Marriage commissioner
The duties of a Marriage Commissioner or Deputy Marriage Commissioner vary between jurisdictions.
Deputy or temporary marriage commissioners are generally empowered to perform
Other times, however, a deputy can be employed by the
In some jurisdictions, a civil authority recognised to solemnise marriage (such as the clerk of a county or municipality) is empowered to delegate that authority to one or a handful of marriage commissioners on a long-term basis; in others, the appointments are made by a province or state government agency.
Splitting the marriage commissioner tasks from those of judge, city clerk or minister of religion can provide couples more flexibility in choosing a venue for a wedding; instead of bringing the couple to a church, town hall or court house, a local commissioner may use their own transport to go to the chosen site of a
By jurisdiction
United States
- Alaska Statute 25.05.261(a)(2) 1, allows anyone 18 years of age or older (including friends, relatives or non-residents of the United States) to perform a marriage ceremony if they first obtain a marriage commissioner appointment from an Alaskan court. The marriage license application and instructions are available on the Vital Statistics website.[1]
- In California, the Clerk-Recorder of an individual county is empowered to allow individuals to be deputized for a day to perform one individual civil (non-religious) wedding ceremony.[2] Use of these powers varies between counties; Santa Cruz offers a Deputy Commissioner of Civil Marriages for a Day Program.[3]
Canada
- Alberta Vital Statistics appoints Marriage Commissioners provincially for a five-year term.[4] A Judge, MLA, MP, Senator or (active or former) permanent Marriage Commissioner from any Canadian jurisdiction may be appointed Temporary Marriage Commissioner for a day.[5]
- British Columbia has 340 provincially appointed Marriage Commissioners, who serve a five-year term. There are no Temporary Marriage Commissioners.[6]
- In Manitoba, the status of Marriage Commissioner is granted by application to the provincial Vital Statistics department[7] with no temporary commissioners. As of 2004, there were 600 marriage commissioners in the province[8] Unlike ministers of religion, provincially appointed civil marriage commissioners are required to solemnise same-sex marriage on an equal, non-discriminatory basis.
- Ontario Regulation 285/04 authorises the Clerk of an incorporated municipality to solemnize marriages; the clerk may delegate this authority long-term to a handful of marriage commissioners who provide civil marriage solemnization services to couples.[9]
References
- ^ "Marriage Commissioner Information". Archived from the original on 2014-09-30. Retrieved 2014-10-04.
- ^ "Placer County, California". Archived from the original on 2018-01-11. Retrieved 2014-10-04.
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-10-06. Retrieved 2014-10-04.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Become a marriage commissioner".
- ^ "Service Alberta".
- ^ "British Columbia Vital Statistics Agency". Archived from the original on 2004-05-11.
- ^ "Manitoba Vital Statistics Agency | Province of Manitoba".
- ^ "Marriage commissioners resign over same-sex weddings | CBC News".
- ^ Township of Huron-Kinloss, Ontario