Arkansas Marriage Laws § 9-11-218

(a) Any person obtaining a license under the provisions of this act shall be required to return the license to the office of the clerk of the county court within sixty (60) days from the date of the license.



(b) (1) The bond required by § 9-11-210 shall be deemed null and void if the license

(A) Is duly executed;

(B) Is officially signed by a person authorized by law to solemnize marriage in this state; and

(C) Is returned to the county clerk within sixty (60) days from the date of licensure.

(2) Otherwise, the bond under § 9-11-210 shall remain in full force and effect.



(c) If a marriage has been legally solemnized and the certificate of marriage issued by a county in this state required to be returned to the county clerk under subsection (a) of this section has been lost, burned, or destroyed, the procedure to request a new certificate of marriage shall be as follows:

(1) If both parties to the marriage are living, the parties may request a new certificate of marriage by submitting a notarized affidavit signed by both parties to the county clerk of the county where the lost or destroyed certificate of marriage was issued stating:

(A) That the parties applied for and were issued a certificate of marriage in the county;

(B) That the marriage was solemnized in accordance with this subchapter and the date the marriage was solemnized;

(C) The name of the person who solemnized the marriage and stating the person's authority to solemnize the marriage under § 9-11-213;

(D) If the person who solemnized the marriage is a minister or priest, the county in which the credentials of the minister or priest are recorded; and

(E) That the certificate of marriage was lost, burned, or otherwise destroyed and is not able to be returned to the clerk;



(2) If one (1) party to the marriage is living, and the other party is deceased or otherwise incapacitated, the party that is not deceased or incapacitated shall request a new certificate of marriage by submitting a notarized affidavit signed by the party to the county clerk of the county where the lost, burned, or destroyed certificate of marriage was issued stating:

(A) The names of both parties who applied for and were issued a certificate of marriage in the county;

(B) That the marriage was solemnized in accordance with this subchapter and the date the marriage was solemnized;

(C) The name of the person who solemnized the marriage and stating the person's authority to solemnize the marriage under § 9-11-213;

(D) If the person who solemnized the marriage is a minister or priest, the county in which the credentials of the minister or priest are recorded; and

(E) That the certificate of marriage was lost, burned, or otherwise destroyed and is not able to be returned to the clerk; or



(3) If both parties to the marriage are deceased or otherwise incapacitated, the heirs of the parties to the marriage may request a new certificate of marriage by submitting, along with a certificate of death of at least one (1) of the parties, a notarized affidavit signed by the heirs of the parties to the county clerk of the county where the lost, burned, or destroyed certificate of marriage was issued stating:

(A) The names of both parties who applied for and were issued a certificate of marriage in the county;

(B) That the marriage was solemnized in accordance with this subchapter and the date the marriage was solemnized;

(C) The name of the person who solemnized the marriage and stating the person's authority to solemnize the marriage under § 9-11-213, if known;

(D) If the person who solemnized the marriage is a minister or priest, the county in which the credentials of the minister or priest are recorded, if known;

(E) That the certificate of marriage was lost, burned, or otherwise destroyed and is not able to be returned to the clerk; and

(F) That the requestor is an heir of the parties to the marriage and that the heirs need a new certificate of marriage to carry out the business of the estate of a party to the marriage.



(d)(1) If a party or heir submits an affidavit under subsection (c) of this section, the fee for filing the affidavit and furnishing a new certificate of marriage shall be ten dollars ($10.00) and the one-hundred dollar bond required under § 9-11-210 shall be deemed null and void.

(2) The party or heir receiving the certificate of marriage may, within ninety (90) days after procuring the certificate of marriage from the county clerk, file the certificate of marriage in the office of the county clerk where the certificate of marriage was received, whose duty it shall be to record the certificate of marriage in his or her record of marriage certificates.

(3) At the time of filing the certificate of marriage, the party or heir filing the replacement certificate of marriage shall also remit the current fee for the county clerk to submit the certificate of marriage to the Division of Vital Records.

(4) The certificate of marriage shall relate back and have full force and effect from the date of the solemnization of the marriage.

(Acts 1875, No. 127, § 6, p. 260; C. & M. Dig., § 7063; Pope's Dig., § 9045; A.S.A. 1947, § 55-224.); Eff August 2025 amd HB1902

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