§ 11 — By whom a marriage must be solemnized

New York § 11

• Jurisdiction: New York
• Law DOM: Domestic Relations
• Art. 3: Solemnization, Proof and Effect of Marriage

Text

§ 11. By whom a marriage must be solemnized. No marriage shall be\nvalid unless solemnized by either:\n 1. A clergyman or minister of any religion, or by the senior leader,\nor any of the other leaders, of The Society for Ethical Culture in the\ncity of New York, having its principal office in the borough of\nManhattan, or by the leader of The Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture,\nhaving its principal office in the borough of Brooklyn of the city of\nNew York, or of the Westchester Ethical Society, having its principal\noffice in Westchester county, or of the Ethical Culture Society of Long\nIsland, having its principal office in Nassau county, or of the\nRiverdale-Yonkers Ethical Society having its principal office in Bronx\ncounty, or by the leader of any other Ethical Culture Society affiliated\nwith the American Ethical Union; provided that no clergyman or minister\nas defined in section two of the religious corporations law, or Society\nfor Ethical Culture leader shall be required to solemnize any marriage\nwhen acting in his or her capacity under this subdivision.\n 1-a. A refusal by a clergyman or minister as defined in section two of\nthe religious corporations law, or Society for Ethical Culture leader to\nsolemnize any marriage under this subdivision shall not create a civil\nclaim or cause of action or result in any state or local government\naction to penalize, withhold benefits or discriminate against such\nclergyman or minister.\n 2. The current or a former governor, a mayor of a village, a county\nexecutive of a county, or a mayor, recorder, city magistrate, police\njustice or police magistrate of a city, a former mayor or the city clerk\nof a city of the first class of over one million inhabitants or any of\nhis or her deputies or not more than four regular clerks, designated by\nhim or her for such purpose as provided in section eleven-a of this\narticle, except that in cities which contain more than one hundred\nthousand and less than one million inhabitants, a marriage shall be\nsolemnized by the mayor, or police justice, and by no other officer of\nsuch city, except as provided in subdivisions one and three of this\nsection.\n 2-a. A member of the New York state legislature, provided that such\nperson shall not charge or receive a fee.\n 3. A judge of the federal circuit court of appeals for the second\ncircuit, a judge of a federal district court for the northern, southern,\neastern or western district of New York, a judge of the United States\ncourt of international trade, a federal administrative law judge\npresiding in this state, a justice or judge of a court of the unified\ncourt system, a housing judge of the civil court of the city of New\nYork, a retired justice or judge of the unified court system or a\nretired housing judge of the civil court of the city of New York\ncertified pursuant to paragraph (k) of subdivision two of section two\nhundred twelve of the judiciary law, the clerk of the appellate division\nof the supreme court in each judicial department, a retired city clerk\nwho served for more than ten years in such capacity in a city having a\npopulation of one million or more or a county clerk of a county wholly\nwithin cities having a population of one million or more; or,\n 3-a. A judge or peacemaker judge of any Indian tribal court, a chief,\na headman, or any member of any tribal council or other governing body\nof any nation, tribe or band of Indians in this state duly designated by\nsuch body for the purpose of officiating at marriages, or any other\npersons duly designated by such body, in keeping with the culture and\ntraditions of any such nation, tribe or band of Indians in this state,\nto officiate at marriages.\n 3-b. A one-day marriage officiant, as designated by a town or city\nclerk pursuant to section eleven-d of this article; or,\n 4. A written contract of marriage signed by both parties and at least\ntwo witnesses, all of whom shall subscribe the same within this state,\nstating the place of residence of each of the parties and witnesses and\nthe date and place of marriage, and acknowledged before a judge of a\ncourt of record of this state by the parties and witnesses in the manner\nrequired for the acknowledgment of a conveyance of real estate to\nentitle the same to be recorded.\n 5. Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, where either\nor both of the parties is under the age of eighteen years a marriage\nshall be solemnized only by those authorized in subdivision one of this\nsection or by (1) the mayor of a city or village, or county executive of\na county, or by (2) a judge of the federal circuit court of appeals for\nthe second circuit, a judge of a federal district court for the\nnorthern, southern, eastern or western district of New York, a judge of\nthe United States court of international trade, or a justice or a judge\nof a court of the unified court system, or by (3) a housing judge of the\ncivil court of the city of New York, or by (4) a former mayor or the\nclerk of a city of the first class of over one million inhabitants or\nany of his or her deputies designated by him or her for such purposes as\nprovided in section eleven-a of this chapter.\n 6. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this article to the\ncontrary no marriage shall be solemnized by a public officer specified\nin this section, other than a judge of a federal district court for the\nnorthern, southern, eastern or western district of New York, a judge of\nthe United States court of international trade, a federal administrative\nlaw judge presiding in this state, a judge or justice of the unified\ncourt system of this state, a housing judge of the civil court of the\ncity of New York, or a retired judge or justice of the unified court\nsystem or a retired housing judge of the civil court certified pursuant\nto paragraph (k) of subdivision two of section two hundred twelve of the\njudiciary law, nor by any of the persons specified in subdivision\nthree-a of this section, outside the territorial jurisdiction in which\nhe or she was elected, appointed or duly designated. Such a public\nofficer, however, elected or appointed within the city of New York may\nsolemnize a marriage anywhere within such city.\n 7. The term "clergyman" or "minister" when used in this article, shall\ninclude those defined in section two of the religious corporations law.\nThe word "magistrate," when so used, includes any person referred to in\nthe second or third subdivision.\n