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Marriage Laws United States South Carolina Domestic Relations

(Title 20) Chapter 1

Section 20-1-210. License required for marriage.

It shall be unlawful for any persons to contract matrimony within this State without first procuring a license as is herein provided and it shall likewise be unlawful for anyone whomsoever to perform the marriage ceremony for any such persons unless such persons shall first have delivered to the party performing such marriage ceremony a license as is herein provided duly authorizing such persons to contract matrimony. Any officer or person performing the marriage ceremony without the production of such license shall, on conviction thereof, be punished by a fine of not more than one hundred dollars nor less than twenty-five dollars or by imprisonment for not more than thirty days nor less than ten days.

Section 20-1-220. Written application required twenty-four hours prior to issuance of license.

No marriage license may be issued unless a written application has been filed with the probate judge, or in Darlington and Georgetown counties the clerk of court who issues the license, at least twenty-four hours before the issuance of the license. The application must be signed by both of the contracting parties and shall contain the same information as required for the issuing of the license including the social security numbers, or the alien identification numbers assigned to resident aliens who do not have social security numbers, of the contracting parties. The license issued, in addition to other things required, must show the hour and date of the filing of the application and the hour and date of the issuance of the license. The application must be kept by the probate judge or clerk of court as a permanent record in his office. A probate judge or clerk of court issuing a license contrary to the provisions, upon conviction, must be fined not more than one hundred dollars or not less than twenty-five dollars, or imprisoned for not more than thirty days or not less than ten days.

Section 20-1-230. Issuance of license.

1. Upon the filing of the application required under the provisions of Section 20-1-220,
   
2. the lapse of at least twenty-four hours thereafter,
   
3. the payment of the fee provided by law, and
   
4. the filing of a statement, under oath or affirmation, to the effect that the persons seeking the contract of matrimony are legally entitled to marry, together with the full names of the persons, their ages and places of residence, the judge of probate or clerk of court with whom the application was filed shall issue a license for the marriage of such persons.
   

Section 20-1-240. Applicants shall receive family planning information.

All authorized offices, officials, or individuals empowered to issue a marriage license shall, at the time of issuance thereof, provide to applicants for marriage licenses, family planning information. This information shall be supplied to the issuing officials by the Department of Health and Environmental Control.

Section 20-1-250. Applicants under age of consent; consent of relative or guardian.

No such license shall be issued when the woman or child woman is under the age of fourteen or when the male is under the age of sixteen, provided that when the female applicant is between the ages of fourteen to eighteen and when the male applicant is between the ages of sixteen to eighteen and when the applicant resides with father or mother, or other relative or guardian, the probate judge or other officer authorized to issue marriage licenses shall not issue a license for the marriage until furnished with a sworn affidavit signed by such father, mother, other relative or guardian giving his or her consent to the marriage.

Section 20-1-260. Proof of age required of minor applicant.

The probate judge or any other officer authorized by law to issue marriage licenses shall not issue any license to any applicant under the age of eighteen years until he has filed a birth certificate, or a hospital or baptismal certificate which has been issued and dated within one year after birth, or a certified copy thereof, showing that he is of lawful age, which shall be filed in the records of his office with the application for such license. Provided, when an original birth, baptismal or hospital certificate is presented a copy of it shall be made and the original returned to the applicant. If the applicant shall certify in writing to the probate judge or such officer that he, after diligent effort, is unable to obtain a birth certificate or a hospital or baptismal certificate, the applicant shall then be required to have his parents, legal guardian or person with whom he resides execute an affidavit before any person authorized by law to administer an oath and under seal, which affidavit shall contain such information as will establish the age of the applicant. Provided, further, that upon the request of the applicant, any original birth, baptismal or hospital certificate presently on file with the court may be copied and the original returned to the applicant.

Persons applying for marriage licenses in lieu of furnishing birth certificates or hospital or baptismal certificates may present the following: military service identification card; selective service identification card; passports and visas.

Section 20-1-270. Proof of age required of applicant over age eighteen and under age twenty-five.

All persons over eighteen years of age and under twenty-five years of age shall furnish documentary evidence to the probate judge or any other officer authorized under the law to issue marriage licenses which shall prove the age of the applicant to the satisfaction of such probate judge or other officer. The probate judge or other officer shall enter upon the record of the application a brief description of evidence submitted.

Section 20-1-280. Penalty for furnishing false affidavit.

Any person furnishing the probate judge or any other officer authorized under the law to issue marriage licenses with a false affidavit shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined in the sum of one hundred dollars.

Section 20-1-290. Wilful failure of license-issuing officer to comply with SECTIONS 20-1-250, 20-1-260 and 20-1-270 as cause for removal.

The wilful failure of any officer responsible for the issuance of marriage licenses to comply with the terms of SECTIONS 20-1-250, 20-1-260 and 20-1-270 shall be grounds or cause for removal from office.

Section 20-1-300. Issuance of license to unmarried female and male under eighteen years of age when female is pregnant or has borne a child.

Notwithstanding the provisions of SECTIONS 20-1-250 to 20-1-290, a marriage license may be issued to an unmarried female and male under the age of eighteen years who could otherwise enter into a marital contract, if such female be pregnant or has borne a child, under the following conditions:

1. The fact of pregnancy or birth is established by the report or certificate of at least one duly licensed physician;
   
2. She and the putative father agree to marry;
   
3. Written consent to the marriage is given by one of the parents of the female, or by a person standing in loco parentis, such as her guardian or the person with whom she resides, or, in the event of no such qualified person, with the consent of the superintendent of the department of social services of the county in which either party resides;
   
4. Without regard to the age of the female and male; and
   
5. Without any requirement for any further consent to the marriage of the male.

Section 20-1-310. Form of license and certificate.

The form of license and certificate of marriage shall be prescribed and furnished by the State Registrar and shall contain information required by the standard certificate as recommended by the national agency in charge of vital statistics, all of which are declared necessary for registration, identification, legal, health and research purposes, with such additions as are necessary to meet requirements imposed by the State.

Section 20-1-320. Division of vital statistics shall distribute license forms.

The Division of Vital Statistics of the Department of Health and Environmental Control shall, for the purpose of uniformity, print and distribute necessary forms of marriage license and certificate to be used by all probate courts of this State in the issuance of marriage licenses.

Section 20-1-330. Issue of licenses in triplicate; disposition.

The officer issuing marriage license certificates shall issue them in triplicate, all of which shall be delivered to either of the contracting parties and the parties to whom they are delivered shall in turn deliver them to the minister or officer who performs the wedding ceremony. The minister or officer who performs the wedding ceremony shall fill them out as required by law and deliver one to the contracting parties, without additional charge, and the other two within fifteen days to the officer who issued the license certificates.

Section 20-1-340. Record of license and certificate kept by probate judge or clerk of court.

The probate judge or clerk of court who issued any such license shall, upon the return of the two copies to him by the person who performs the wedding ceremony, record and index such certificate in a book kept for that purpose and send one copy to the Division of Vital Statistics of the Department of Health and Environmental Control within fifteen days after the marriage license is returned to his offices. The judge of probate shall issue a certified copy of any such license and certificate to any person and he may charge the sum of fifty cents for so doing unless otherwise prohibited by law.

Section 20-1-350. Filing of license and certificate and issuance of certified copies thereof by Department of Health and Environmental Control.

The Department of Health and Environmental Control shall properly file and index every marriage license and certificate and may provide a certified copy of any license and certificate upon application of proper parties except that upon request the Department of Social Services or its designee must be provided at no charge with a copy or certified copy of a license and certificate for the purpose of establishing paternity or establishing, modifying, or enforcing a child support obligation.

Section 20-1-360. Effect of article on marriage without license.

Nothing contained in this article shall render illegal any marriage contracted without the issuance of a license.

Section 20-1-370. Disposition of license fee.

Of the fee of one dollar required under the provisions of SECTION 20-1-230 the probate judge shall retain twenty-five cents as his compensation and the remaining seventy-five cents shall be paid into the county treasury and go to the school fund of the county, except that:

1. In Clarendon County the entire fee of one dollar shall be collected in advance and paid monthly by the officer collecting it to the county treasurer for credit to the ordinary funds of said county, in such manner as may be required by law;
   
2. In Richland and Sumter Counties the entire fee of one dollar shall be paid to the county treasury;
   
3. In Oconee County the probate judge shall retain the sum of fifty cents as his compensation and the remaining fifty cents shall be paid into the county treasury and credited to the general fund of the county;
   
4. In the counties of Bamberg, Greenville, Lancaster and Lee the probate judge shall retain the sum of fifty cents as his compensation;
   
5. In the counties of Allendale, Barnwell, Calhoun, Chester, Chesterfield, Dorchester, Fairfield, Florence, Greenwood, Hampton, McCormick and Marion the probate judge and in Darlington County the clerk of court shall retain the entire fee as his compensation; and
   
6. In Marlboro County the license fee of one dollar shall be turned over monthly by the judge of probate to the county treasurer and go to the general fund of the county.

Section 20-1-380. Disposition of fines.

All fines imposed and recovered for any violation of this article shall be paid to the county treasurer and credited by him to the school fund of the county in which the violation occurs