Marriage license fees can only be paid in person at the time of application. A new Marriage license can not be paid in advance.Applicants must have ONE of the following identifications: (1) A valid driver’s license (2) A state ID or (3) A Birth Certificate and Social Security Card.
The ULC’s online ordination is free and requires your name, address, and e-mail. In some other states, marriages performed by people ordained by the Universal Life Church have been challenged. Or, by heirs wanting to invalidate someone else’s inheritance.Īt least while you’re happily married, you should not have to worry about this. When they occur, they’re usually raised by an unhappy spouse who wants to invalidate the marriage. Problems over the validity of marriages are rare. If an officiant is not qualified to do weddings, but you thought they were, your marriage is legal.Īnd if a marriage was licensed and registered, those ingredients are probably enough to make it valid. The law says that a marriage is “not invalidated by the fact the person solemnizing the marriage was not legally qualified to solemnize it if either party to the marriage believed him to be so qualified.”Īll that really matters is whether the spouses think someone’s qualified to perform the wedding. If someone wasn't authorized to perform a marriage, the marriage is probably still valid. Religious groups may license or ordain people to perform marriages, but Illinois does not. That leaves it up to the church, synagogue, mosque, tribe, etc., to determine who’s able to perform marriages. If those practices require an “officiant,” they must be in good standing with the religion or Tribe. Also, a marriage can be solemnized according to the practices of a religion, Indian Nation or Tribe. Active judges can't get paid or accept gifts. Retired judges who do weddings may accept gifts or payment from the couple. State or Federal judges, active or retired, can perform weddings.
The State license and registration is required because marriage is a contract between the spouses and the state. The County Clerk’s office issues licenses and registers marriages once they’re performed. It must be “licensed, solemnized and registered.” Who solemnized the marriage is the least important ingredient.
Who can officiate at a wedding? Do they have to be an ordained minister? Do they need to be religious? What if the person performing the marriage wasn't qualified to do so? Answer
The following question was submitted to John Roska, an attorney/writer whose weekly newspaper column, "The Law Q&A," ran in the Champaign News Gazette.