PRINTER'S NO. 2119
No. 1715 Session of 1971
INTRODUCED BY MESSRS. MELTON AND BARBER, NOVEMBER 11, 1971
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, NOVEMBER 29, 1971
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of August 22, 1953 (P.L.1344), entitled "An act
2 relating to marriage; and amending, revising, consolidating
3 and changing the law relating thereto," reducing certain age
4 requirements.
5 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
6 hereby enacts as follows:
7 Section 1. Clause (c) of section 5 and subsection (a) of
8 section 11, act of August 22, 1953 (P.L.1344), known as "The
9 Marriage Law," are amended to read:
10 Section 5. Restrictions on the Issue of Marriage License.--No
11 license to marry shall be issued by any clerk of the orphans'
12 court:
13 * * *
14 (c) If either of the applicants is under the age of [twenty-
15 one] eighteen years, unless the consent of a parent or guardian
16 of said applicant shall be personally given before the clerk, or
17 be certified under the hand of a parent or guardian, attested by
18 two adult witnesses, and, in the latter case, the signature of
19 the parent or guardian shall be acknowledged before an officer
1 authorized by law to take acknowledgments. When any such minor
2 has no guardian, and a judge of the orphans' court is absent or
3 not accessible for any reason, the clerk of the orphans' court,
4 or a duly appointed assistant clerk of said court, may appoint
5 for such minor a guardian pro hac vice.
6 * * *
7 Section 11. Form of Marriage Licenses; Marriage
8 Certificates.--(a) The marriage license as issued by the clerk
9 of the orphans' court shall not be valid for a longer period
10 than sixty days from the date of issue, and shall be in form
11 substantially as follows to wit:
12 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania)
13 ss: No.
14 County of )
15 To any person authorized by law to solemnize marriage: You are
16 hereby authorized to join together, in holy state of matrimony,
17 according to the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, A.B.,
18 of full age and never heretofore married, and C.D..............
19 .......................likewise of full age and never heretofore
20 married.
21 Given under my hand and seal of the orphans' court of said
22 county of ................at.....................,this.........
23 day of.....................,one thousand................
24 If either of said parties is not of full age of [twenty-one]
25 eighteen years, then in lieu of the words "of full age," his or
26 her age shall be stated, and the fact of consent of parent or
27 guardian shall likewise be stated, and if either of said parties
28 shall have been married previously to the issuing of such
29 license, then in lieu of the words "never previously married"
30 there shall be stated the number of times he or she shall have
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1 been previously married, and the mode by which said prior
2 marriage or marriages was or were dissolved, the date or dates
3 of divorce or death, and if by divorce, the cause thereof. If
4 either of said parties is under the age of sixteen years and a
5 judge of the orphans' court shall have authorized the license to
6 be issued, then in lieu of the words "of full age," his or her
7 age shall be stated, and the fact that a judge authorized the
8 license to issue shall likewise be stated, in addition to the
9 consent of a parent or a guardian.
10 * * *
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