Marriage Ceremony Formalities in Delaware
At a glance
| Who may solemnize | Registered in-state or visiting clergy; listed current/former state and federal judges; county clerks of peace; municipal chief executive officers (§ 106(a)(2)). |
|---|---|
| Appointment or registration route | Clergy register online with a clerk of peace for statewide authority; county clerk may give written authorization to specified visiting judges or another county clerk for good cause (§ 106(a)(3), (b)). |
| License and ceremony timing | Produce license; obtain at least 24 hours before ceremony; valid 30 days, subject to clerk's good-cause shortening of wait or extension up to 180 days (§§ 106(a)(4), 107). |
| Required declaration or form | Ceremony may follow a religious society's forms and usages or be entirely secular; § 106(a)(4) prescribes no fixed words. |
| Attending witnesses | At least two reputable witnesses age 18 or older must attend and sign certificate (§ 106(a)(4)). |
| Religious or self-uniting route | Marriage may follow religious society forms and usages; license is delivered to society or qualified officer (§§ 106(a)(4), 107(b)). |
| Proxy or remote presence | § 106(a)(4) requires two witnesses present; no express ceremony proxy or remote route in cited chapter. |
| Who signs the certificate | Two adult witnesses sign certificate; license contains issuing authority's signature and performer's certification of ceremony and date/time (§§ 106(a)(4), 115(a)). |
| Return recipient and deadline | Officiant returns certificate to issuing clerk of peace within 15 days; late return incurs $50 fee (§ 118(a)). |
Requirements one by one
Solemnizers and registration
Delaware authorizes registered resident and nonresident clergy, specified current and former Delaware and federal judges, county clerks of peace within their counties, and municipal chief executive officers within their municipalities (13 Del. C. § 106(a)(2)). Clergy register with a county clerk of peace through the online registry; once registered, they may solemnize statewide (§ 106(b)). For good cause, the clerk in the ceremony county may give written authority to specified judges from other jurisdictions or a current clerk from another Delaware county (§ 106(a)(3)).
License, witnesses and certificate
The couple ordinarily obtains a license at least 24 hours before the ceremony, delivers it to the officiant, and marries within 30 days of issue (§ 107(a)–(c)). For good cause, a county clerk of peace can shorten the waiting period or extend the license period to at most 180 days (§ 107(d)). At least two reputable witnesses aged 18 or older must attend and sign the certificate (§ 106(a)(4)). The same provision allows a religious society's forms and usages or an entirely secular ceremony, but requires a license.
What trips people up
The license form contains the issuing authority's signature and a place for the person performing the ceremony to certify that it occurred and to state its date and time (§ 115(a)). Delaware also provides a separate form evidencing the marriage, delivered without charge to the bride immediately after the ceremony; it may be the original license or a copy (§ 115(b)). The person officiating returns the certificate to the issuing clerk of peace for recording within 15 days; a late return incurs a $50 fee (§ 118(a)).
Common questions
May a visiting minister perform the ceremony? Yes, after registering with the clerk of peace in the county where the ceremony occurs (§ 106(a)(2)). A registration in any county then authorizes marriages statewide (§ 106(b)).
Must the witnesses sign? Yes. Section 106(a)(4) requires both their presence and their certificate signatures.
Can the clerk waive the 24-hour wait? For good cause, the county clerk of peace may shorten it (§ 107(d)).
Statutes and sources
- 13 Del. C. §§ 106, 107, 115 and 118. The source fields above contain verbatim excerpts from the current official subchapter page, its URL and the access date.
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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