Minn. Stat. § 517.08 – Application for License

Subd. 1.
[Renumbered subds 1a and 1b]
Subd. 1a. Form.
Application for a marriage license shall be made by both of the parties upon a form provided for the purpose and shall contain the following information:
1. (1) the full names of the parties and the sex of each party;
2. (2) their post office addresses and county and state of residence;
3. (3) their full ages;
4. (4) if either party has previously been married, the party's married name, and the date, place and court in which the marriage was dissolved or annulled or the date and place of death of the former spouse;
5. (5) if either party is a minor, the name and address of the minor's parents or guardian;
6. (6) whether the parties are related to each other, and, if so, their relationship;
7. (7) address of the bride and groom after the marriage to which the local registrar shall send a certified copy of the marriage certificate;
8. (8) the full names the parties will have after marriage and the parties' Social Security numbers. The Social Security numbers must be collected for the application but must not appear on the marriage license. If a party listed on a marriage application does not have a Social Security number, the party must certify on the application, or a supplement to the application, that the party does not have a Social Security number;
9. (9) if one or both of the parties to the marriage license has a felony conviction under Minnesota law or the law of another state or federal jurisdiction, the parties shall provide to the county proof of service upon the prosecuting authority and, if applicable, the attorney general, as required by section 259.13; and
10. (10) notice that a party who has a felony conviction under Minnesota law or the law of another state or federal jurisdiction may not use a different name after marriage except as authorized by section 259.13, and that doing so is a gross misdemeanor.
Subd. 1b. Term of license; fee; premarital education.
1. (a) The local registrar shall examine upon oath the parties applying for a license relative to the legality of the contemplated marriage. If one party is unable to appear in person, the party appearing may complete the absent applicant's information. The local registrar shall provide a copy of the marriage application to the party who is unable to appear, who must verify the accuracy of the party's information in a notarized statement. The marriage license must not be released until the verification statement has been received by the local registrar. If at the expiration of a five-day period, on being satisfied that there is no legal impediment to it, including the restriction contained in section 259.13, the local registrar shall issue the license, containing the full names of the parties before and after marriage, and county and state of residence, with the county seal attached, and make a record of the date of issuance. The license shall be valid for a period of six months. Except as provided in paragraph (c), the local registrar shall collect from the applicant a fee of $110 for administering the oath, issuing, recording, and filing all papers required, and preparing and transmitting to the state registrar of vital statistics the reports of marriage required by this section. If the license should not be used within the period of six months due to illness or other extenuating circumstances, it may be surrendered to the local registrar for cancellation, and in that case a new license shall issue upon request of the parties of the original license without fee. A local registrar who knowingly issues or signs a marriage license in any manner other than as provided in this section shall pay to the parties aggrieved an amount not to exceed $1,000.
2. (b) In case of emergency or extraordinary circumstances, a judge of the district court of the county in which the application is made may authorize the license to be issued at any time before expiration of the five-day period required under paragraph (a). A waiver of the five-day waiting period must be in the following form:
  STATE OF MINNESOTA, COUNTY OF .................... (insert county name)
  APPLICATION FOR WAIVER OF MARRIAGE LICENSE WAITING PERIOD:
  ................................................................................. (legal names of the applicants)
  Represent and state as follows:
  That on ......................... (date of application) the applicants applied to the local registrar of the above-named county for a license to marry.
  That it is necessary that the license be issued before the expiration of five days from the date of the application by reason of the following: (insert reason for requesting waiver of waiting period)
  .............................................................................................................
  .............................................................................................................
  .............................................................................................................
  WHEREAS, the applicants request that the judge waive the required five-day waiting period and the local registrar be authorized and directed to issue the marriage license immediately.
  Date: .............................
  .......................................................................................
  .......................................................................................
  (Signatures of applicants)
  Acknowledged before me on this ....... day of .................... .
  ..........................................
  NOTARY PUBLIC
  COURT ORDER AND AUTHORIZATION:
  STATE OF MINNESOTA, COUNTY OF .................... (insert county name)
  After reviewing the above application, I am satisfied that an emergency or extraordinary circumstance exists that justifies the issuance of the marriage license before the expiration of five days from the date of the application. IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the local registrar is authorized and directed to issue the license forthwith.
  .....................................................
  ................................ (judge of district court)
  ................................ (date).
3. (c) The marriage license fee for parties who have completed at least 12 hours of premarital education is $40. In order to qualify for the reduced license fee, the parties must submit at the time of applying for the marriage license a signed, dated, and notarized statement from the person who provided the premarital education on their letterhead confirming that it was received. The premarital education must be provided by a licensed or ordained minister or the minister's designee, a person authorized to solemnize marriages under section 517.18, or a person authorized to practice marriage and family therapy under section 148B.33. The education must include the use of a premarital inventory and the teaching of communication and conflict management skills.
4. (d) The statement from the person who provided the premarital education under paragraph (b) must be in the following form:
  "I, .......................... (name of educator), confirm that .......................... (names of both parties) received at least 12 hours of premarital education that included the use of a premarital inventory and the teaching of communication and conflict management skills. I am a licensed or ordained minister, a person authorized to solemnize marriages under Minnesota Statutes, section 517.18, or a person licensed to practice marriage and family therapy under Minnesota Statutes, section 148B.33."
  The names of the parties in the educator's statement must be identical to the legal names of the parties as they appear in the marriage license application. Notwithstanding section 138.17, the educator's statement must be retained for seven years, after which time it may be destroyed.
5. (e) If section 259.13 applies to the request for a marriage license, the local registrar shall grant the marriage license without the requested name change. Alternatively, the local registrar may delay the granting of the marriage license until the party with the conviction:
  1. (1) certifies under oath that 30 days have passed since service of the notice for a name change upon the prosecuting authority and, if applicable, the attorney general and no objection has been filed under section 259.13; or
  2. (2) provides a certified copy of the court order granting it. The parties seeking the marriage license shall have the right to choose to have the license granted without the name change or to delay its granting pending further action on the name change request.
Subd. 1c. Disposition of license fee.
1. (a) Of the marriage license fee collected pursuant to subdivision 1b, paragraph (a), $25 must be retained by the county. The local registrar must pay $85 to the commissioner of management and budget to be deposited as follows:
  1. (1) $50 in the general fund;
  2. (2) $3 in the state government special revenue fund to be appropriated to the commissioner of public safety for parenting time centers under section 119A.37;
  3. (3) $2 in the special revenue fund to be appropriated to the commissioner of health for developing and implementing the MN ENABL program under section 145.9255;
  4. (4) $25 in the special revenue fund is appropriated to the commissioner of employment and economic development for the displaced homemaker program under section 116L.96; and
  5. (5) $5 in the special revenue fund is appropriated to the commissioner of human services for the Minnesota Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood Initiative under section 256.742.
2. (b) Of the $40 fee under subdivision 1b, paragraph (b), $25 must be retained by the county. The local registrar must pay $15 to the commissioner of management and budget to be deposited as follows:
  1. (1) $5 as provided in paragraph (a), clauses (2) and (3); and
  2. (2) $10 in the special revenue fund is appropriated to the commissioner of employment and economic development for the displaced homemaker program under section 116L.96.
3. (c) The increase in the marriage license fee under paragraph (a) provided for in Laws 2004, chapter 273, and disbursement of the increase in that fee to the special fund for the Minnesota Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood Initiative under paragraph (a), clause (5), is contingent upon the receipt of federal funding under United States Code, title 42, section 1315, for purposes of the initiative.
Subd. 2.
[Repealed, 1978 c 699 s 17]
Subd. 3.
[Repealed, 1978 c 699 s 17]
Subd. 4. Report.
The local registrar of each county shall annually report to the Department of Health the number of marriage licenses issued in the county for which the fee in subdivision 1b, paragraph (a), was paid and the number for which the fee in subdivision 1b, paragraph (b), was paid.