Municipal Clerk Manual – Courts with JIS - Chapter 6

Clerk Handbooks

Municipal Clerk Manual – Courts with JIS

		Section/Rule:	6.2
Subject:	Chapter 6 - General/Miscellaneous	Publication / Adopted Date:	September 1998
Topic:	Marriages	Revised / Effective Date:	May 2018

Municipal Clerk Handbook
Courts with JIS
Chapter Six - General/Miscellaneous

6.2 - Marriages

References
Revised Missouri Statutes: Chapter 451
Supreme Court Rules: N/A
Court Operating Rule: 8 and 14.02
Publication Date: September 1998
Revised: May 2018

Introduction

Marriage is considered in law as a civil contract, to which the consent of the parties capable of agreeing to be married is required. Prior to any marriage solemnization being performed, the parties shall obtain a license for the purpose of marriage from the officer authorized to issue such license. In most counties, this officer would be the county recorder, although a license may be issued on order of a circuit or associate circuit judge of the county in which application for license was made. A license for marriage is void 30 days from the date of issuance if the marriage is not solemnized.

Pursuant to section 451.100, RSMo and in accordance with Court Operating Rule 14.02, marriages may be solemnized by any judge, including a municipal judge, without compensation. Any person who solemnizes any marriage wherein the parties have not obtained a license, or fails to keep a record of the solemnization, may be found guilty of a misdemeanor. Every officer or person who fails to return a license within 15 days after the issuance of the license or makes a false return on the license may also be found guilty of a misdemeanor.

Note: Clerks may wish to contact the recorder or authorized official of the county in which the municipality is situated to determine the documents used by that county in the recording of marriages, which document(s) constitute the official “return,” and any other preferred or required procedures for that county.

Clerk’s Duties/Procedures

JIS procedures are not required since the retention schedule for marriage waivers is only 30 days. (Court Operating Rule 8)

1. When a request is received to solemnize a marriage, schedule the ceremony as directed by the judge.

Note:

The judge may require identification, etc., and may wish to validate the date of issuance of the license prior to scheduling. Clerks should confer with their judges to ascertain exact procedure before scheduling.

2. At the time of the ceremony, if not required by the judge beforehand, the parties should provide the marriage license, return, and, in most cases, a certificate of marriage to the judge.

3. Following the ceremony, the judge should complete the license (if not previously filled out), the return, and the certificate of marriage for the parties. The judge is responsible for signing these documents as the officiator of the ceremony.

4. Retain record of the solemnization performed. These may be maintained by making a copy of the completed marriage license and/or return alphabetically in a binder or folder, or logging the specific information in a separate record such as a notebook.

5. The return and/or license should be returned to the appropriate licensing official as soon as possible, but not later than 90 days of issuance of the license.