OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF q-R-G
AUSTIN

Honorab-r Uneet @ainn County Attorner, Pl **Par0** County iI1 Panti, Texar

Your letter of De06 uestiag the opinion of thlr department on’the themia reads, in

0 or the reu al60 please advise ou whothor or tlfioster lamed by Dootorr outelds Teraa are aoooptable. Pmthermore, where medioel oertitioatw are signedby amy Dootor'~, who are at posta ln the Stat. of Texas, but act registered phgsloianm in the Stat0 of %xae, am they acceptable to the County Clerk? This is very lmportant, since there are thousand@ of aoldlsrs applying for marriage llaeases and mtiy of them brine iaedioal certifioatos iseued by their army physiolans.ff “i$Sa praoticsl matter, wo ballere thet es*-

tlfloatea laauad by am Doatora residingwithin the-Stats should bs aooaptabla, but a mcra aSriouS QueStion la preaantod when the OartlflaSte IS lamad by a Dootor sow time prior t0 the SppllcStion for S llaoneo, IS aonw other Stats or even 

### someother couatq.
“Thaw*,uaat~lon

of Sartlildstaa iSSUsd 

### laSOmS other oouatry ariaea~by virtue o? persona SeSkiW to obtala oertlfioatea for porforlrmO8 of Proxy 

### Iprrrlagaa. Of oouraa, the Clerk 18 aat interested

l la the puaatlon of proxy 

### lParrlage8 but oaly la porSorming his duty la laaulng lloanaSa. Tha oath raqalredto ba takoa awaorathat’thara la no lagal objeotloa to tha pertorimmoa oi the merrlaga. Of ocmraa, IS the proxymarriage la lllegl, the oath oould aot bo algaad and the nmrrlaga lloenaa-should not ba laauad. If la ,our owa opinion that proxy amrlagaa aro not ra1f.d la thla Stats. Ii the **At** torney General **deems** it propar 0n6 is818 it 18 oloaely anotigh related to tha duty or the Clerk in the iaauaaoe Oi lloOnaaa, Iwould aQpraOiatahis OQlalOa oa this queatloa 

### so that our Clerk may be aided aooordfagly.*

&tlolo 46040, Vernon’s Annotated Civil Gtatutee, roads as 

### rollo*ar

*Beion the County Olerk shall laaua any

Plarrlaga lloanaa the bun ShSll odoca a oSrtltlOats i&mu S reputablS:licSnaad lyalolan to whew F that ha la iroo tror aU roao~aal dlaaasaa.a

It nil1 be noted that **the** ton$olnfg 

# l tatu~f~praaorlbaa no tim6 that tho oortlrioatorrom a ro*PJt'ciblo iieaaaad phyaiolin shall remain valid for thS purpoas ,& ~issufn& e Amiags llosase,. %MrSUy 

### S~akfn8~ WhSa a statute, 

### prSaOrlbS8

~0~)tlm within whloh SS aotmuet bo dono, than bha sot should ba **dona**within S maonable time.

What is a reaaoaabla time wfthia whloh an sot must be done ordlnar$ly iwan somuoh tia@

### as la naoaaaary,under.the oi.roum

### StanOeS,**and** 

### whetthedutiaaraqulra IS tha 

### partloularSSSS. (See Words 

### andPhraeea,Per& Ed.,Vol. 6,page' 376). &Sted mother

Iway, 

### reaaonsblatLno la auoh pro.qtltuda as the sltu.:rtion of 

### the

pnrtlaa and 

### the oiroumtanaaa of 

### theeasewillallow. Itnever olBsna an lndulgenao in unneoeaasry delay or In delay ocoaaloned by vain and frultleaa effort to do tho aot required. (See Fronoh 

### v, Lewis,218Pa. 141, 11 

### L.R. A. 948,N. S.)
In **~SWC~** to 

### your first question, you are advised thtlt it 

### is out opinion that the oertlflosta from a reputable and licensed phyelolsn remains vslld for the purp6so of issuing a marriage lloanaa 

### underArtlclo 46040, aupra, rot a reaaonnble letqth of time after 

### thephyalolanhas **iseued** 

### auohoertlfloate~

The phyalolaa making the 

### 04rtlflaatemust,undertheterms of tho atntuta, 

### be ‘reputable” and “licensed.” In the abaenaa 

### 0s apeolal leglalatlve authority, 

### Texas does not reoo(pllaa the l.ioanalng and reglatering 

### ofphyalolanaunderthe law ofanother Stats. Theonlyphyalolana 

### permittedtopraotlcemedlolna in this 3tate without lirat obtaining s llaenso aad reglaterlng under the laws 

### of thieStateare thosephyaloisnaapeolfioally exempt from suoh registration as provided by Artiole 4504, Ver

### non’s Annotated Civil Stotuteo. Therefore, the physloien referrod to in Article 46040, aupra, oould only man a 

### physloian who la licensed in ‘andwho prsotloaa medloine in the Strite or 

### Texas,or ono who la apeoifloally exempt from suoh license and registration under Artlclo 4504, l upre.
It la our oplnloa that oartlfloatea issued by .phyalolrlna who two not lloenaad and praotlolng within 

### thoState oi Texas
aro not aooeptablo under UtlOle 46040. In other words, bafore the oertffloate la seaeptablo to the Coun$g Clerk, auoh phyalolan must be 

### lloenaed in an4 oaa who practloea madlolna in the Stata of 

### Texaa,~or on0 who is l poolfloally l

xaapt **from** auoh lioanaa **and** raglatratloa underiatlolo 4504. Intier of **the** fore~oln6, it la our oplnlon that Army doctors who ero at a **post** in tha Stats of Texas, but aot registered phyalofana la the Stats of Texas, are authorfxod to laaua oartlfl~atoa under wrtlola 46040.

In view of what 

### &a boon heretofore said, we dammit ua

### aeooaaary to express 

### anp~opinion 

### regarding proxy aarrlages. khea the County Clark La oogalzant that the oertfflcate haa baaa iaeuod by a reptabla lloeaaad phfaiolan who la raglatered and praotlolng madlolno in this Ststo, or by en &my doctor who lg,t

. post in thlr 3tuto, hl8 inquiry is ended. Nowhero doaa

ILeglrlaturs authorize, O? roqulro, the Clerk to go **beyond** ,,br crrtifloato itself. AOO~rdln&lT, ii the omtifiaata be :irrued by a rrputable llOennr@dphy8lolan who ia regietrred 'ad lioenaed to practioe nedioina in this Stat., or by an **km** dootor **who ie**  **situated on**  l goat**in** thlcl **Stata, and**  **if** #it oertifler that **the** applioant ior 8uoh **lloen6e** 18 *free from **iall** remreal diaraaer* and **if** the other **rtatutory raquira1IPrntr**  b0 **IEd,** it is the duty **Or** the Clerk to forthwfth i,,a,Je the juoonD@.

**Toure very**  **truly**
ATMFWX GENERAL

OFTEXAS

Ardell William Assistant
j,FFF.@VEL;DEC

23, 1943