County Clerk Marriage Update

Derek Johnson, Field Services

Vital Statistics Unit

2009 Vital StatisticsAccomplishments

• Revision of the Marriage Handbook for County Clerks (Found at TexasVSU.org)

• Texas Electronic Registrar (TER) – Marriage

• Provide Applicants Application for Marriage License

• Require proof of identity and age

• Distribute AIDS/HIV materials

• Administer the oath

• Issue marriage license

• Record all applications in TER

County Clerk Responsibilities

Application Form

Each Applicant must:

• Indicate they are not related to the other Applicant

• Indicate that neither Applicant is presently married

• Provide their social security numbers, if any• Indicate they have not been divorced within

the last 30 days• Answer the question concerning delinquent

child support

Proof of Age & Identity

• Applicant must provide a valid, current, and correct document issued by Texas, another state, the US government or a foreign government that establishes identification and age

• Document must identify the applicant’s name and date of birth

• Names should be recorded on the application and license as they appear on document accepted

Underage Applicant

• No approval or consent is required for 18 year olds and older

• Judicial approval OR parental consent is required for 16 or 17 year olds

• Judicial consent is required for Applicants 16 years or younger

Same Sex Marriages

Persons of the same sex may not get married

Absent Applicant

• Applicants unable to appear before the county clerk to obtain a marriage license may allow any adult person or the other applicant to apply on their behalf

• At least one Applicant must be present unless each Applicant provides an affidavit stating:– On active military duty – Confined to a correctional facility

Place Of Ceremony

• Marriage ceremony does not have to take place in Texas

• Ceremony may take place in another state, another country, or in international waters

Marriage License• 72-hour waiting period unless Applicant:

– Is on active duty as a member of the US armed forces

– Is not a member of the US armed forces but works for the US Department of Defense as an employee or under a contract

– Obtains a written waiver – court– Applicants attended Twogether training

• Marriage license only valid for 30 days

Persons Authorized to Conduct Ceremony

• Licensed or ordained Christian minister or priest

• Jewish Rabbi

• Officer of religious organization authorized to conduct marriage ceremonies, or

• Various judges – both active and retired

Marriage By Proxy

An Absent Applicant who is unable to appear for the ceremony may assent to marriage by the appearance of a Proxy appointed in their affidavit

Processing the License and Application

• Person who conducts the ceremony must the license to the issuing County Clerk within 30 days after the ceremony

• County Clerk shall print and mail the license to the address on the application

• County Clerk shall mail completed “Application for Marriage License” to VSU after the marriage is recorded

Informal & Common-Law Marriage

• Legal in Texas• The parties may register their informal

marriage by filing a “Declaration and Registration of Informal Marriage” with the County Clerk (or not)

• For common-law marriages, Texas Family Code does not require a couple to live together for specified time period or own property together

Proof of Informal Marriage

• Both parties must be at least 18 years of age or older• Evidence of informal marriage:

– Signed “Declaration and Registration of Informal Marriage”

– Agreement that the parties agreed to be married, after the agreement lived together in this state, and represented themselves to others that they were married

Texas Electronic Registrar (TER)

TER is a web-based system designed to assist the counties and state in filing and recording marriages licenses throughout the state of Texas

What Is TER?

Features• Locally installed

• Visual cueing

• Type-Tab Data Entry

• Entry Verification

Hardware Specifications

• 1.0 gigabyte processor speed or faster with 512MB of RAM or more• Adobe Acrobat Reader• Pentium 4 or equivalent• Windows XP Operating System• Web browser with Flash Player (7.0 or greater)• Internet access at 56K or better• monitor should be set at 1024 x 768 resolution

Uses• Conduct Searches

– Twogether Search– State Search– County Search

• Adding New Records• Printing Applications and

Licenses

A Look Inside TER Marriage

Steps Towards Implementation

• Software Testing

• Quick Reference Guide

• Pilot Program

Our Goal:

Full use of TER for processing marriage applications and licenses!

For Questions About Marriage License Issuance

• Reference the Texas Family Code, Chapters 1 & 2

• TexasVSU.org

• Contact your Texas Vital Statistics Area Representative

• Contact another County Clerk Office

• Contact your County Attorney