Marriage license: Difference between revisions

 

==Australia ==

In [[Australia]], there is no requirement to obtain a marriage license. However, a person under the age of 18 requires the authorisation of a judge to marry. Couples must provide their marriage celebrant with a Notice of Intended Marriage at least one month and up to 18 months before a wedding.<ref>[https://www.ag.gov.au/FamiliesAndMarriage/Marriage/Pages/Getting-married.aspx Getting married]</ref>

 

==United Kingdom==

 

===England and Wales===

A requirement for [[banns of marriage]] was introduced to [[England and Wales]] by the Church in 1215. This required a public announcement of a forthcoming marriage, in the couple's [[parish church]], for three Sundays prior to the wedding and gave an opportunity for any objections to the marriage to be voiced (for example, that one of the parties was already married or that the couple was related within a prohibited degree), but a failure to call banns did not affect the validity of the marriage.

 

 

 

[[Marriage Act 1753|Hardwicke's Marriage Act 1753]] affirmed this existing ecclesiastical law and built it into statutory law. From this date, a marriage was only legally valid, if it followed the calling of banns in church or the obtaining of a licence—the only exceptions being [[Judaism|Jewish]] and [[Religious Society of Friends|Quaker]] marriages, whose legality was also recognised. From the date of Lord Hardwicke's Marriage Act up to 1837, the ceremony was required to be performed in a consecrated building.

Marriages in Scotland normally require between 2 and 6 weeks' notice to the district registrar depending on the previous marital status and other procedural matters usually involving the country of residence and the nationality of the parties. Marriages with less than the normal amount of notice require the permission of the Registrar General.

 

In the United States, until the mid-19th century, [[common-law marriage]]s were recognized as valid, but thereafter some states began to invalidate common-law marriages. Common-law marriages, if recognized by law, are valid, notwithstanding the absence of a marriage license; this becomes an issue in the settlement of decedents' estates. North Carolina and Tennessee (which was originally western North Carolina) never recognized marriage at the common law as valid without a license unless entered into in other states. They have always recognized otherwise valid marriages (except bigamous, polygamous, interracial, or same-sex) entered into in conformity with the law of other states, territories and nations.{{Citation needed|date=June 2017}}

 

 

Marriage licenses in the United States fall under the jurisdiction of the state in which the ceremony is performed; however, the marriage is generally recognized across the country. The state in which they are married holds the record of that marriage. Traditionally, working with law enforcement was the only means of searching and accessing marriage license information across state lines.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.marriage-licences.com/|title=Marriage Records Records Retrieval|access-date=2011-09-05|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120125092827/http://www.marriage-licences.com/|archive-date=2012-01-25}}</ref>

 

===Controversy in the U.S.===

Marriage licenses have also been the subject of controversy for affected [[minority group]]s. California's [[California Proposition 8 (2008)|Proposition 8]] has been the subject of heavy criticism by advocates of [[same-sex marriage]],<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://features.csmonitor.com/politics/2009/09/26/same-sex-marriage-activists-seek-repeal-of-californias-prop-8/|title=Same-sex marriage activists seek repeal of California's Prop. 8|author=The Christian Science Monitor|journal=The Christian Science Monitor|date=September 26, 2009}}</ref> including the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender ([[LGBT]]) community whose ability to marry is often limited by the aforementioned state intervention. This changed on June 26, 2015, with the Supreme Court decision in ''[[Obergefell v. Hodges]]''. However, the state and federal intervention still continues to limit the ability of members of other minority religious groups from marrying according to the dictates of their religious tenets, as is the case with Islamic [[polygamy]], for example. Polyamorous and polyandrous marriages are, likewise, still prohibited.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90857818|title=Some Muslims in U.S. Quietly Engage in Polygamy|date=27 May 2008|work=NPR.org}}</ref>

 

In the state of [[Pennsylvania]], [[self-uniting marriage]] licenses are available which require only the signatures of the bride and groom and witnesses. Although this is an accommodation for a [[Quaker wedding]], any couple is able to apply for it.

 

 

== Mexico ==