Mississippi Marriage Laws
Written and edited for accuracy by the Mississippi marriage law researchers at the Universal Life Church on
For many, the state of Mississippi still stands at the metaphorical crossroads of tradition and modernity. Perhaps nowhere is this more evident than in the way Mississippi sets and manages its own rather unique marriage laws. That being said, if your mind is set on a wedding in the Magnolia State, we at the Universal Life Church strongly suggest taking some time to carefully read through the following step-by-step guide, taken straight from the legal source. Doing so may save you the blues of being stuck with a marriage that is not legally binding.
Wedding Ceremony Requirements
- Marriage By Proxy Allowed:
- No
- Minister Required to be Present:
- Yes
- Number of Witnesses Required:
- None
- Min. Age of Witnesses:
- N/A
- Couple's Consent Required:
- Yes
- Pronouncement Required:
- Yes
The state of Mississippi will allow couples and their minister to dictate the specific content and flow of the ceremony, in keeping with their own religious customs, in so far as any formal ceremony includes a declared consent to marry from both parties, made before an authorized officiant.
Miss. Code Ann. § 93-1-19. Marriage may be solemnized according to religious customs.
It shall be lawful for a pastor of any religious society in this state to join together in marriage such persons of the society to whom a marriage license has been issued, according to the rules and customs established by the society. The clerk or keeper of the minutes, proceedings, or other books of the religious society wherein such marriage shall be had and solemnized, shall make a true and faithful register of all marriages solemnized in the society, in a book kept by him for that purpose, and return a certificate of the same to the clerk of the circuit court of the county, to be by him recorded, under the penalty prescribed in Section 93-1-21.
Requirements for the Couple
- Min. Age of Couple:
- Age 21 or Age 17 with Guardian Consent
- Residency:
- Not Required
- Min. Distance of Kin Allowed:
- Second Cousins
- Marriage Equality:
- Yes
Mississippi is the only state in the country that sets the legal age of consent to marry at 21. What’s more, its definition of a minor varies according to sex. That means males who are at least 17, and females who are at least 15, must present parental or guardian approval to the circuit clerk in order to get married.
Same sex couples who are now allowed to marry in the state given recent changes in federal marriage equality laws, should take special note of these gendered restrictions.
Marriages between siblings, between sons and grandparents, parents, stepparents or aunts, between fathers and daughters or grand-daughters and between first cousins are prohibited. Similarly, a father cannot marry his son’s widow, and no man shall marry his wife’s child or grandchild, nor the children of his own siblings. The same applies to females in exactly the same circumstances and degrees.
Miss. Code Ann. § 93-1-1. Certain marriages declared incestuous and void.
(1) The son shall not marry his grandmother, his mother, or his stepmother; the brother his sister; the father his daughter, or his legally adopted daughter, or his grand-daughter; the son shall not marry the daughter of his father begotten of his stepmother, or his aunt, being his father’s or mother’s sister, nor shall the children of brother or sister, or brothers and sisters intermarry being first cousins by blood. The father shall not marry his son’s widow; a man shall not marry his wife’s daughter, or his wife’s daughter’s daughter, or his wife’s son’s daughter, or the daughter of his brother or sister; and the like prohibition shall extend to females in the same degrees. All marriages prohibited by this subsection are incestuous and void.
Miss. Code Ann. § 93-1-5. Conditions precedent to issuance of license; penalty for noncompliance.
(1) Every male who is at least seventeen (17) years old and every female who is at least fifteen (15) years old shall be capable in law of contracting marriage. However, males and females under the age twenty-one (21) years must furnish the circuit clerk satisfactory evidence of consent to the marriage by the parents or guardians of the parties. It shall be unlawful for the circuit court clerk to issue a marriage license until the following conditions precedent have been complied with:
(a) Application for the license is to be made in writing to the clerk of the circuit court of any county in the State of Mississippi. The application shall be sworn to by both applicants and shall include:
(i) The names, ages and addresses of the parties applying;
(ii) The names and addresses of the parents of the applicants, and, for applicants under the age of twenty-one (21), if no parents, then names and addresses of the guardian or next of kin;
(iii) The signatures of witnesses; and
(iv) Any other data that may be required by law or the State Board of Health.
(b) Proof of age shall be presented to the circuit court clerk in the form of either a birth certificate, baptismal record, armed service discharge, armed service identification card, life insurance policy, insurance certificate, school record, driver’s license, or other official document evidencing age. The document substantiating age and date of birth shall be examined by the circuit court clerk before whom application is made, and the circuit court clerk shall retain in his file with the application the document or a certified or photostatic copy of the document.
(c) Applicants under the age of twenty-one (21) must submit affidavits showing the age of both applying parties made by either the father, mother, guardian or next of kin of each of the contracting parties and filed with the clerk of the circuit court along with the application.
(d) If the male applicant is under seventeen (17) years of age or the female is under fifteen (15) years of age, and satisfactory proof is furnished to the judge of any circuit, chancery or county court that sufficient reasons exist and that the parties desire to be married to each other and that the parents or other person in loco parentis of the person or persons so under age consent to the marriage, then the judge of any such court in the county where either of the parties resides may waive the minimum age requirement and by written instrument authorize the clerk of the court to issue the marriage license to the parties if they are otherwise qualified by law. Authorization shall be a part of the confidential files of the clerk of the court, subject to inspection only by written permission of the judge.
Requirements for the Minister
- Min. Age of Minister:
- Age 18
- Residency:
- Not Required
- Document(s) Required:
- Ordination Credential
- Online Ordination Recognized:
- Yes
- Relevant Office of Registration:
- Circuit Clerk
- Latest Document(s) Submission Date Allowed:
- Before the Ceremony
- Minister I.D. # Issued:
- No
All states in this country allow for the solemnization of marriages through both civil and religious ceremonies. In this regard, Mississippi is no exception.
Ministers, rabbis or other spiritual leaders deemed to be in good standing with their religious bodies, as well as judges of the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, circuit court, chancery court or county court in the state, may perform the rites of matrimony. Included, of course, are ministers of the Universal Life Church, legally recognized ‘religious actors’ ordained online without prejudice to gender or personal beliefs.
That being said, ULC ministers may be asked to present their credentials to the circuit clerk before the ceremony, depending on the county in which the ceremony will be held.
Miss. Code Ann. § 93-1-17. By whom marriages may be solemnized.
Any minister of the gospel ordained according to the rules of his church or society, in good standing; any Rabbi or other spiritual leader of any other religious body authorized under the rules of such religious body to solemnize rites of matrimony and being in good standing; any judge of the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, circuit court, chancery court or county court may solemnize the rites of matrimony between any persons anywhere within this state who shall produce a license granted as herein directed. Justice court judges and members of the boards of supervisors may likewise solemnize the rites of matrimony within their respective counties. Any marriages performed by a mayor of a municipality prior to March 14, 1994 are valid provided such marriages satisfy the requirements of Section 93-1-18.
Marriage License Facts
- ULC-Officiated Ceremony Type:
- Religious
- Mandatory Waiting Period:
- None
- License Valid For:
- No Expiration
- License Must Be Submitted:
- Within 5 Days of Ceremony
A marriage license issued in Mississippi is technically valid until the couple is married, as there is no expiration or waiting period between its issuance and the solemnization of the ceremony. Couples are therefore free to take as little or as much time as they need.
However, copies of the marriage record will eventually have to be signed by both the couple and minister, and returned within 5 days of the completed ceremony.
Miss. Code Ann. § 41-57-48. Statistical record of marriage; completion; filing; recording fee.
(3) The person who performs the marriage ceremony shall complete and sign the section relating to the ceremony and shall return the record to the circuit clerk who issued the license within five (5) days after the ceremony.
Marriage License Requirements
- Who Picks Up License:
- The Couple
- Where License is Valid:
- Any County in Mississippi
- Marriage License Pick-Up:
- In Person Only
- Cost of License:
- $38.00
- Accepted I.D. Types:
- Valid Official ID Showing Age
- Proof of Divorce Required (If Applicable):
- Varies by County
- Blood Test Required:
- No
Couples seeking a marriage license in Mississippi must apply in person, before a circuit court clerk in any county in the state. The written application must include the names, ages and addresses of both parties, as well as the names and addresses of parents or legal guardians in the event they are minors. The clerk will verify that information with either a birth certificate, baptismal record, Army ID, driver’s license or school record. Certain counties may also demand a divorce certificate in the case of prior marriages.
If satisfied with the information provided, the clerk will issue a marriage license and file a record of marriage with the office of vital records registration of the State Board of Health. The fee for a marriage license is $38.
Miss. Code Ann. § 41-57-48. Statistical record of marriage; completion; filing; recording fee.
(1) For each marriage performed in this state, a record entitled “Statistical Record of Marriage” shall be filed with the office of vital records registration of the State Board of Health by the circuit clerk who issued the marriage license and shall be registered if it has been completed and filed in accordance with this section.
(2) The circuit clerk who issues the marriage license shall complete the statistical record (except for the section relating to the ceremony) on a form prescribed and furnished by the State Board of Health and shall sign it. The record shall be prepared on the basis of information obtained from the parties to be married, and both the bride and the groom shall sign the record certifying that the information about themselves is correct.
(3) The person who performs the marriage ceremony shall complete and sign the section relating to the ceremony and shall return the record to the circuit clerk who issued the license within five (5) days after the ceremony.
Miss. Code Ann. § 93-1-5. Conditions precedent to issuance of license; penalty for noncompliance.
(1) ...
(a) Application for the license is to be made in writing to the clerk of the circuit court of any county in the State of Mississippi. The application shall be sworn to by both applicants and shall include:
(i) The names, ages and addresses of the parties applying;
(ii) The names and addresses of the parents of the applicants, and, for applicants under the age of twenty-one (21), if no parents, then names and addresses of the guardian or next of kin;
(iii) The signatures of witnesses; and
(iv) Any other data that may be required by law or the State Board of Health.
(b) Proof of age shall be presented to the circuit court clerk in the form of either a birth certificate, baptismal record, armed service discharge, armed service identification card, life insurance policy, insurance certificate, school record, driver’s license, or other official document evidencing age. The document substantiating age and date of birth shall be examined by the circuit court clerk before whom application is made, and the circuit court clerk shall retain in his file with the application the document or a certified or photostatic copy of the document.
Final Steps
- Officiant's Title on Marriage License:
- Minister
- Church/Ordaining Body:
- Universal Life Church Ministries
- Address of Church:
- Minister's Home Address
Once the minister has pronounced the couple married and the ceremony is complete, it’s their job to ensure the marriage certificate includes the date of the marriage, all relevant information on the couple, as well as their own title, ordaining religious body (the Universal Life Church) and home address.
Once all parties have endorsed the document, the marriage license and certificate must be returned to the same clerk where it was issued within five days of the ceremony.
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