Colorado Marriage Laws

Colo. Rev. Stat. § 14-2-106. License to marry

(1) (a) When a marriage license application has been completed and signed by both parties to a prospective marriage and at least one party has appeared before the county clerk and recorder and has paid the marriage license fee of seven dollars, a fee of twenty dollars to be transmitted by the county clerk and recorder to the state treasurer and credited by the treasurer to the Colorado domestic abuse program fund created in section 39-22-802 (1), and an additional amount established pursuant to section 25-2-121, such amount to be credited to the vital statistics records cash fund pursuant to section 25-2-121, the county clerk shall issue a license to marry and a marriage certificate form upon being furnished:

(I) Satisfactory proof that each party to the marriage will have attained the age of eighteen years at the time the marriage license becomes effective; or, if over the age of sixteen years but has not attained the age of eighteen years, has judicial approval, as provided in section 14-2-108; and

(II) Satisfactory proof that the marriage is not prohibited, as provided in section 14-2-110.

(b) Violation of subsection (1)(a)(I) of this section makes the marriage voidable.

C.R.S. § 14-2-110. Prohibited marriages

(1) The following marriages are prohibited:

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(b) A marriage between an ancestor and a descendant or between a brother and a sister, whether the relationship is by the half or the whole blood;

(c) A marriage between an uncle and a niece or between an aunt and a nephew, whether the relationship is by the half or the whole blood, except as to marriages permitted by the established customs of aboriginal cultures.

C.R.S. § 14-2-105. Marriage license and marriage certificate

(1) The executive director of the department of public health and environment shall prescribe the form for an application for a marriage license, which must include the following information:

(a) Name, sex, address, last four digits of the social security number, and date and place of birth of each party to the proposed marriage, which proof of identity and date of birth may be by a birth certificate, a driver's license, a passport, or other comparable evidence;

(b) If either party has previously been married, such party's married name and the date, place, and court in which the marriage was dissolved or declared invalid or the date and place of death of the former spouse;

(b.5) If either party has previously been a partner in a civil union and, if so, the name of the other partner in the civil union, or the date, place, and court in which the civil union was dissolved or declared invalid, or the date and place of death of the former partner in the civil union;

(c) Name and address of the parents or guardian of each party;

(d) Whether the parties are related to each other and, if so, their relationship, or, if the parties are currently married to each other, a statement to that effect.

C.R.S. § 14-2-106. License to marry

(1) (a) When a marriage license application has been completed and signed by both parties to a prospective marriage and at least one party has appeared before the county clerk and recorder and has paid the marriage license fee of seven dollars, a fee of twenty dollars to be transmitted by the county clerk and recorder to the state treasurer and credited by the treasurer to the Colorado domestic abuse program fund created in section 39-22-802 (1), and an additional amount established pursuant to section 25-2-121, such amount to be credited to the vital statistics records cash fund pursuant to section 25-2-121, the county clerk shall issue a license to marry and a marriage certificate form upon being furnished:

(I) Satisfactory proof that each party to the marriage will have attained the age of eighteen years at the time the marriage license becomes effective; or, if over the age of sixteen years but has not attained the age of eighteen years, has judicial approval, as provided in section 14-2-108; and

(II) Satisfactory proof that the marriage is not prohibited, as provided in section 14-2-110.

(b) Violation of subsection (1)(a)(I) of this section makes the marriage voidable.

C.R.S. § 14-2-107. When licenses to marry issued – validity

Licenses to marry shall be issued by the county clerk and recorder only during the hours that the office of the county clerk and recorder is open as prescribed by law and at no other time, and such licenses shall show the exact date and hour of their issue. A license shall not be valid for use outside the state of Colorado. Within the state, such licenses shall not be valid for more than thirty-five days after the date of issue. If any license to marry is not used within thirty-five days, it is void and shall be returned to the county clerk and recorder for cancellation.

C.R.S. § 14-2-107. When licenses to marry issued – validity

Licenses to marry shall be issued by the county clerk and recorder only during the hours that the office of the county clerk and recorder is open as prescribed by law and at no other time, and such licenses shall show the exact date and hour of their issue. A license shall not be valid for use outside the state of Colorado. Within the state, such licenses shall not be valid for more than thirty-five days after the date of issue. If any license to marry is not used within thirty-five days, it is void and shall be returned to the county clerk and recorder for cancellation.

C.R.S.§ 14-2-109. Solemnization and registration of marriages – proxy marriage

(1) A marriage may be solemnized by a judge of a court, by a court magistrate, by a retired judge of a court, by a public official whose powers include solemnization of marriages, by the parties to the marriage, or in accordance with any mode of solemnization recognized by any religious denomination or Indian nation or tribe. Either the person solemnizing the marriage or, if no individual acting alone solemnized the marriage, a party to the marriage shall complete the marriage certificate form and forward it to the county clerk and recorder within sixty-three days after the solemnization. Any person who fails to forward the marriage certificate to the county clerk and recorder as required by this section shall be required to pay a late fee in an amount of not less than twenty dollars. An additional five-dollar late fee may be assessed for each additional day of failure to comply with the forwarding requirements of this subsection (1) up to a maximum of fifty dollars. For purposes of determining whether a late fee shall be assessed pursuant to this subsection (1), the date of forwarding shall be deemed to be the date of postmark.

C.R.S.§ 14-2-109. Solemnization and registration of marriages – proxy marriage

(1) A marriage may be solemnized by a judge of a court, by a court magistrate, by a retired judge of a court, by a public official whose powers include solemnization of marriages, by the parties to the marriage, or in accordance with any mode of solemnization recognized by any religious denomination or Indian nation or tribe. Either the person solemnizing the marriage or, if no individual acting alone solemnized the marriage, a party to the marriage shall complete the marriage certificate form and forward it to the county clerk and recorder within sixty-three days after the solemnization. Any person who fails to forward the marriage certificate to the county clerk and recorder as required by this section shall be required to pay a late fee in an amount of not less than twenty dollars. An additional five-dollar late fee may be assessed for each additional day of failure to comply with the forwarding requirements of this subsection (1) up to a maximum of fifty dollars. For purposes of determining whether a late fee shall be assessed pursuant to this subsection (1), the date of forwarding shall be deemed to be the date of postmark.

C.R.S.§ 14-2-109. Solemnization and registration of marriages – proxy marriage

(2) (a) The requirements for applying for a marriage license for a proxy marriage are the following:

(I) One party to the proxy marriage is a resident of the state of Colorado;

(II) One party to the proxy marriage appears in person to apply for the marriage license and pays the fees required in section 14-2-106 (1);

(III) The signatures of both parties to the proxy marriage are required, and the party present shall sign the marriage license application, as prescribed in section 14-2-105 (2), and provide an absentee affidavit form, as prescribed by the state registrar, containing the notarized signature of the absent party, along with proper identification documents as specified in section 14-2-105 (1)(a) for the absent party; and

(IV) Both parties to the proxy marriage are eighteen years of age or older.

(b) If a party to a marriage is unable to be present at the solemnization, the absent party may authorize in writing a third person to act as the absent party's proxy for purposes of solemnization of the marriage, if the absent party is:

(I) A member of the armed forces of the United States who is stationed in another country or in another state in support of combat or another military operation; or

(II) An individual who is a government contractor, or an employee of a government contractor, working in support of the armed forces of the United States or in support of United States military operations in another country or in another state and who supplies proper identification of that status.

(c) If the person solemnizing the marriage is satisfied that the absent party is unable to be present and has consented to the marriage, such person may solemnize the marriage by proxy. If such person is not satisfied, the parties may petition the district court for an order permitting the marriage to be solemnized by proxy.