CODE TITLE IV HUSBAND AND WIFE

CHAPTER 1. MARRIAGE: GENERAL PRINCIPLES

PART I. OFFICIANTS

9:201. Definition

An officiant is a person authorized by law to perform marriage ceremonies.

9:202. Authority to perform marriage ceremony

A marriage ceremony may be performed by:

(1) A priest, minister, rabbi, clerk of the Religious Society of Friends, or any clergyman of any religious sect, who is authorized by the authorities of his religion to perform marriages, and who is registered to perform marriages;

(2) A judge or justice of the peace.

9:202.1. [Repealed by Acts 1987 RS, No. 886.]

9:203. Officiant; judges and justices of the peace

A. Judges and justices of the peace may perform marriage ceremonies within the following territorial limits:

(1) A justice of the supreme court within the state;

(2) A judge of a court of appeals within the circuit;

(3) A judge of a district court within the district;

(4) A judge of a family court, juvenile court, parish court, city court, or, in Orleans Parish, a municipal or traffic court, within the parish in which the court is situated; and

(5) A justice of the peace within the parish in which the court of that justice of the peace is situated, and in any parish within the same supreme court district which has no justice of the peace court.

B. A judge's authority to perform marriage ceremonies continues after he retires.

C. A justice of the peace who has served a total of eighteen years in that capacity, and who thereafter voluntarily retires from office or chooses not to run for reelection, shall retain his authority to perform marriage ceremonies within the territorial limits authorized in Subsection A of this Section.

D. A judge of a court of the United States who has an official duty station within the territorial limits of the state may perform marriage ceremonies within the state. For purposes of this Subsection, "judge" and "official duty station" have the same meaning as provided in 28 U.S.C. § 451 and 456, respectively.

9:204. Officiant other than judge; registration

An officiant, other than a judge or justice of the peace, may perform marriage ceremonies only after he registers to do so by depositing with the clerk of court of the parish in which he will principally perform marriage ceremonies, or, in the case of Orleans Parish, with the office of the state registrar of vital records, an affidavit stating his lawful name, denomination, and address.

9:205. Officiant to require marriage license

An officiant may not perform a marriage ceremony until he has received a license authorizing him to perform that marriage ceremony.

9:206. [Repealed by Acts 1987 RS, No. 886.]

9:207. [Repealed by Acts 1987 RS, No. 886.]

9:208. [Repealed by Acts 1987 RS, No. 886.]

PART II. COLLATERAL RELATIONS

9:211. Relations of the fourth degree

Notwithstanding the provisions of Civil Code Article 90, marriages between collaterals within the fourth degree, fifty-five years of age or older, which were entered into on or before December 31, 1992, shall be considered legal and the enactment hereof shall in no way impair vested property rights.

9:212 to 9:214. Repealed by Acts 1991, No. 235, § 17, eff. Jan. 1, 1992

9:221. Authority to issue marriage license

A license authorizing an officiant to perform a marriage ceremony must be issued by:

(1) The state registrar of vital records, or a judge of the city court, in the Parish of Orleans;

(2) The clerk of court, in any other parish; or

(3) A district judge, if the clerk of court is a party to the marriage.

9:222. Place of issuance

A marriage license may be issued in any parish, regardless of where the ceremony is to be performed or the parties reside.

9:223. Form

An application for a marriage license must be made on a form provided by the state registrar of vital records.

9:224. Same; information required

A. An application for a marriage license must include:

(1) The date and hour of the application;

(2) The full name, residence, race, and age of each party;

(3) The names of the parents of each party;

(4) The number of former marriages of each party, and whether divorced or not; and

(5) The relationship of each party to the other.

B. The applicant must verify the information to the issuing official by affidavit.

PART III. APPLICATION FOR MARRIAGE LICENSE

SUBPART A. IN GENERAL

9:225. Same; attachments

A. An application for a marriage license shall be accompanied by:

(1) A certified copy of each party's birth certificate.

(2) The written consent for a minor to marry, or the court's authorization for the minor to marry, or both, as required by Chapter 6 of Title XV of the Children's Code.[fn1].

B. It shall be unlawful for any officer authorized to issue a marriage license in this state to issue a license to any male or female unless both parties first present and file with such officer a certified copy of their original birth certificate. A photostatic or photographic reproduction of the certified copy of the birth certificate may be filed with the officer.

[fn1] In paragraph A(2) see Ch.C. art. 1543 et seq.

SUBPART B. BIRTH CERTIFICATE

9:226. Certified copy of birth certificate

A. A person born in Louisiana may submit a certified copy of his birth certificate.

B. A person born outside of Louisiana may submit a copy of his birth certificate under the raised seal or stamp of the vital statistics registration authority of his place of birth.

C. A certified copy of the birth certificate or letter issued in lieu thereof shall be retained by the official recorder of the marriage for a minimum period of sixty days.

9:227. Certified copy unavailable; other proof

A. If no birth certificate is on file for an applicant, a letter signed by the proper registration authority, under his raised seal or stamp, must be submitted in lieu of a birth certificate. The letter must state that a thorough search was made and that no birth record was located for the applicant.

B. The officer issuing the marriage license may demand other proof of birth facts.

9:228. Same; court order waiving

In the event of extenuating circumstances, and after finding that the parties have complied with all other requirements, a judge of the Orleans Parish City Court, a family court judge, or any district court judge of a parish may order an issuing official within the territorial jurisdiction of his court to issue a marriage license without the applicant submitting a birth certificate. In the event of extenuating circumstances, and after finding that the parties have complied with all other requirements, a justice of the peace or city court judge may order an issuing official within the parish where his court is situated to issue a marriage license without the applicant submitting a birth certificate. The order need not state the reasons.

Subpart C. Medical Certificate

9:229. [Repealed by Acts 1988 RS, Nos., 345 and 808.]

9:230. [Repealed by Acts 1988 RS, Nos., 345 and 808.]

9:231. [Repealed by Acts 1988 RS, Nos., 345 and 808.]

9:232. [Repealed by Acts 1988 RS, Nos., 345, 808, and 973.]

9:233. [Repealed by Acts 1988 RS, Nos., 345 and 808.]

Subpart D. Issuance and Time

9:234. Time and date

The official who issues the marriage license shall show on the face of it the exact time and date of issuance.

9:235. Valid for thirty days

A marriage license is valid for thirty days from the date of issuance. No officiant shall perform a marriage after the license has expired.

9:236. Reissuance

A new license may be issued to the parties if they surrender the expired license to the issuing official.

Subpart E. Summary of Matrimonial Regimes Laws

9:237. Information on matrimonial regime laws; printed summary

A. On receiving an application for a license to marry, the license issuing officer shall deliver to each prospective spouse, either in person or by registered mail, a printed summary of the then current matrimonial regime laws of this state.

B. This summary shall be prepared by the attorney general of this state. It shall emphasize the possibility of contracting expressly a regime of one's choosing before marriage, that spouses who have not entered into a matrimonial agreement before marriage become subject to the legal regime by operation of law, and the possibility of contracting after marriage to modify the matrimonial regime.

PART IV. DELAYS AND CEREMONY

SUBPART A. SEVENTY-TWO HOUR DELAY

9:241. Premature ceremony prohibited

An officiant may not perform a marriage ceremony until seventy-two hours have elapsed since the issuance of the marriage license.

9:242. Waiver of delay

A judge or justice of the peace authorized to perform the marriage may waive the seventy-two hour delay upon application of the parties giving serious and meritorious reasons. His certificate authorizing the immediate performance of the ceremony must be attached to the marriage license.

9:243. Penalty

An officiant, other than a judge or justice of the peace, who violates R.S. 9:241 may have his authority to perform marriage ceremonies revoked by the state registrar of vital records. The revocation may not exceed one year.

Subpart B. Ceremony and Marriage Certificate

9:244. Witnesses required

The marriage ceremony shall be performed in the presence of two competent witnesses of full age.

9:245. Marriage certificate

A. (1) The marriage certificate is the record prepared for every marriage on a form approved by the state registrar of vital records. It shall contain the information prescribed. On the face of the certificate shall appear the certification to the fact of marriage, signed by the parties to the marriage and by the witnesses, and the signature and title of the officiant.

(2) The marriage certificate shall show the place, time, and date of the performance of the ceremony.

B. Every officiant of a marriage ceremony performed in this state shall sign a certificate of marriage in triplicate.

PART V. RECORD KEEPING

9:251. Consolidated form

The application for a marriage license, the authorization to the officiant to perform the marriage ceremony, and the marriage certificate may be incorporated into a single form approved by the state registrar of vital records.

9:252. Duplicate records of marriage licenses issued; preservation; filing of duplicate copy with state division of vital records; penalty for failure to file

A. Each officer authorized to issue marriage licenses in this state shall keep a duplicate record of all marriage licenses issued, on which he shall note the date and place of the marriage, and the name of the person who performed the ceremony.

B. One copy shall be kept in a loose-leaf book until it has been filled, at which time it shall be permanently bound, and shall be kept open to the inspection of the public during office hours.

C. The other copy shall be filed with the division of vital records of the Department of Health and Human Resources within ten days of the expiration of each month, and the failure, neglect, or refusal to do so shall be punished by a fine of not less than ten dollars nor more than fifty dollars.

9:253. Disposition and recordation of marriage certificates

A. The officiant shall give one copy of the marriage certificate to the married parties. Within ten days after the ceremony, he shall file the other two copies of the certificate of marriage with the officer who issued the marriage license.

B. Upon receipt of these copies, this officer shall sign them and note thereon the date the certificate was recorded by him.

C. He shall forward to the state registrar of vital records, on or before the fifteenth day of each calendar month, one copy of each certificate of marriage filed with him during the preceding calendar month.

9:254. Penalty for failure to file or complete marriage certificate

Any person authorized to perform marriages in this state who fails to complete the forms provided by the Department of Health and Human Resources, and specifically fails to fill in the date and place the ceremony was performed, or neglects or fails to file the two executed copies with the clerk of court in the parish where the license was issued or, if in Orleans Parish, with the state office of vital records, within ten days after the date of the marriage as provided by law, shall be fined not less than twenty dollars for the first offense, fifty dollars for the second offense, and one hundred dollars for a third offense, and the offender shall be prohibited hereafter from officiating at any marriage in this state.

9:255. Tabulation of marriage statistics; annual report

The state registrar of vital records shall annually prepare, from the information filed with him under the provisions of R.S. 9:224 and 9:252, abstracts and tabular statements of the facts relating to marriages in each parish, and embody them, with the necessary analysis, in his annual report to the state.

9:256. Penalties

Any person who makes a false entry in a marriage license as to the time and date of the issuance of the license or, in a marriage certificate, as to the time and date of the performance of the marriage, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be fined not more than twenty-five dollars.

PART VI. OPPOSITION TO MARRIAGE

9:261. Opposition to marriage

In case of an opposition to the marriage, if it be supported by the oath of the party making it, and by reason sufficient in the opinion of the judge to authorize a suspension of the marriage, it shall be notified to the parties, and a day shall be assigned for a hearing.

9:262. Hearing on opposition

The time fixed for the hearing of the parties and the decision on the opposition shall not exceed ten days from the day on which the opposition was made.

9:263. Persons entitled to oppose

Any person may make opposition to a marriage, but if the opposition be overruled, the party making it shall pay costs.

9:281. [Repealed by Acts 1958, No. 160, Section 2.]

9:282. [Repealed by Acts 1987, No. 886.]

9:283. [Repealed by Acts 1987, No. 886.]

9:284. [Repealed by Acts 1987, No. 886.]

CHAPTER 2. INCIDENTS AND EFFECTS OF MARRIAGE

9:291. Suits between spouses

Spouses may not sue each other except for causes of action pertaining to contracts or arising out of the provisions of Book III, Title VI of the Civil Code; for restitution of separate property; for divorce or declaration of nullity of the marriage; and for causes of action pertaining to spousal support or the support or custody of a child while the spouses are living separate and apart.


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