Virginia Marriage Laws | § 20-16

Code of Virginia 20-16

Issuance of marriage licenses and marriage certificates.

The clerk issuing any marriage license shall require the parties contemplating marriage to state, under oath, the information required to complete the application for marriage license. The parties shall be able to designate themselves on the application for marriage license as spouse, bride, or groom. The clerk shall provide the parties with two copies of the marriage certificate to be completed by the marriage officiant, who shall return the completed certificates to the clerk after the marriage ceremony of the parties. The clerk shall retain one copy of the completed marriage certificate and provide the other copy to the State Registrar of Vital Records. The clerk may provide the parties with a commemorative marriage certificate and the parties may request a certified copy of the official marriage certificate as provided in Article 7 (§ 32.1-270 et seq.) of Chapter 7 of Title 32.1. For the purposes of this section any statement made by such applicant, under oath, concerning the information to be entered on the application for marriage license is hereby declared to be a material matter or thing in any prosecution for perjury for any violation of this section.

Code 1919, § 5074; 1928, p. 314; 1938, p. 151; 1968, c. 318; 2015, c. 708.

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§ 20-48 Minimum age of marriage.
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§ 20-13.2 Marriage lawful regardless of sex, gender, or race of parties.
§ 20-13 License and solemnization required.
§ 20-15 Tax on license
§ 20-14.1 Duration of license; issuance of additional licenses.
§ 20-20 Clerk to file license and certificate; indexing names of parties; certified copies as evidence.
§ 20-21 Clerk to furnish attorney for the Commonwealth list of licenses not returned by minister.
§ 20-22 Attorney for the Commonwealth to ascertain before circuit court name of minister failing to return certificates.
§ 20-24 Penalty for failure to certify record of marriage.
§ 20-26 Marriage between members of religious society having no minister.
§ 20-28 Penalty for celebrating marriage without license.
§ 20-30 Licenses of persons on federal reservations.
§ 20-31 Belief of parties in lawful marriage validates certain defects.
§ 20-33 Penalty for clerk issuing license contrary to law.
§ 20-37 Validation of certain marriages when license issued by clerk of county court.
§ 20-37.1 Validation of certain marriages solemnized outside of Commonwealth.
§ 32.1-267 Records of marriages; duties of officer issuing marriage license and person officiating at ceremony; blocking of social security number.
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