Minnesota Wedding Laws

Minn. Stat. § 517.05 CREDENTIALS OF MINISTER.

Ministers of any religious denomination, before they are authorized to solemnize a civil marriage, shall file a copy of their credentials of license or ordination or, if their religious denomination does not issue credentials, authority from the minister's spiritual assembly, with the local registrar of a county in this state, who shall record the same and give a certificate of filing thereof. The place where the credentials are recorded shall be endorsed upon and recorded with each certificate of civil marriage granted by a minister.

Minn. Stat. § 517.09 SOLEMNIZATION.

Subdivision 1.General. No particular form is required to solemnize a civil marriage, except: the parties shall declare in the presence of a person authorized to solemnize civil marriages and two attending witnesses that each takes the other as husband, wife, or spouse; or the civil marriage shall be solemnized in a manner provided by section 517.18.

Minn. Stat. § 517.10 CERTIFICATE; WITNESSES.

The person solemnizing a civil marriage shall prepare and sign a certificate. The certificate shall contain the full names of the parties before and after the civil marriage, the birth dates of the parties, and county and state of residences of the parties and the date and place of the civil marriage. The certificate shall also contain the signatures of at least two of the witnesses present at the civil marriage who shall be at least 16 years of age. The person solemnizing the civil marriage shall immediately make a record of such civil marriage, and file such certificate with the local registrar of the county in which the license was issued within five days after the ceremony. The local registrar shall record such certificate in the county civil marriage records.

Minn. Stat. § 517.08 APPLICATION FOR LICENSE.

Subdivision 1. [Renumbered subds 1a and 1b]

Subd. 1a.Form. Application for a civil marriage license shall be made by both of the parties 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 civil 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 address of the parties after the civil marriage is entered into to which the local registrar shall send a certified copy of the civil marriage certificate;

(8) the full names the parties will have after the civil marriage is entered into and the parties' Social Security numbers. The Social Security numbers must be collected for the application but must not appear on the civil marriage license. If a party listed on a civil marriage application does not have a Social Security number, the party must certify on the application, or a supplement to the application, that the party does not have a Social Security number;

(9) if one or both of the parties to the civil 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

(10) 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 name after a civil 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 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 the local registrar is 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 (b), 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.

(b) 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.

Minn. Stat. § 517.08 APPLICATION FOR LICENSE.

Subdivision 1. [Renumbered subds 1a and 1b]

Subd. 1b.Term of license; fee; premarital education. (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 the local registrar is 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.