Time Within Which Marriage may be Solemnized

In order to get married in New York, you must get a marriage license. Applications are available from any town or city clerk in the state. The application must be signed by both applicants. This means that both individuals must be present and must present identification. A representative cannot apply on behalf of the applicant. To be valid, a marriage must be solemnized by an authorized person. There is a 24-hour waiting period be the marriage can be solemnized. However, the marriage license is only valid for 60 days. While the process of getting married in New York is generally uncomplicated, marriage and other aspects of family life can be complicated. If you are concerned about a legal matter related to your pending nuptials, your marriage or any other family related matter, contact an experienced New York family lawyer at the Law Offices of Stephen Bilkis & Associates. We can help ensure that your interests are protected.

According to NY Dom Rel Law § 13-b, a marriage must be solemnized within 24 hours and 60 days after receiving the marriage license from the town or city clerk. The license will state the timeframe for solemnization.

It is up to the person solemnizes the marriage to indicate on the license the date and time of the solemnization. The person who solemnizes the marriage must be authorized to do so, including a clergyperson, governor of New York, former governor of New York, mayor, city magistrate, police justice, a member of the New York legislature, and certain state and federal judges. Failure you to have your marriage solemnized by an authorized person will result in your marriage being invalid.

If a person who solemnizes a marriage does so in violation of the rules of NY Dom Rel Law § 13-b, that person may be fined and his or her authority to solemnize marriages may be suspended for 90 days.

1. Marriage a civil contract: New York Domestic Relations Law, section 11
2. Marriage licenses: New York Domestic Relations Law, section 13
3. Duty of clerk issuing marriage license: New York Domestic Relations Law, section 13-d

A marriage shall not be solemnized within twenty-four hours after the issuance of the marriage license, unless authorized by an order of a court of record as hereinafter provided, nor shall it be solemnized after sixty days from the date of the issuance of the marriage license unless authorized pursuant to section three hundred fifty-four-d of the executive law. Every license to marry hereafter issued by a town or city clerk, in addition to other requirements specified by this chapter, must contain a statement of the day and the hour the license is issued and the period during which the marriage may be solemnized. It shall be the duty of the clergyman or magistrate performing the marriage ceremony, or if the marriage is solemnized by written contract, of the judge before whom the contract is acknowledged, to annex to or endorse upon the marriage license the date and hour the marriage is solemnized. A judge or justice of the supreme court of this state or the county judge of the county in which either party to be married resides, or if such party is at least seventeen years of age, the judge of the family court of such county, if it shall appear from an examination of the license and any other proofs submitted by the parties that one of the parties is in danger of imminent death, or by reason of other emergency public interest will be promoted thereby, or that such delay will work irreparable injury or great hardship upon the contracting parties, or one of them, may, upon making written affirmative findings under subdivision three of section fifteen of this article, make an order authorizing the immediate solemnization of the marriage and upon filing such order with the clergyman or magistrate performing the marriage ceremony, or if the marriage is to be solemnized by written contract, with the judge before whom the contract is acknowledged, such clergyman or magistrate may solemnize such marriage, or such judge may take such acknowledgment as the case may be, without waiting for such three day period and twenty-four hour period to elapse. The clergyman, magistrate or judge must file such order with the town or city clerk who issued the license within five days after the marriage is solemnized. Such town or city clerk must record and index the order in the book required to be kept by him or her for recording affidavits, statements, consents and licenses, and when so recorded the order shall become a public record and available in any prosecution under this section. A person who shall solemnize a marriage in violation of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine of fifty dollars for each offense, and in addition thereto, his or her right to solemnize a marriage shall be suspended for ninety days.

If you have questions about the procedures for getting married in New York, about divorce, or any other family law matter, an experienced New York family lawyer at the Law Offices of Stephen Bilkis & Associates can help. Contact us at 800.696.9529 to schedule a free, no obligation consultation regarding your case. We represent clients in the following locations: Nassau County, Queens, Suffolk County, Bronx, Brooklyn, Long Island, Manhattan, Staten Island, and Westchester County.