The judge of the probate court to whom the application for a marriage license is made shall satisfy himself or herself that the provisions set forth in Code Section 19-3-2 regarding age limitations are met. The judge shall require all applicants to furnish the court with documentary evidence of proof of age in the form of a birth certificate, driver's license, baptismal certificate, certificate of birth registration, selective service card, court record, passport, immigration papers, alien papers, citizenship papers, armed forces discharge papers, armed forces identification card, or hospital admission card containing the full name and date of birth. Applicants who have satisfactorily proved that they have reached the age of majority may be issued a marriage license immediately.
(Orig. Code 1863, § 1661; Code 1868, § 1704; Code 1873, § 1705; Code 1882, § 1705; Civil Code 1895, § 2419; Civil Code 1910, § 2938; Ga. L. 1924, p. 53, § 2; Ga. L. 1927, p. 224, § 1; Code 1933, § 53-206; Ga. L. 1965, p. 335, § 6; Ga. L. 1972, p. 193, § 6; Ga. L. 1975, p. 1298, § 1; Ga. L. 1976, p. 1719, § 4; Ga. L. 1979, p. 872, § 2; Ga. L. 2006, p. 141, § 6B/HB 847; Ga. L. 2019, p. 558, § 1-3/HB 228.)
The 2019 amendment, effective July 1, 2019, substituted "The judge shall require all applicants" for "If the judge does not know of his or her own knowledge the age of a party for whom a marriage license is sought, the judge shall require the applicant" at the beginning of the second sentence and deleted the former third sentence, which read: "In the event an applicant does not possess any of the above but appears to the judge to be at least 25 years of age, the applicant, in lieu of furnishing the judge with one of the above, may give an affidavit to the judge stating the applicant's age."
Code Commission notes.- Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 2006, "or that such limitations are not required by virtue of an order issued pursuant to Code Section 15-11-183" was deleted at the end of the first sentence. There is no Code Section 15-11-183.
Editor's notes.- Ga. L. 1972, p. 193, § 10, not codified by the General Assembly, effective July 1, 1972, provided that the purpose of the Act was to reduce the age of legal majority from 21 years of age to 18 years of age so that all persons, upon reaching the age of 18, would have the rights, privileges, powers, duties, responsibilities, and liabilities previously applicable to persons 21 years of age or over. The section further provided that the Act was not to be construed to have the effect of changing the age from 21 to 18 with respect to any legal instrument or court decree in existence prior to the effective date of the Act when the instrument referred only to "the age of majority" or words of similar import, except that any guardianship of the person or property of a minor under the provisions of Title 49 of the 1933 Code, whether such guardianship was created by court order or decree entered before or after the effective date of the Act or under the will of a testator which was executed after the effective date of the Act, would terminate when the ward for whom such guardianship was created reached 18 years of age.
Law reviews.- For article on 2006 amendment of this Code section, see 23 Ga. St. U. L. Rev. 79 (2006).
JUDICIAL DECISIONS
Cited in Maryland Cas. Co. v. Teele, 70 Ga. App. 259, 28 S.E.2d 193 (1943).
OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
Former Code 1933, § 53-206 (see now O.C.G.A. § 19-3-36) took precedence over former Code 1933, § 53-102 (see now O.C.G.A. § 19-3-2) insofar as conflict existed between the two statutes; when documentary proof of an applicant's age was required only a birth or baptismal certificate will suffice. 1975 Op. Att'y Gen. No. U75-5.
Judge may dispense with documentary proof of age only if the judge is certain, within the limits imposed by human observation and experience, that the applicants standing before the judge are of age; accordingly, "of his own knowledge" meant that a judge's observation of or prior personal acquaintance with the parties enabled the judge to conclude as a matter of practical certainty that the parties were of age. 1976 Op. Att'y Gen. No. U76-18.
RESEARCH REFERENCES
Am. Jur. 2d.
- 52 Am. Jur. 2d, Marriage, §§ 17, 18.
C.J.S.- 55 C.J.S., Marriage, §§ 11, 26.