Minn. Stat. § 517.001
Definition
As used in this chapter, "local registrar" means an individual designated by the county board of commissioners to register civil marriages.
Minnesota Statutes Chapter 517 — Civil Marriage
Minnesota · statute · Minn. Stat. ch. 517 · 21 active provisions
Minn. Stat. § 517.01
Civil Marriage Contract
A civil marriage, so far as its validity in law is concerned, is a civil contract between two persons, to which the consent of the parties, capable in law of contracting, is essential. A lawful civil marriage may be contracted only when a license has been obtained as provided by law and when the civil marriage is contr…
Minn. Stat. § 517.02
Persons Capable of Contracting
A person who has attained the full age of 18 years is capable in law of contracting into a civil marriage, if otherwise competent.
Minn. Stat. § 517.03
Prohibited Civil Marriages
Subdivision 1. General. (a) The following civil marriages are prohibited: (1) a civil marriage entered into before the dissolution of an earlier civil 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 civil marriage be…
Minn. Stat. § 517.04
Persons Authorized to Perform Civil Marriages
Civil marriages may be solemnized throughout the state by an individual who has attained the age of 21 years and who registers as a civil marriage officiant with a local registrar in a county of this state. The county where the civil marriage officiant is registered must be endorsed upon and recorded with each certific…
Minn. Stat. § 517.041
Power to Appoint Court Commissioner; Duty
The Third Judicial District may appoint as court commissioner for 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 civil marriages.
Minn. Stat. § 517.06
Parties Examined
Every person authorized by law to perform the civil marriage ceremony, before solemnizing a civil marriage, may examine the parties on oath, which oath the person is authorized to administer, as to the legality of the intended civil marriage. No person shall solemnize a civil marriage unless satisfied that there is no…
Minn. Stat. § 517.07
License
Before any persons are joined in civil marriage in Minnesota, a license shall be obtained from the local registrar of any county within Minnesota. The civil marriage need not take place in the county where the license is obtained but must take place within the geographical borders of Minnesota.
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; (2) their post office addresses and county and state of residence…
Minn. Stat. § 517.09
Solemnization
Subdivision 1. General. Both applicants shall declare in the presence of a person who is not the same individual as the applicant or the witness, authorized to solemnize civil marriages and two attending witnesses that each takes the other as spouse. Subd. 2. Refusal to solemnize; protection of religious doctrine. Each…
Minn. Stat. § 517.10
Certificate; Witnesses
The person solemnizing a civil marriage shall complete and sign a marriage certificate provided by the local registrar. 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 plac…
Minn. Stat. § 517.101
Certified Copies of Civil 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.
Minn. Stat. § 517.103
Amendment of Marriage Records
(a) To request an amendment of an error in a marriage record, a person must submit the following documentation to the local registrar: (1) an affidavit stating the reason for an amendment of the marriage record; and (2) documentation supporting the amendment. (b) A local registrar may amend a marriage record if the loc…
Minn. Stat. § 517.13
Penalty for Failure to File Certificate
Every person solemnizing a civil marriage who neglects to file a certificate with the local registrar 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.
Minn. Stat. § 517.14
Illegal Civil Marriage; False Certificate; Penalty
A person authorized by law to solemnize civil marriages who knowingly solemnizes a civil marriage contrary to the provisions of this chapter, or knowing of any legal impediment to the proposed civil marriage, or who willfully makes a false certificate of any civil marriage or pretended civil marriage is guilty of a mis…
Minn. Stat. § 517.15
Unauthorized Person Performing Ceremony
A person who knowingly undertakes to solemnize a civil marriage, without lawful authority to do so, is guilty of a misdemeanor.
Minn. Stat. § 517.16
Immaterial Irregularity of Officiating Person Does Not Void
A civil 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 civil marriage is consummated with the full belief on the…
Minn. Stat. § 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 v…
Minn. Stat. § 517.201
Relationship to Other Law; Rules of Construction
Subdivision 1. Religious freedom; Human Rights Act. (a) This chapter does not alter or affect the protections or exemptions provided in chapter 363A for a religious association, educational institution, business, labor organization, place of public accommodation, employer, or other person. (b) This chapter must not be…
Minn. Stat. § 517.21
American Family Day
The first Sunday in August is designated American Family Day.
Minn. Stat. § 517.23
Meaning of Civil Marriage
Wherever the term "marriage," "marital," "marry," or "married" is used in Minnesota statute in reference to the rights, obligations, or privileges of a couple under law, the term includes civil marriage, or individuals subject to civil marriage, as established by this chapter. A term subject to this definition must als…