Georgia Marriage Laws | § 19-3-48

Official Code of Georgia Annotated 19-3-48

Penalty for officiating at illegal marriage ceremony

If the Governor or any former Governor of this state, any judge, city recorder, magistrate, minister, or other person authorized to perform the marriage ceremony joins together in matrimony any man and woman without a license or the publication of banns or if the person performing the marriage ceremony knows of any disability of either of the parties which would render a contract of marriage improper and illegal, that person shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

(Cobb's 1851 Digest, pp. 818, 819; Code 1863, § 4441; Code 1868, § 4482; Code 1873, § 4566; Code 1882, § 4566; Penal Code 1895, § 637; Penal Code 1910, § 677; Code 1933, § 53-9901; Ga. L. 1982, p. 3, § 19; Ga. L. 1983, p. 884, § 4-1; Ga. L. 2010, p. 394, § 5/SB 238.)

Back to Georgia Marriage Laws

More Georgia Marriage Laws

§ 19-3-1.1 Common-law marriage; effectiveness
§ 19-3-1 Prerequisites to valid marriage
§ 19-3-3 Degrees of relationship within which intermarriage prohibited; penalty; effect of prohibited marriage
§ 19-3-3.1 Marriages between persons of same sex prohibited; marriages not recognized
§ 19-3-4 Nature of consent required
§ 19-3-6 Effect of restraints on marriage; when valid
§ 19-3-7 Contracts attempting to force marriage void
§ 19-3-8 Interspousal tort immunity continued
§ 19-3-9 Each spouse's property separate
§ 19-3-10 Right of married persons to contract; presumptions
§ 19-3-30.1 Premarital education; fees; special requirements if marriage applicant is 17 years old
§ 19-3-31 Issuance of licenses at satellite courthouses in certain counties
§ 19-3-32 Penalty for improper issuance of license
§ 19-3-35 Issuance of license to applicants otherwise eligible
§ 19-3-39 Certification and recordation of marriage after publication of banns
§ 19-3-40 Blood test for sickle cell disease; information to be provided
§ 19-3-41 Department of Public Health marriage manual; distribution; rules and regulations
§ 19-3-43 Marriage in another state; effect in this state
§ 19-3-44 Return of license to parties
§ 19-3-46 Forfeiture for officiating at marriage without license or banns
§ 19-3-47 Penalty for filing false information in application for license
§ 19-3-48 Penalty for officiating at illegal marriage ceremony
§ 19-3-49 Acceptance by judges of tips, consideration, or gratuities
§ 19-3-5 What marriages void; legitimacy of issue; effect of later ratification
§ 19-3-2 Who may contract marriage; emancipation requirement; minimum age for marriage
§ 19-3-30 Issuance, return, and recording of license
§ 19-3-33 Application for marriage license; contents; supplement marriage report
§ 19-3-33.1 Use of surname in application for marriage license
§ 19-3-34 Marriage application to be filed; use as evidence; transmission to the state registrar
§ 19-3-35.1 AIDS brochures; listing of HIV test sites; acknowledgment of receipt
§ 19-3-42 Effect on marriage due to the lack of authority in person officiating
§ 19-3-45 Actions for improper issuance of marriage license; attorney's fee and court costs; disposition of balance of recovery
§ 19-3-36 Proof of age of applicants
§ 19-3-41.1 Fact sheet for distribution by premarital education providers; requirements