Code of Maine Rules › 10 - DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES › 146 - OFFICE OF DATA, RESEARCH AND VITAL STATISTICS › Chapter 14 - LATE-FILED APPLICATION FOR CERTIFICATE OF MARRIAGE RULE › Section 146-14-1 - DEFINITIONS

Current through 2024-29, July 17, 2024
A. For purposes of this rule, the following
				terms shall have the meanings set forth below:
1.
Applicant
means two living
				parties, or the legal representatives of the parties, that claim to have been
				married in Maine whose marriage certificate was never filed in a municipal
				office and/or the Department.
2.
Application
means the application form for the registration of
				late-filed marriage as prescribed and furnished by the State Registrar for the
				purpose of documenting a marriage that took place in Maine and was never filed
				in a municipal office and/or the Department.
3.
Attested copy
means a copy of
				an original document that has been certified as a true copy by a municipal
				clerk or an official authorized to take oaths.
4.
Ceremony
means the
				solemnization of marriage by a duly-authorized person, as specified by
				19-A M.R.S.
				§656(2), in the
				physical presence of two witnesses and the officiant.
5.
Ceremonial certificate
means
				a document provided by a officiant authorized to perform marriages in Maine
				that recognizes that parties were joined in marriage. A ceremonial certificate
				is not a legal document.
6.
Certified copy
means a document created from paper or electronic
				format, issued by a municipal clerk and the Department containing all, or part
				of, the exact information contained on the late-filed marriage certificate, and
				which, when issued, holds the full force and effect of the original marriage
				certificate. The evidentiary value of a record submitted more than one year
				after the event shall be determined by the judicial or administrative body or
				official before whom the certified copy is offered as evidence.
7.
Certification statement
means
				the following "I hereby certify that the information provided is correct to the
				best of my knowledge and belief and that I was free to marry under the laws of
				Maine."
8.
Court of competent
				jurisdiction
means a court with jurisdiction over the married parties
				and anyone else the court deems necessary.
9.
Department
means the State of
				Maine Department of Health and Human Services, Maine Center for Disease Control
				and Prevention, Office of Data, Research and Vital Statistics.
10.
Documentary evidence
means
				the written proof to establish the facts of marriage, outlined in Sections 6
				and 7, which shall be presented and retained by the Data, Research and Vital
				Statistics office of the Department.
11.
File
means the action by
				which a record is presented to Department for review and
				registration.
12.
Intentions
mean the intentions of marriage notice application or
				the intentions or marriage notice application/work sheet prescribed and
				furnished by the State Registrar.
13.
Late-filed marriage
means a
				marriage certificate issued by the Department, based upon an approved
				application and acceptable documentary evidence used to establish the facts of
				marriage that occurred more than one year in the past and was never filed in a
				municipal office or with the Department.
14.
Legal representative
means
				an individual that is authorized to act on behalf of married parties whose
				marriage certificate was never filed upon presentation of a written and
				notarized statement from both of the parties.
15.
Marriage license
means the
				duly-completed and signed license and certification statement which is used to
				support the facts of a marriage that, for the purpose of this Rule, occurred
				more than one year from the date of marriage and the documentation used to
				record the marriage.
16.
Municipal clerk
means the duly-elected or appointed clerk of the
				cities, towns or plantations where the notice(s) of marriage intentions are
				required to be filed, the marriage license(s) issued and the completed marriage
				certificate(s) returned, pursuant to
				19-A M.R.S.
				§656.
17.
Officiant
means a person,
				duly-authorized as specified in
				4 M.R.S.
				§1056 and 19-A M.R.S. §655, who
				performs a marriage ceremony or solemnizes a marriage.
18.
Parties
mean two living
				persons, claiming that a marriage of the two took place in Maine more than one
				year prior to the date of application.
19.
Registration
means the
				process by which vital statistics data, reports, and certificates are accepted
				and filed into official certificates of the system of vital statistics, whether
				on paper or electronically, for permanent retention.
20.
State registrar
means the
				State Registrar, Deputy State Registrar or other designated official of the
				Department.
21.
System of
				vital statistics
means the collection, registration, preservation,
				amendment, certification, verification, and maintenance of the security of
				vital records, and the collection of other reports and related activities,
				including the tabulation, analysis, publication and dissemination of vital
				statistics.
22.
Transmit
means, for the purposes of this Chapter, making an
				approved late-filed certificate of marriage available to the municipality where
				intentions were filed, and the municipality where the marriage ceremony took
				place, whether transmitted electronically or on paper.
23.
Witness
means an individual,
				regardless of his or her age, who has sufficient understanding or capacity to
				understand and attest to the veracity of a marriage ceremony.