Request By:
Mr. Robert Moore, Clerk
Trimble County Court
Bedford, Kentucky 40006
Opinion
Opinion By: Steven L. Beshear, Attorney General; By: Charles W. Runyan, Assistant Deputy Attorney General
You raise the following questions on Kentucky marriage law:
1. Can a county clerk in Kentucky issue a marriage license to persons living in another state?
2. Can a county clerk in Kentucky issue a marriage license to a person if the female lives in another state and the male lives in Kentucky or vice versa?
3. If a couple wants to get a marriage license in Kentucky and are residents of Kentucky, can a county clerk mail an application to them and have it returned by mail?
As relates to question no. 1, KRS 402.080(1) provides in part that "The license shall be issued by the clerk of the county in which the female resides at the time, unless the female is eighteen (18) years of age or over or a widow, and the license is issued on her application in person or by writing signed by her, in which case it may be issued by any county clerk. " Under KRS Chapter 402 nonresidents may apply for a marriage license in any county in Kentucky, provided they comply with the applicable statutory law. There is no statute disqualifying nonresidents, as such, from applying for a marriage license in Kentucky. KRS 402.080(1) merely relates to factual circumstances requiring that application be made in a certain county, but it has no bearing on nonresidents.
The answer to question no. 2 is that a county clerk in Kentucky may issue a marriage license where the female is a nonresident and the male is a resident of Kentucky, or vice versa, provided applicable statutory requirements are met. Where the female is a nonresident, KRS 402.080(1) would not apply. Where the female is a resident of Kentucky, KRS 402.080(1) would apply.
Concerning question no. 3, under KRS 402.210, if the parties to an application are personally unknown to the clerk, a license cannot issue until bond, with good surety, in the penalty of $100 is given to the Commonwealth, with condition that there is no lawful cause to obstruct the marriage. The case of Jones v. Hallahan, Ky., 501 S.W.2d 588 (1973), held that two women could not get a marriage license to marry each other, since female persons are incapable of entering into a marriage. Where a marriage license is issued by mail a clerk would not necessarily know that the applicants are male and female. KRS 402.100 and 402.110 pertain to the marriage register, which should be signed by one of the applicants. KRS 402.110 requires that the license be delivered in its entirety to the licensee. In considering all of these points, it is our opinion that the marriage license application should not be mailed and returned by mail. The application should be made by the applicants in person in the clerk's office.
OAG 74-295 is modified accordingly.