Marriage Ceremony Formalities in Virginia
At a glance
| Who may solemnize | Court-authorized ministers; clerk-authorized persons; listed judges and current or former public officials; ministerless religious society route (§§ 20-23, -25, -26). |
|---|---|
| Appointment or registration route | Circuit court or clerk may order minister authority; circuit court clerk may authorize one or more other persons, with possible $500 bond (§§ 20-23, -25). |
| License and ceremony timing | Marriage must be licensed and solemnized; license authorizes ceremony for 60 days after issue (§§ 20-13, -14.1). |
| Required declaration or form | Chapter 2 requires licensed solemnization but states no fixed spoken declaration in its ceremony provisions (§§ 20-13, -23, -25, -26). |
| Attending witnesses | Chapter 2's solemnization provisions set no number of attending ceremony witnesses (§§ 20-13, -23, -25, -26). |
| Religious or self-uniting route | Members of a society without an ordained minister may marry as its practice prescribes; its chosen certifier must post $500 surety bond (§ 20-26). |
| Proxy or remote presence | Chapter 2's ceremony provisions provide no express proxy or remote ceremony route (§§ 20-13, -23, -25, -26). |
| Who signs the certificate | Officiant completes the two certificates and certifies the facts of marriage; no witness signature is stated in the statutory filing rule (§§ 20-16; 32.1-267(C)). |
| Return recipient and deadline | Officiant files duplicate record with officer who issued license within 5 days; issuing officer forwards filed records to State Registrar by 10th of next month (§ 32.1-267(C), (D)). |
Requirements one by one
Who may celebrate a marriage
A minister may obtain an order from a circuit court, judge, or clerk on the proof described in § 20-23. Under the current § 20-25, a circuit court clerk may issue an order authorizing one or more other persons; the clerk may require a $500 bond. Listed judges and current or former public officials in § 20-25 may officiate without an order or bond. The chapter also permits a religious society without an ordained minister to use its established practice (§ 20-26).
License and ceremony
Section 20-13 requires a license and solemnization. Under § 20-14.1, the license authorizes the ceremony for 60 days from issue. Chapter 2's ceremony provisions do not prescribe vows or a witness count; they also do not set out an express proxy or remote ceremony route (§§ 20-13, -23, -25, -26). Those points describe the statutory text, not the validity of any particular ceremony.
Religious society certification
When a society with no ordained minister uses its own practice, one person chosen by the society completes the certification in the same manner as an officiant. That chosen person must execute a $500 bond with surety (§ 20-26), unlike the discretionary bond for a person authorized by clerk order under § 20-25.
Certificate and return
The issuing clerk supplies two certificate copies for the officiant to complete (§ 20-16). The officiant certifies the marriage facts and files the duplicate record with the officer who issued the license within five days (§ 32.1-267(C)). The issuing officer forwards the prior month's filed records to the State Registrar by the tenth day of the next month (§ 32.1-267(D)). The statutory filing provisions assign certification to the officiant and do not specify ceremony witness signatures.
What trips people up
The five-day filing clock belongs to the officiant, while the issuing officer has a separate monthly forwarding duty (§ 32.1-267(C), (D)). Section 20-16 distinguishes the official certificates from a commemorative certificate the clerk may give the parties.
Common questions
May someone receive a one-ceremony authorization? Section 20-25 allows a circuit court clerk to issue an order authorizing one or more persons; the statute does not limit the order to a single ceremony.
Who certifies for a ministerless religious society? Its chosen person completes the certification and posts the surety bond required by § 20-26.
Statutes and sources
The quoted Va. Code §§ 20-13, -14.1, -16, -23, -25, -26, and 32.1-267 were checked in the official current Chapter 2 and vital-records pages on October 4, 2026.
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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