23-2505. Issuance of marriage license; form; waiting period; emergency; lawful age; consent, when; unlawful acts, penalty; duties of person issuing license; expiration of license. (a) The clerks of the district courts or judges thereof, when applied to for a marriage license by any person who is one of the parties to the proposed marriage and who is legally entitled to a marriage license, shall issue a marriage license in substance as follows:

MARRIAGE LICENSE
(Name of place where office located, month, day and year.)

TO ANY PERSON authorized by law to perform the marriage ceremony,

Greeting:

You are hereby authorized to join in marriage A B of ____________, date of birth _______, and C D of ____________, date of birth _______, (and name of parent or guardian consenting), and of this license, duly endorsed, you will make due return to this office immediately after performing the ceremony.

E F, (title of person issuing the license).

(b) No clerk or judge of the district court shall issue a marriage license before the third calendar day (Sunday, holidays, and days on which the office of the clerk of the court is not accessible included) following the date of the filing of the application therefor in such clerk's or judge's office except that in cases of emergency or extraordinary circumstances, a judge of the district court may upon proper showing being made, permit by order of the court the issuance of such marriage license without waiting three days. Each district court shall keep a record of all marriages resulting from licenses issued by the court, which record shall show the names of the persons who were married and the date of the marriage.

(c) No clerk or judge shall issue a license authorizing the marriage of any person:

(1) Under the age of 16 years, except that a judge of the district court may, after due investigation, give consent and issue the license authorizing the marriage of a person 15 years of age when the marriage is in the best interest of the person 15 years of age; or

(2) who is 16 or 17 years of age without the express consent of such person's father, mother or legal guardian and the consent of the judge unless consent of both the mother and father and any legal guardian or all then living parents and any legal guardian is given in which case the consent of the judge shall not be required. If not given in person at the time of the application, the consent shall be evidenced by a written certificate subscribed thereto and duly attested. Where the applicants or either of them are 16 or 17 years of age and their parents are dead and there is no legal guardian then a judge of the district court may after due investigation give consent and issue the license authorizing the marriage.

(d) The judge or clerk may issue a license upon the affidavit of the party personally appearing and applying therefor, to the effect that the parties to whom such license is to be issued are of lawful age, as required by this section, and the judge or clerk is hereby authorized to administer oaths for that purpose.

(e) Every person swearing falsely in such affidavit shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by a fine not exceeding $500. A clerk or judge of the district court shall state in every license the birth dates of the parties applying for the same, and if either or both are 16 or 17 years of age, the name of the father, mother, or guardian consenting to such marriage.

(f) Every marriage license shall expire at the end of six months from the date of issuance if the marriage for which the license was issued does not take place within the six-month period of time.

History: L. 1867, ch. 84, § 5; G.S. 1868, ch. 61, § 5; L. 1905, ch. 302, § 1; L. 1913, ch. 224, § 2; R.S. 1923, 23-106; L. 1947, ch. 240, § 1; L. 1967, ch. 202, § 1; L. 1968, ch. 207, § 3; L. 1969, ch. 184, § 1; L. 1972, ch. 161, § 3; L. 1976, ch. 145, § 116; L. 1977, ch. 109, § 18; L. 1987, ch. 119, § 1; L. 1994, ch. 120, § 1; L. 1996, ch. 142, § 2; L. 2006, ch. 184, § 1; L. 2010, ch. 11, § 1; April 1.