence of two witnesses and solemnized by one authorized, or 
 whom one or both of the parties in good faith believe to be 
 authorized, so to do.  Marriages subsequent to April 26, 1941, 
 not so contracted shall be null and void. 

    HIST: (8562) RL s 3552; 1941 c 459; 1977 c 441 s 1; 1978 c 772 
 s 1; 1997 c 203 art 10 s 1 

     517.02 Persons capable of contracting. 

    Every person who has attained the full age of 18 years is 
 capable in law of contracting marriage, if otherwise competent.  
 A person of the full age of 16 years may, with the consent of 
 the person's parents, guardian, or the court, as provided in 
 section 517.08, receive a license to marry, when, after a 
 careful inquiry into the facts and the surrounding 
 circumstances, the person's application for a license is 
 approved by the judge of the juvenile court of the county in 
 which the person resides.  If the judge of juvenile court of the 
 county in which the person resides is absent from the county and 
 has not by order assigned another judge or a retired judge to 
 act in the judge's stead, then the court commissioner or any 
 judge of district court of the county may approve the 
 application for a license. 

    HIST: (8563) RL s 3553; 1927 c 166; 1949 c 374 s 1; 1963 c 795 
 s 1; 1967 c 506 s 1; 1973 c 725 s 72; 1981 c 58 s 1; 1995 c 189 
 s 8; 1996 c 277 s 1 

     517.03 Prohibited marriages. 

    Subdivision 1.    General.  (a) The following marriages 
 are prohibited: 

    (1) a marriage entered into before the dissolution of an 
 earlier marriage of one of the parties becomes final, as 
 provided in section 518.145 or by the law of the jurisdiction 
 where the dissolution was granted; 

    (2) a marriage between an ancestor and a descendant, or 
 between a brother and a sister, whether the relationship is by 
 the half or the whole blood or by adoption; 

    (3) a marriage between an uncle and a niece, between an 
 aunt and a nephew, or between first cousins, whether the 
 relationship is by the half or the whole blood, except as to 
 marriages permitted by the established customs of aboriginal 
 cultures; and 

    (4) a marriage between persons of the same sex. 

    (b) A marriage entered into by persons of the same sex, 
 either under common law or statute, that is recognized by 
 another state or foreign jurisdiction is void in this state and 
 contractual rights granted by virtue of the marriage or its 
 termination are unenforceable in this state.  

    Subd. 2.    Mentally retarded persons; consent by 
 commissioner of human services.  Mentally retarded persons 
 committed to the guardianship of the commissioner of human 
 services and mentally retarded persons committed to the 
 conservatorship of the commissioner of human services in which 
 the terms of the conservatorship limit the right to marry, may 
 marry on receipt of written consent of the commissioner.  The 
 commissioner shall grant consent unless it appears from the 
 commissioner's investigation that the marriage is not in the 
 best interest of the ward or conservatee and the public.  The 
 court administrator of the district court in the county where 
 the application for a license is made by the ward or conservatee 
 shall not issue the license unless the court administrator has 
 received a signed copy of the consent of the commissioner of 
 human services. 

    HIST: (8564) RL s 3554; 1911 c 222 s 1; 1937 c 407 s 1; 1945 c 
 12 s 1; 1947 c 623 s 1; 1959 c 638 s 1; 1963 c 795 s 2; 1974 c 
 406 s 52; 1975 c 208 s 34; 1978 c 772 s 2; 1979 c 259 s 1; 1984 
 c 654 art 5 s 58; 1985 c 21 s 67; 1986 c 444; 1Sp1986 c 3 art 1 
 s 82; 1997 c 203 art 10 s 2 

     517.04 Solemnization. 

    Marriages may be solemnized throughout the state by 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. 

    HIST: (8565) RL s 3555; 1978 c 772 s 3; 1981 c 101 s 1; 1986 c 
 444; 1Sp1986 c 3 art 1 s 82; 1987 c 377 s 10; 1987 c 384 art 1 s 
 55; 1991 c 85 s 1; 1995 c 129 s 1 

     517.041 Power to appoint court commissioner; duty. 

    The county court of the combined county court district of 
 Benton and Stearns may appoint as court commissioner a person 
 who was formerly employed by that county court district as a 
 court commissioner.  

    The county court of the Third or Fifth Judicial Districts 
 may appoint as court commissioner for Brown, Dodge, Fillmore and 
 Olmsted Counties respectively a person who was formerly employed 
 by those counties as a court commissioner.  

    The sole duty of an appointed court commissioner is to 
 solemnize marriages. 

    HIST: 1982 c 499 s 1; 1983 c 136 s 1 

     517.05 Credentials of minister. 

    Ministers of any religious denomination, before they are 
 authorized to solemnize a marriage, shall file a copy of their 
 credentials of license or ordination with the court 
 administrator of the district court of a county in this state, 
 who shall record the same and give a certificate thereof.  The 
 place where the credentials are recorded shall be endorsed upon 
 and recorded with each certificate of marriage granted by a 
 minister. 

    HIST: (8566) RL s 3556; 1978 c 772 s 4; 1Sp1986 c 3 art 1 s 82 

     517.06 Parties examined. 

    Every person authorized by law to perform the marriage 
 ceremony, before solemnizing a marriage, may examine the parties 
 on oath, which oath the person is authorized to administer, as 
 to the legality of the intended marriage, and no person shall 
 solemnize a marriage unless satisfied that there is no legal 
 impediment to it. 

    HIST: (8567) RL s 3557; 1978 c 772 s 5; 1986 c 444 

     517.07 License. 

    Before any persons are joined in marriage, a license shall 
 be obtained from the local registrar of any county.  The 
 marriage need not take place in the county where the license is 
 obtained. 

    HIST: (8568) RL s 3558; 1957 c 410 s 1; 1978 c 772 s 6; 
 1Sp1986 c 3 art 1 s 82; 2004 c 273 s 3 

  517.071 Repealed, 1978 c 699 s 17 

     517.08 Application for license. 

    Subdivision 1.  Renumbered subds 1a and 1b 

    Subd. 1a.    Form.  Application for a marriage license shall be 
 made 
 upon a form provided for the purpose and shall contain the 
 following information: 

    (1) the full names of the parties and the sex of each 
 party; 

    (2) their post office addresses and county and state of 
 residence; 

    (3) their full ages; 

    (4) if either party has previously been married, the 
 party's married name, and the date, place and court in which the 
 marriage was dissolved or annulled or the date and place of 
 death of the former spouse; 

    (5) if either party is a minor, the name and address of the 
 minor's parents or guardian; 

    (6) whether the parties are related to each other, and, if 
 so, their relationship; 

    (7) the name and date of birth of any child of which both 
 parties are parents, born before the making of the application, 
 unless their parental rights and the parent and child 
 relationship with respect to the child have been terminated; 

    (8) address of the bride and groom after the marriage to 
 which the court administrator shall send a certified copy of the 
 marriage certificate; 

    (9) the full names the parties will have after marriage and 
 the parties' Social Security numbers.  The Social Security 
 numbers must be collected for the application but must not 
 appear on the marriage license; 

    (10) if one or both of the parties to the marriage license 
 has a felony conviction under Minnesota law or the law of 
 another state or federal jurisdiction, the parties shall provide 
 to the county proof of service upon the prosecuting authority 
 and, if applicable, the attorney general, as required by section 
 259.13; and 

    (11) notice that a party who has a felony conviction under 
 Minnesota law or the law of another state or federal 
 jurisdiction may not use a different surname after marriage 
 except as authorized by section 259.13, and that doing so is a 
 gross misdemeanor. 

    Subd. 1b.    Term of license; fee; premarital education. 
  (a) The local registrar shall examine upon oath the party 
 applying for a license relative to the legality of the 
 contemplated marriage.  If at the expiration of a five-day 
 period, on being 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 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.  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 the expiration of the five days.  
 Except as provided in paragraph (b), the local registrar shall 
 collect from the applicant a fee of $85 for administering the 
 oath, issuing, recording, and filing all papers required, and 
 preparing and transmitting to the state registrar of vital 
 statistics the reports of 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 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. 

    (b) The marriage license fee for parties who have completed 
 at least 12 hours of premarital education is $20.  In order to 
 qualify for the reduced fee, the parties must submit a signed 
 and dated statement from the person who provided the premarital 
 education 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 
 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.  

    (c) The statement from the person who provided the 
 premarital education under paragraph (b) 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 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 marriage license application.  Notwithstanding section 
 138.17, the educator's statement must be retained for seven 
 years, after which time it may be destroyed.  

    (d) If section 259.13 applies to the request for a marriage 
 license, the local registrar shall grant the marriage license 
 without the requested name change.  Alternatively, the local 
 registrar may delay the granting of the 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 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. 

    Subd. 1c.    Disposition of license fee.  (a) Of the 
 marriage license fee collected pursuant to subdivision 1b, 
 paragraph (a), $15 must be retained by the county.  The local 
 registrar must pay $70 to the commissioner of finance to be 
 deposited as follows: 

    (1) $50 in the general fund; 

    (2) $3 in the special revenue fund to be appropriated to 
 the commissioner of education for parenting time centers under 
 section 119A.37; 

    (3) $2 in the special revenue fund to be appropriated to 
 the commissioner of health for developing and implementing the 
 MN ENABL program under section 145.9255; 

    (4) $10 in the special revenue fund to be appropriated to 
 the commissioner of employment and economic development for the 
 displaced 
 homemaker program under section 116L.96; and 

    (5) $5 in the special revenue fund to be appropriated to 
 the commissioner of human services for the Minnesota Healthy 
 Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood Initiative under section 
 256.742. 

    (b) Of the $20 fee under subdivision 1b, paragraph (b), $15 
 must be retained by the county.  The local registrar must pay $5 
 to the commissioner of finance to be distributed as provided in 
 paragraph (a), clauses (2) and (3). 

    (c) The increase in the marriage license fee under 
 paragraph (a) provided for in Laws 2004, chapter 273, and 
 disbursement of the increase in that fee to the special fund for 
 the Minnesota Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood 
 Initiative under paragraph (a), clause (5), is contingent upon 
 the receipt of federal funding under United States Code, title 
 42, section 1315, for purposes of the initiative. 

    Subd. 2.  Repealed, 1978 c 699 s 17 

    Subd. 3.  Repealed, 1978 c 699 s 17 

    Subd. 4.    Report.  The local registrar of each county 
 shall annually report to the Department of Health the number of 
 marriage licenses issued in the county for which the fee in 
 subdivision 1b, paragraph (a), was paid and the number for which 
 the fee in subdivision 1b, paragraph (b), was paid. 

    HIST: (8569) RL s 3559; 1931 c 401 s 1; 1939 c 243 s 1; 1949 c 
 374 s 1; 1951 c 700 s 1; 1955 c 762 s 1; 1957 c 886 s 1; 1963 c 
 795 s 3; 1969 c 1145 s 3; 1973 c 725 s 73; 1975 c 52 s 3; 1977 c 
 441 s 2,3; 1978 c 674 s 42; 1978 c 730 s 2; 1978 c 772 s 7; 1981 
 c 360 art 2 s 43,44; 1983 c 262 art 1 s 6; 1983 c 312 art 3 s 
 3,4; 1984 c 654 art 5 s 54; 1Sp1985 c 9 art 2 s 95,96; 1Sp1985 c 
 14 art 9 s 75; 1986 c 444; 1Sp1986 c 3 art 1 s 82; 1989 c 282 
 art 2 s 187; 1989 c 335 art 4 s 98; 1992 c 464 art 1 s 47; 1995 
 c 257 art 4 s 11,12; 1997 c 162 art 2 s 26; 1997 c 203 art 5 s 
 37; art 6 s 34; art 10 s 3; 1998 c 254 art 2 s 59; 2000 c 311 
 art 3 s 4,5; 2000 c 444 art 2 s 14; 2001 c 7 s 84; 1Sp2001 c 10 
 art 2 s 81,82; 2003 c 112 art 2 s 50; 2003 c 128 art 12 s 3,4; 
 2003 c 130 s 12; 2004 c 206 s 52; 2004 c 273 s 4-6 

     517.09 Solemnization. 

    No particular form is required to solemnize a marriage, 
 except:  the parties shall declare in the presence of a person 
 authorized to solemnize marriages and two attending witnesses 
 that they take each other as husband and wife; or the marriage 
 shall be solemnized in a manner provided by section 517.18. 

    HIST: (8570) RL s 3560; 1945 c 409 s 1-3; 1951 c 255 s 1; 1951 
 c 700 s 2; 1978 c 772 s 9 

     517.10 Certificate; witnesses. 

    The person solemnizing a marriage shall prepare and sign 
 three certificates thereof.  Each certificate shall contain the 
 full names before and after marriage and county and state of 
 residences of the parties and the date and place of the 
 marriage.  Each certificate shall also contain the signatures of 
 at least two of the witnesses present at the marriage who shall 
 be at least 16 years of age.  The person solemnizing the 
 marriage shall give each of the parties one such certificate, 
 and shall immediately make a record of such marriage, and file 
 one such certificate with the local registrar of the district 
 court of the county in which the license was issued within five 
 days after the ceremony.  The local registrar shall record such 
 certificate in a book kept for that purpose. 

    HIST: (8571) RL s 3561; 1949 c 374 s 3; 1951 c 700 s 3; 1977 c 
 441 s 5; 1986 c 444; 1Sp1986 c 3 art 1 s 82; 2004 c 273 s 7 

     517.101 Certified copies of marriage certificate. 

    Within ten days of receipt of the certificate and after 
 recording the certificate the local registrar shall prepare a 
 certified copy of the certificate to be mailed to the married 
 parties.  The person solemnizing the marriage shall indicate at 
 the time of filing the certificate with the local registrar that 
 the person wishes to receive a copy. 

    HIST: 1977 c 441 s 4; 1986 c 444; 1Sp1986 c 3 art 1 s 82; 1991 
 c 281 s 2 

  517.11 Repealed, 1951 c 700 s 5 

  517.12 Repealed, 1951 c 700 s 5 

     517.13 Penalty for failure to deliver and file 
  certificate. 

    Every person solemnizing a marriage who neglects to deliver 
 to the local registrar a certificate within the time set forth 
 in section 517.10 shall forfeit a sum not exceeding $100, and 
 every local registrar who neglects to record a certificate shall 
 forfeit a like sum. 

    HIST: (8574) RL s 3563; 1978 c 772 s 10; 1Sp1986 c 3 art 1 s 
 82; 2004 c 273 s 8 

     517.14 Illegal marriage; false certificate; penalty. 

    A person authorized by law to solemnize marriages who 
 knowingly solemnizes a marriage contrary to the provisions of 
 this chapter, or knowing of any legal impediment to the proposed 
 marriage, or who willfully makes a false certificate of any 
 marriage or pretended marriage is guilty of a misdemeanor. 

    HIST: (8575) RL s 3564; 1978 c 772 s 11 

     517.15 Unauthorized person performing ceremony. 

    A person who knowingly undertakes to solemnize a marriage, 
 without lawful authority to do so, is guilty of a misdemeanor. 

    HIST: (8576) RL s 3565; 1978 c 772 s 12; 1986 c 444 

     517.16 Immaterial irregularity of officiating person 
  does not void. 

    A marriage solemnized before a person professing to be 
 lawfully authorized to do so shall not be adjudged to be void, 
 nor shall its validity be in any way affected, on account of a 
 want of jurisdiction or authority in the supposed officer or 
 person, if the marriage is consummated with the full belief on 
 the part of the persons so married, or either of them, that they 
 have been lawfully joined in marriage. 

    HIST: (8577) RL s 3566; 1978 c 772 s 13 

  517.17 Repealed, 1978 c 772 s 63 

     517.18 Marriage solemnization. 

    Subdivision 1.    Friends or Quakers.  All marriages solemnized 
 among the people 
 called Friends or Quakers, in the form heretofore practiced and 
 in use in their meetings, shall be valid and not affected by any 
 of the foregoing provisions.  The clerk of the meeting in which 
 such marriage is solemnized, within one month after any such 
 marriage, shall deliver a certificate of the same to the local 
 registrar of the county where the marriage took place, under 
 penalty of not more than $100.  Such certificate shall be filed 
 and recorded by the court administrator under a like penalty.  
 If such marriage does not take place in such meeting, such 
 certificate shall be signed by the parties and at least six 
 witnesses present, and shall be filed and recorded as above 
 provided under a like penalty. 

    Subd. 2.    Baha'i.  Marriages may be solemnized among members 
 of the 
 Baha'i faith by the chair of an incorporated local Spiritual 
 Assembly of the Baha'is, according to the form and usage of such 
 society. 

    Subd. 3.    Hindus; Muslims.  Marriages may be solemnized among 
 Hindus or 
 Muslims by the person chosen by a local Hindu or Muslim 
 association, according to the form and usage of their respective 
 religions. 

    Subd. 4.    American Indians.  Marriages may be solemnized among 
 American 
 Indians according to the form and usage of their religion by an 
 Indian Mide' or holy person chosen by the parties to the 
 marriage. 

    Subd. 5.    Construction of section.  Nothing in subdivisions 2 
 to 4 shall be construed 
 to alter the requirements of section 517.01, 517.09 or 517.10. 

    HIST: (8578) RL s 3567; 1947 c 66 s 1; 1967 c 247 s 1; 1976 c 
 11 s 1; 1979 c 243 s 12; 1986 c 444; 1Sp1986 c 3 art 1 s 82; 
 2004 c 273 s 9 

  517.19 Repealed, 1980 c 589 s 38 

     517.20 Application. 

    Except as provided in section 517.03, subdivision 1, 
 paragraph (b), all marriages contracted within this state prior 
 to March 1, 1979 or outside this state that were valid at the 
 time of the contract or subsequently validated by the laws of 
 the place in which they were contracted or by the domicile of 
 the parties are valid in this state. 

    HIST: 1978 c 772 s 15; 1997 c 203 art 10 s 4 

     517.21 American family day. 

    The first Sunday in August is designated American family 
 day. 

    HIST: 1981 c 111 s 1