REQUIRES TWO-THIRDS MAJORITY VOTE
(§§ 1.3, 1.9)
(Reprinted with amendments adopted on May 23, 2023)
THIRD REPRINT S.B. 211
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SENATE BILL NO. 211–SENATORS D. HARRIS, NGUYEN, FLORES;
DONATE, OHRENSCHALL, PAZINA AND SCHEIBLE
MARCH 2, 2023
____________
Referred to Committee on Judiciary
SUMMARY—Revises provisions relating to marriage.
(BDR 11-656)
FISCAL NOTE: Effect on Local Government: May have Fiscal Impact.
Effect on the State: No.
~
EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted.
AN ACT relating to marriage; requiring, under certain
circumstances, a county clerk to issue an amended
certificate of marriage to a party to a marriage whose
name has changed; eliminating the authority for an
applicant for a marriage license to change his or her
middle or last name at the time of issuance of a marriage
license; and providing other matters properly relating
thereto.
Legislative Counsel’s Digest:
Existing law provides that if any information in a certificate of marriage is 1
incorrect, the county clerk or the county recorder may charge and collect from a 2
person certain fees for the preparation of an affidavit of correction and the filing of 3
a corrected certificate of marriage. (NRS 122.135) Section 1.3 of this bill provides 4
that if a marriage was solemnized in this State and a party to the marriage receives 5
a certified copy of a court order from a court of this State or another state, the 6
District of Columbia or any territory of the United States changing the name of the 7
party, the county clerk of the county where the original marriage license was issued 8
shall issue an amended certificate of marriage upon receipt of: (1) a certified copy 9
of the original certificate of marriage; (2) a certified copy of the court order; (3) a 10
notarized affidavit of amendment executed by the parties to the marriage; and (4) 11
the applicable fees. Section 1.6 of this bill sets forth the form for any amended 12
certificate of marriage that is issued pursuant to section 1.3. 13
Existing law authorizes a board of county commissioners of a county whose 14
population is 700,000 or more (currently only Clark County) to adopt an ordinance 15
requiring a certificate of marriage to be filed in the office of the county clerk. (NRS 16
246.100) If a board of county commissioners has adopted such an ordinance, 17
section 1.9 of this bill requires the county clerk to file the amended certificate of 18
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marriage in the office of the county clerk within 10 days after its issuance. If a 19
board of county commissioners has not adopted such an ordinance, section 1.9 20
instead requires the party to whom the amended certificate of marriage is issued to 21
file the amended certificate of marriage with the county recorder of the county 22
where the original certificate of marriage was recorded within 10 days after its 23
issuance. 24
Existing law provides that at the time of issuance of a marriage license, an 25
applicant or both applicants may elect to change the middle name or last name, or 26
both, by which an applicant wishes to be known after solemnization of the 27
marriage. An applicant for a marriage license may change his or her name pursuant 28
to this provision only at the time of issuance of the license. (NRS 122.040) Section 29
2 of this bill eliminates this authority for such a name change at the time of 30
issuance of a marriage license. Sections 3 and 4 of this bill make conforming 31
changes to the format of marriage licenses and certificates of marriage to account 32
for the elimination of that authority by section 2. 33
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN
SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Chapter 122 of NRS is hereby amended by adding 1
thereto the provisions set forth as sections 1.3, 1.6 and 1.9 of this 2
act. 3
Sec. 1.3. 1. If a marriage was solemnized in this State and 4
a party to the marriage receives a certified copy of a court order 5
from a court of this State or another state, the District of 6
Columbia or any territory of the United States changing the name 7
of the party, the county clerk of the county where the original 8
marriage license was issued to the party shall issue an amended 9
certificate of marriage to that party that sets forth the new name of 10
the party, upon receipt by the county clerk of: 11
(a) A certified copy of the original certificate of marriage; 12
(b) A certified copy of the court order; 13
(c) A notarized affidavit of amendment prepared by the county 14
clerk and executed by the parties to the marriage; and 15
(d) The fees required pursuant to subsection 2. 16
2. The county clerk may charge and collect a fee of not more 17
than $25 for the preparation of the affidavit of amendment 18
pursuant to paragraph (c) of subsection 1. The party requesting 19
the amended certificate of marriage must also pay any fee 20
required pursuant to NRS 246.180 or NRS 247.305, as applicable, 21
for the filing or recording of the amended certificate of marriage. 22
3. Upon compliance with subsection 1, the county clerk shall 23
issue the amended certificate of marriage to the parties to the 24
marriage. 25
4. The county clerk or county recorder, as applicable, shall 26
maintain as a public record the original certificate of marriage 27
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and the amended certificate of marriage issued pursuant to this 1
section. 2
Sec. 1.6. 1. An amended certificate of marriage issued 3
pursuant to section 1.3 of this act must be substantially in the 4
following form: 5
STATE OF NEVADA 6
AMENDED CERTIFICATE OF MARRIAGE 7
8
State of Nevada } 9
} ss. 10
County of ............................... } 11
12
This is to acknowledge that a marriage officiant, did on 13
the........ day of the month of........ of the year........, 14
at................ (address or church),................ (city), Nevada, 15
join in lawful wedlock............... (name), of................ (city), 16
State of................, date of birth.........., and................ (name), 17
of............... (city), State of................, date of birth........, with 18
their mutual consent, in the presence of at least one witness. 19
20
(Seal of County Clerk) 21
22
This certificate is issued to reflect an amendment made 23
pursuant to Instrument No............. on file at the Office of 24
the................ County [Clerk or Recorder] and the court 25
order issued in................ County, State of................, Case 26
No........... 27
28
The original Certificate of Marriage No..........., recorded 29
or filed as Instrument No..........., is on file at the Office of 30
the................ County [Clerk or Recorder]. 31
32
2. All information contained in the amended certificate of 33
marriage must be typewritten or legibly printed in black ink, 34
except the signatures. 35
Sec. 1.9. 1. If a county clerk issues an amended certificate 36
of marriage pursuant to section 1.3 of this act and the board of 37
county commissioners: 38
(a) Has adopted an ordinance pursuant to NRS 246.100, the 39
county clerk shall, within 10 days after its issuance, file the 40
amended certificate of marriage in the office of the county clerk. 41
(b) Has not adopted an ordinance pursuant to NRS 246.100, 42
the party to whom the amended certificate of marriage is issued 43
shall, within 10 days after receipt, file the amended certificate of 44
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marriage with the county recorder where the original certificate of 1
marriage was recorded. 2
2. For the recording or filing of an amended certificate of 3
marriage pursuant to this section, the county recorder or county 4
clerk is entitled to the fees designated in subsection 2 of section 1.3 5
of this act. 6
Sec. 2. NRS 122.040 is hereby amended to read as follows: 7
122.040 1. Before persons may be joined in marriage, a 8
license must be obtained for that purpose from the county clerk of 9
any county in the State. Except as otherwise provided in this 10
subsection, the license must be issued at the county seat of that 11
county. The board of county commissioners: 12
(a) In a county whose population is 700,000 or more may, at the 13
request of the county clerk, designate not more than five branch 14
offices of the county clerk at which marriage licenses may be 15
issued, if the designated branch offices are located outside of the 16
county seat. 17
(b) In a county whose population is less than 700,000 may, at 18
the request of the county clerk, designate one branch office of the 19
county clerk at which marriage licenses may be issued, if the 20
designated branch office is established in a county office building 21
which is located outside of the county seat. 22
2. Except as otherwise provided in this section, before issuing a 23
marriage license, the county clerk shall require each applicant to 24
provide proof of the applicant’s name and age. The county clerk 25
may accept as proof of the applicant’s name and age an original or 26
certified copy of any of the following: 27
(a) A driver’s license, instruction permit or identification card 28
issued by this State or another state, the District of Columbia or any 29
territory of the United States. 30
(b) A passport. 31
(c) A birth certificate and: 32
(1) Any secondary document that contains the name and a 33
photograph of the applicant; or 34
(2) Any document for which identification must be verified 35
as a condition to receipt of the document. 36
If the birth certificate is written in a language other than English, 37
the county clerk may request that the birth certificate be translated 38
into English and notarized. 39
(d) A military identification card or military dependent 40
identification card issued by any branch of the Armed Forces of the 41
United States. 42
(e) A Certificate of Citizenship, Certificate of Naturalization, 43
Permanent Resident Card or Temporary Resident Card issued by the 44
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United States Citizenship and Immigration Services of the 1
Department of Homeland Security. 2
(f) Any other document that provides the applicant’s name and 3
age. If the applicant clearly appears over the age of 25 years, no 4
documentation of proof of age is required. 5
3. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 4, the county 6
clerk issuing the license shall require each applicant to answer under 7
oath each of the questions contained in the form of license. The 8
county clerk shall, except as otherwise provided in this subsection, 9
require each applicant to include the applicant’s social security 10
number on the affidavit of application for the marriage license. If a 11
person does not have a social security number, the person must state 12
that fact. The county clerk shall not require any evidence to verify a 13
social security number. If any of the information required is 14
unknown to the person, the person must state that the answer is 15
unknown. The county clerk shall not deny a license to an applicant 16
who states that the applicant does not have a social security number 17
or who states that any requested information concerning the 18
applicant’s parents is unknown. 19
4. Upon finding that extraordinary circumstances exist which 20
result in only one applicant being able to appear before the county 21
clerk, the county clerk may waive the requirements of subsection 3 22
with respect to the person who is unable to appear before the county 23
clerk, or may refer the applicant to the district court. If the applicant 24
is referred to the district court, the district court may waive the 25
requirements of subsection 3 with respect to the person who is 26
unable to appear before the county clerk. If the district court waives 27
the requirements of subsection 3, the district court shall notify the 28
county clerk in writing. If the county clerk or the district court 29
waives the requirements of subsection 3, the county clerk shall 30
require the applicant who is able to appear before the county clerk 31
to: 32
(a) Answer under oath each of the questions contained in the 33
form of license. The applicant shall answer any questions with 34
reference to the other person named in the license. 35
(b) Include the applicant’s social security number and the social 36
security number of the other person named in the license on the 37
affidavit of application for the marriage license. If either person 38
does not have a social security number, the person responding to the 39
question must state that fact. The county clerk shall not require any 40
evidence to verify a social security number. 41
If any of the information required on the application is unknown 42
to the person responding to the question, the person must state that 43
the answer is unknown. The county clerk shall not deny a license to 44
an applicant who states that the applicant does not have a social 45
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security number or who states that any requested information 1
concerning the parents of either the person who is responding to the 2
question or the person who is unable to appear is unknown. 3
5. When the authorization of a district court is required because 4
the marriage involves a minor, the county clerk shall issue the 5
license if that authorization is given to the county clerk in writing. 6
6. [At the time of issuance of the license, an applicant or both 7
applicants may elect to change the middle name or last name, or 8
both, by which an applicant wishes to be known after solemnization 9
of the marriage. The first name of each applicant selected for use by 10
the applicant after solemnization of the marriage must be the same 11
as the first name indicated on the proof of the applicant’s name 12
submitted pursuant to subsection 2. An applicant may change his or 13
her name pursuant to this subsection only at the time of issuance of 14
the license. One or both applicants may adopt: 15
(a) As a middle name, one of the following: 16
(1) The current last name of the other applicant. 17
(2) The last name of either applicant given at birth. 18
(3) A hyphenated combination of the current middle name 19
and the current last name of either applicant. 20
(4) A hyphenated combination of the current middle name 21
and the last name given at birth of either applicant. 22
(b) As a last name, one of the following: 23
(1) The current last name of the other applicant. 24
(2) The last name of either applicant given at birth. 25
(3) A hyphenated combination of the potential last names 26
described in paragraphs (a) and (b). 27
7.] All records pertaining to marriage licenses are public 28
records and open to inspection pursuant to the provisions of 29
NRS 239.010. 30
[8.] 7. A marriage license issued on or after July 1, 1987, 31
expires 1 year after its date of issuance. 32
Sec. 3. NRS 122.050 is hereby amended to read as follows: 33
122.050 The marriage license must contain the name of each 34
applicant as shown in the documents presented pursuant to 35
subsection 2 of NRS 122.040 . [and the name, if any, selected by 36
each applicant for use after the applicants are joined in marriage.] 37
The marriage license must be substantially in the following form: 38
39
MARRIAGE LICENSE 40
(EXPIRES 1 YEAR AFTER ISSUANCE) 41
42
State of Nevada } 43
}ss. 44
County of ......................................................... } 45
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These presents are to authorize any minister, other church 1
or religious official authorized to solemnize a marriage, 2
notary public or marriage officiant who has obtained a 3
certificate of permission to perform marriages, any Supreme 4
Court justice, judge of the Court of Appeals or district judge 5
within this State, or justice of the peace within a township 6
wherein the justice of the peace is permitted to solemnize 7
marriages or if authorized pursuant to subsection 3 of NRS 8
122.080, or a municipal judge if authorized pursuant to 9
subsection 4 of NRS 122.080, or any commissioner of civil 10
marriages or his or her deputy within a commissioner 11
township wherein they are permitted to solemnize marriages 12
or any mayor if authorized pursuant to subsection 5 of NRS 13
122.080, to join in marriage ........ of (City, town or location) 14
........, State of ........ State of birth (If not in U.S.A., name of 15
country) ........; Date of birth ........ Name of Parent No. 1 ........ 16
State of birth of Parent No. 1 (If not in U.S.A., name of 17
country) ........ Name of Parent No. 2 ........ State of birth of 18
Parent No. 2 (If not in U.S.A., name of country) ........ 19
Number of this marriage (1st, 2nd, etc.) ..... Former Spouse: 20
Deceased ........ Divorced ........ Annulled ........ When ........ 21
Where ........ And ........ of (City, town or location) ........, State 22
of ........ State of birth (If not in U.S.A., name of country) 23
........; Date of birth ........ Name of Parent No. 1 ........ State of 24
birth of Parent No. 1 (If not in U.S.A., name of country) ........ 25
Name of Parent No. 2 ........ State of birth of Parent No. 2 (If 26
not in U.S.A., name of country) ........ Number of this 27
marriage (1st, 2nd, etc.) ........ Former Spouse: Deceased ........ 28
Divorced ........ Annulled ........ When ........ Where ........; and 29
to certify the marriage according to law. [After ........ (name) 30
and ........ (name) are joined in marriage, ........ wishes to use 31
the name ........ (New name) and ........ wishes to use the name 32
........ (New name) OR The parties have not designated any 33
changes of name at the time of issuance of the marriage 34
license.] 35
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Witness my hand and the seal of the county, this ..... day 1
of the month of ………. of the year ............ 2
3
........................................................ 4
(Seal) Clerk 5
6
........................................................ 7
Deputy clerk 8
Sec. 4. NRS 122.120 is hereby amended to read as follows: 9
122.120 1. After a marriage is solemnized, the person 10
solemnizing the marriage shall give to each couple being married an 11
uncertified copy of a certificate of marriage. 12
2. The certificate of marriage must contain the date of birth of 13
each applicant as contained in the form of marriage license pursuant 14
to NRS 122.050. If two persons, regardless of gender, who are 15
spouses of each other are being rejoined in marriage pursuant to 16
subsection 2 of NRS 122.020, the certificate of marriage must state 17
that the persons were rejoined in marriage and that the certificate is 18
replacing a record of marriage which was lost or destroyed or is 19
otherwise unobtainable. The certificate of marriage must be in 20
substantially the following form: 21
22
STATE OF NEVADA 23
MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE 24
25
State of Nevada } 26
}ss. 27
County of ............................... } 28
29
This is to certify that the undersigned, ................................ 30
(a minister or other church or religious official authorized to 31
solemnize a marriage, notary public, judge, justice of the 32
peace of ................................ County, commissioner of civil 33
marriages, deputy commissioner of civil marriages, marriage 34
officiant or mayor, as the case may be), did on the ................ 35
day of the month of ................ of the year ..............., 36
at ................ (address or church), ................ (city), Nevada, 37
join or rejoin, as the case may be, in lawful wedlock 38
................ (name), of ................ (city), State of ................, 39
date of birth ................, and ................ (name), of ................ 40
(city), State of ................, date of birth ................, with their 41
mutual consent, in the presence of ................ and ................ 42
(witnesses). [After ............ (name) and ............ (name) are 43
joined or rejoined in marriage, as the case may be, ............ 44
(name) wishes to use the name ............ (New name) and 45
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............ (name) wishes to use the name ............ (New name) 1
OR The parties have not designated any changes of name at 2
the time of issuance of the marriage license.] (If two persons, 3
regardless of gender, who are the spouses of each other are 4
being rejoined in marriage pursuant to subsection 2 of NRS 5
122.020, this certificate replaces the record of the marriage of 6
the persons who are being rejoined in marriage.) 7
8
............................................................... 9
Signature of person performing 10
(Seal of County Clerk) the marriage 11
12
............................................................... 13
Name under signature typewritten 14
or printed in black ink 15
16
............................................... 17
County Clerk 18
19
............................................................... 20
Official title of person performing 21
the marriage 22
23
............................................... 24
25
............................................... 26
Couple’s mailing address 27
28
3. All information contained in the certificate of marriage must 29
be typewritten or legibly printed in black ink, except the signatures. 30
The signature of the person performing the marriage must be an 31
original signature. 32
Sec. 5. 1. This section becomes effective upon passage and 33
approval. 34
2. Sections 1 to 4, inclusive, of this act become effective: 35
(a) Upon passage and approval for the purpose of performing 36
any preparatory administrative tasks that are necessary to carry out 37
the provisions of this act; and 38
(b) On January 1, 2024, for all other purposes. 39
H