2023 Texas Statutes › Family Code › Title 1 - The Marriage Relationship › Subtitle A - Marriage › Chapter 2 - The Marriage Relationship › Subchapter A. Application for Marriage License › Section 2.009. Issuance of License

Sec. 2.009.  ISSUANCE OF LICENSE.
(a)  Except as provided by Subsections (b) and (d), the county clerk may not issue a license if either applicant:
(1)  fails to provide the information required by this subchapter;
(2)  fails to submit proof of age and identity;
(3)  is under 18 years of age and has not presented:
(A)  a court order granted by this state under Chapter 31 removing the disabilities of minority of the applicant for general purposes; or
(B)  if the applicant is a nonresident minor, a certified copy of an order removing the disabilities of minority of the applicant for general purposes filed with this state under Section 31.007;
(4)  checks "false" in response to a statement in the application, except as provided by Subsection (b) or (d), or fails to make a required declaration in an affidavit required of an absent applicant; or
(5)  indicates that the applicant has been divorced within the last 30 days, unless:
(A)  the applicants were divorced from each other; or
(B)  the prohibition against remarriage is waived as provided by Section 6.802.
(b)  If an applicant checks "false" in response to the statement "I am not presently married and the other applicant is not presently married," the county clerk shall inquire as to whether the applicant is presently married to the other applicant.  If the applicant states that the applicant is currently married to the other applicant, the county clerk shall record that statement on the license before the administration of the oath.  The county clerk may not refuse to issue a license on the ground that the applicants are already married to each other.
(c)  On the proper execution of the application, the clerk shall:
(1)  prepare the license;
(2)  enter on the license the names of the licensees, the date that the license is issued, and, if applicable, the name of the person appointed to act as proxy for an absent applicant, if any;
(3)  record the time at which the license was issued;
(4)  distribute to each applicant written notice of the online location of the information prepared under Section 2.010 regarding acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and note on the license that the distribution was made; and
(5)  inform each applicant:
(A)  that a premarital education handbook developed by the child support division of the office of the attorney general under Section 2.014 is available on the child support division's Internet website; or
(B)  if the applicant does not have Internet access, how the applicant may obtain a paper copy of the handbook described by Paragraph (A).
(d)  The county clerk may not refuse to issue a license to an applicant on the ground that the applicant checked "false" in response to the statement "I am not presently delinquent in the payment of court-ordered child support."
(e)  A license issued by a county clerk under this section:
(1)  must identify the county in which the license is issued; and
(2)  may include the name of the county clerk.
Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 7, Sec. 1, eff. April 17, 1997.  Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 776, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1, 1997;  Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 62, Sec. 6.01(a), eff. Sept. 1, 1999;  Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 185, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1999.
Amended by:
Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 268 (S.B. 6), Sec. 4.08, eff. September 1, 2005.
Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 978 (H.B. 3666), Sec. 4, eff. September 1, 2009.
Acts 2013, 83rd Leg., R.S., Ch. 742 (S.B. 355), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2013.
Acts 2013, 83rd Leg., R.S., Ch. 890 (H.B. 984), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2013.
Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 695 (H.B. 555), Sec. 1, eff. June 12, 2017.
Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 934 (S.B. 1705), Sec. 3, eff. September 1, 2017.