§ 15 — Duty of town and city clerks

§ 15. Duty of town and city clerks. 1. (a) It shall be the duty of\nthe town or city clerk when an application for a marriage license is\nmade to him or her to require each of the contracting parties to sign\nand verify a statement or affidavit before such clerk or one of his or\nher deputies, containing the following information. From party one: Full\nname, place of residence, social security number, age, occupation, place\nof birth, name of father, country of birth, maiden name of mother,\ncountry of birth, number of marriage. From party two: Full name, place\nof residence, social security number, age, occupation, place of birth,\nname of father, country of birth, maiden name of mother, country of\nbirth, number of marriage. Both parties shall also be required to\npresent to the clerk documentary proof of age in the form of an original\nor certified copy of a birth record, a certification of birth issued by\nthe state department of health, a local registrar of vital statistics or\nother public officer charged with similar duties by the laws of any\nother state, territory or country, a baptismal record, a passport, an\nautomobile driver's license, any government or school issued\nidentification card that contains a photograph of the applicant, a life\ninsurance policy, an employment certificate, a school record, an\nimmigration record, a naturalization record, a court record or any other\ndocument or record issued by a governmental entity, showing the date of\nbirth of such parties. The said clerk shall also embody in the statement\nif either or both of the applicants have been previously married, a\nstatement as to whether the former spouse or spouses of the respective\napplicants are living or dead and as to whether either or both of said\napplicants are divorced persons, if so, when and where and against whom\nthe divorce or divorces were granted and shall also embody therein a\nstatement that no legal impediment exists as to the right of each of the\napplicants to enter into the marriage state. The town or city clerk is\nhereby given full power and authority to administer oaths and may\nrequire the applicants to produce witnesses to identify them or either\nof them and may examine under oath or otherwise other witnesses as to\nany material inquiry pertaining to the issuing of the license, and if\nthe applicant is a divorced person the clerk may also require the\nproduction of a certified copy of the decree of the divorce, or proof of\nan existing marriage of parties who apply for a license to be used for a\nsecond or subsequent ceremony; provided, however, that in cities or\ntowns the verified statements and affidavits may be made before any\nregular clerk or designee of the clerk's office.\n (b) Every application for a marriage license shall contain a statement\nto the following effect:\n NOTICE TO APPLICANTS\n (1) Every person has the right to adopt any name by which he or she\nwishes to be known simply by using that name consistently and without\nintent to defraud.\n (2) A person's last name (surname) does not automatically change upon\nmarriage, and neither party to the marriage must change his or her last\nname. Parties to a marriage need not have the same last name.\n (3) One or both parties to a marriage may elect to change the surname\nby which he or she wishes to be known after the solemnization of the\nmarriage by entering the new name in the space below. Such entry shall\nconsist of one of the following surnames:\n (i) the surname of the other spouse; or\n (ii) any former surname of either spouse; or\n (iii) a name combining into a single surname all or a segment of the\npremarriage surname or any former surname of each spouse; or\n (iv) a combination name separated by a hyphen or space, provided that\neach part of such combination surname is the premarriage surname, or any\nformer surname, of each of the spouses.\n (4) One or both parties to a marriage may elect to change the middle\nname by which he or she wishes to be known after the solemnization of\nthe marriage by entering the new name in the space below. Such entry\nshall consist of one of the following options:\n (i) the current surname of the spouse electing to change his or her\nname; or\n (ii) any former surname of the spouse electing to change his or her\nname; or\n (iii) the surname of the other spouse.\n (5) The use of this option will have the effect of providing a record\nof the change of name. The marriage certificate, containing the new\nname, if any, constitutes proof that the use of the new name, or the\nretention of the former name, is lawful.\n (6) Neither the use of, nor the failure to use, this option of\nselecting a new surname or middle name by means of this application\nabrogates the right of each person to adopt a different name through\nusage at some future date.\n .....................................\n (Optional -- Enter new surname above)\n 2. If it appears from the affidavits and statements so taken, and from\nthe documentary proof of age presented, that the persons for whose\nmarriage the license in question is demanded are legally competent to\nmarry, the said clerk shall issue such license.\n 4. Before issuing any licenses herein provided for, the town or city\nclerk shall be entitled to a fee of thirty dollars, which sum shall be\npaid by the applicants before or at the time the license is issued;\nprovided, however, that when either of the parties applying for such\nlicense is a member of the armed forces of the United States on active\nduty (i) a town or city may not collect that portion of the fee which\nwould otherwise be transmitted to the state commissioner of health\npursuant to this subdivision and (ii) such town or city may elect to\nwaive the portion of the fee which the town or city is entitled to. Any\ntown or city clerk who shall issue a license to marry any persons one or\nboth of whom shall not be at the time of the marriage under such license\nlegally competent to marry without first requiring the parties to such\nmarriage to make such affidavits and statements or who shall not require\nthe production of documentary proof of age or the procuring of the\napproval and consents provided for by this article, which shall show\nthat the parties authorized by said license to be married are legally\ncompetent to marry, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction\nthereof shall be fined in the sum of one hundred dollars for each and\nevery offense. On or before the fifteenth day of each month, each town\nand city clerk, except in the city of New York, shall transmit to the\nstate commissioner of health twenty-two dollars and fifty cents of the\namount received for each fee collected, which shall be paid into the\nvital records management account as provided by section\nninety-seven-cccc of the state finance law; provided, however, that no\nfee shall be collected on behalf of or paid to the commissioner of\nhealth when either of the parties applying for such license is a member\nof the armed forces of the United States on active duty. In any city the\nbalance of all fees collected for the issuing of a marriage license, or\nfor solemnizing a marriage, so far as collected for services rendered by\nany officer or employee of such city, shall be paid monthly into the\ncity treasury and may by ordinance be credited to any fund therein\ndesignated, and said ordinance, when duly enacted, shall have the force\nof law in such city. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this\narticle, the clerk of any city with the approval of the governing body\nof such city is hereby authorized to designate, in writing filed in the\ncity clerk's office, a deputy clerk, if any, and/or other city employees\nin such office to receive applications for, examine applications,\ninvestigate and issue marriage licenses in the absence or inability of\nthe clerk of said city to act, and said deputy and/or employees so\ndesignated are hereby vested with all the powers and duties of said city\nclerk relative thereto. Such deputy and/or employees shall perform said\nduties without additional compensation.\n 5. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the city clerk\nof the city of New York, before issuing any licenses herein provided\nfor, shall be entitled to a fee of twenty-five dollars, which sum shall\nbe paid by the applicants before or at the time the license is issued\nand all such fees so received shall be paid monthly into the city\ntreasury.\n