Texas Family Code Title 1, Chapter 2 - The Marriage Relationship

SUBCHAPTER A APPLICATION FOR MARRIAGE LICENSE

• Texas Section 2.001 - Marriage License
  (a) A man and a woman desiring to enter into a ceremonial marriage must obtain a marriage license from the county clerk of any county...
• Texas Section 2.002 - Application For License
  Except as provided by Section 2.006, each person applying for a license must: (1) appear before the county clerk; (2) submit the person's proof of...
• Texas Section 2.003 - Application For License By Minor
  In addition to the other requirements provided by this chapter, a person under 18 years of age applying for a license must provide to the...
• Texas Section 2.004 - Application Form
  (a) The county clerk shall furnish the application form as prescribed by the bureau of vital statistics. (b) The application form must contain: (1) a...
• Texas Section 2.005 - Proof Of Identity And Age
  (a) The county clerk shall require proof of the identity and age of each applicant. (b) The proof must be established by: (1) a driver's...
• Texas Section 2.006 - Absent Applicant
  (a) If an applicant is unable to appear personally before the county clerk to apply for a marriage license, any adult person or the other...
• Texas Section 2.007 - Affidavit Of Absent Applicant
  The affidavit of an absent applicant must include: (1) the absent applicant's full name, including the maiden surname of a female applicant, address, date of...
• Texas Section 2.0071 - Maintenance Of Records By Clerk Relating To License For Absent Applicant
  A county clerk who issues a marriage license for an absent applicant shall maintain the affidavit of the absent applicant and the application for the...
• Texas Section 2.008 - Execution Of Application By Clerk
  (a) The county clerk shall: (1) determine that all necessary information, other than the date of the marriage ceremony, the county in which the ceremony...
• Texas Section 2.009 - Issuance Of License
  (a) Except as provided by Subsections (b) and (d), the county clerk may not issue a license if either applicant: (1) fails to provide the...
• Texas Section 2.010 - Aids Information; Posting On Internet
  The Department of State Health Services shall prepare and make available to the public on its Internet website information about acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS)...
• Texas Section 2.012 - Violation By County Clerk; Penalty
  A county clerk or deputy county clerk who violates or fails to comply with this subchapter commits an offense. An offense under this section is...
• Texas Section 2.013 - Premarital Education Courses
  (a) Each person applying for a marriage license is encouraged to attend a premarital education course of at least eight hours during the year preceding...

SUBCHAPTER B UNDERAGE APPLICANTS

• Texas Section 2.014 - Family Trust Fund
  (a) The family trust fund is created as a trust fund with the state comptroller and shall be administered by the attorney general for the...
• Texas Section 2.101 - General Age Requirement
  Except as otherwise provided by this subchapter or on a showing that a prior marriage has been dissolved, a county clerk may not issue a...
• Texas Section 2.102 - Parental Consent For Underage Applicant
  (a) If an applicant is 16 years of age or older but under 18 years of age, the county clerk shall issue the license if...

SUBCHAPTER C CEREMONY AND RETURN OF LICENSE

• Texas Section 2.103 - Court Order For Underage Applicant
  (a) A minor may petition the court in the minor's own name for an order granting permission to marry. In a suit under this section,...
• Texas Section 2.201 - Expiration Of License
  If a marriage ceremony has not been conducted before the 90th day after the date the license is issued, the marriage license expires. Added by...
• Texas Section 2.202 - Persons Authorized To Conduct Ceremony
  (a) The following persons are authorized to conduct a marriage ceremony: (1) a licensed or ordained Christian minister or priest; (2) a Jewish rabbi; (3)...
• Texas Section 2.203 - Ceremony
  (a) On receiving an unexpired marriage license, an authorized person may conduct the marriage ceremony as provided by this subchapter. (b) A person may assent...
• Texas Section 2.204 - 72-hour Waiting Period; Exceptions
  (a) Except as provided by this section, a marriage ceremony may not take place during the 72-hour period immediately following the issuance of the marriage...
• Texas Section 2.205 - Discrimination In Conducting Marriage Prohibited
  (a) A person authorized to conduct a marriage ceremony by this subchapter is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, religion, or national origin...
• Texas Section 2.206 - Return Of License; Penalty
  (a) The person who conducts a marriage ceremony shall record on the license the date on which and the county in which the ceremony is...
• Texas Section 2.207 - Marriage Conducted After License Expired; Penalty
  (a) A person who is to conduct a marriage ceremony shall determine whether the license has expired from the county clerk's endorsement on the license....
• Texas Section 2.208 - Recording And Delivery Of License
  (a) The county clerk shall record a returned marriage license and mail the license to the address indicated on the application. (b) On the application...

SUBCHAPTER D VALIDITY OF MARRIAGE

• Texas Section 2.209 - Duplicate License
  (a) On request, the county clerk shall issue a certified copy of a recorded marriage license. (b) If a marriage license issued by a county...
• Texas Section 2.301 - Fraud, Mistake, Or Illegality In Obtaining License
  Except as otherwise provided by this chapter, the validity of a marriage is not affected by any fraud, mistake, or illegality that occurred in obtaining...

SUBCHAPTER E MARRIAGE WITHOUT FORMALITIES

• Texas Section 2.302 - Ceremony Conducted By Unauthorized Person
  The validity of a marriage is not affected by the lack of authority of the person conducting the marriage ceremony if: (1) there was a...
• Texas Section 2.401 - Proof Of Informal Marriage
  (a) In a judicial, administrative, or other proceeding, the marriage of a man and woman may be proved by evidence that: (1) a declaration of...
• Texas Section 2.402 - Declaration And Registration Of Informal Marriage
  (a) A declaration of informal marriage must be signed on a form prescribed by the bureau of vital statistics and provided by the county clerk....
• Texas Section 2.403 - Proof Of Identity And Age; Offense
  (a) The county clerk shall require proof of the identity and age of each party to the declaration of informal marriage to be established by...
• Texas Section 2.404 - Recording Of Certificate Or Declaration Of Informal Marriage
  (a) The county clerk shall: (1) determine that all necessary information is recorded on the declaration of informal marriage form and that all necessary documents...

SUBCHAPTER F RIGHTS AND DUTIES OF SPOUSES

• Texas Section 2.405 - Violation By County Clerk; Penalty
  A county clerk or deputy county clerk who violates this subchapter commits an offense. An offense under this section is a misdemeanor punishable by a...

SUBCHAPTER G FREEDOM OF RELIGION WITH RESPECT TO RECOGNIZING OR PERFORMING CERTAIN MARRIAGES

• Texas Section 2.501 - Duty To Support
  (a) Each spouse has the duty to support the other spouse. (b) A spouse who fails to discharge the duty of support is liable to...
• Texas Section 2.601 - Rights Of Certain Religious Organizations
  A religious organization, an organization supervised or controlled by or in connection with a religious organization, an individual employed by a religious organization while acting...
• Texas Section 2.602 - Discrimination Against Religious Organization Prohibited
  A refusal to provide services, accommodations, facilities, goods, or privileges under Section 2.601 is not the basis for a civil or criminal cause of action...

Last modified: September 28, 2016