(a) Any inmate may marry, providing there are no legal or administrative impediments to the marriage. Legal impediments may fall into the following areas:

1. (1) Age. In accordance with New York State law, all persons making an application for a marriage license must be 18 years of age or older. Those who are under age must submit written consent of both parents, or of one parent if the whereabouts of the other parent has been unknown for a period of one year, or of a legal guardian. Persons under the age of 16 years must obtain the written approval of a justice of the Supreme Court or a judge of the appropriate Family Court as stipulated in section 15 of the Domestic Relations Law.
2. (2) Competency. Both parties must be mentally capable of consenting to the marriage.

3. (3) Prior marriages.

   1. (i) All prior marriages must be legally dissolved. It is solely the responsibility of the inmate and the intended spouse to secure documented proof that any prior marriages to which they have been party have been legally dissolved.
   2. (ii) The superintendent will not permit any marriage to take place until the inmate and his/her intended spouse have procured a valid marriage license.
4. (4) Inmate status. When two persons are both confined in New York State correctional facilities, they will not be permitted to marry until at least one of them has been released from such confinement.

(b) Administrative impediments exist as follows:

1. (1) Inmate status. An inmate may not marry another inmate.
2. (2) Disciplinary status. The superintendent is authorized to prohibit the marriage of an inmate during the period that the inmate is confined pursuant to the disposition of a superintendent's or disciplinary hearing.
3. (3) Threat to safety and security. If, in his/her judgment, the superintendent concludes that a proposed marriage presents a real threat to the safety and security of the facility, the marriage may be prohibited until such time as the threat is removed.