Formula Not Required

  1. Law
  2. Tennessee Code
  3. Domestic Relations
  4. Marriage
  5. Ceremony
  6. Formula Not Required

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  1. No formula need be observed in such solemnization, except that the parties shall respectively declare, in the presence of the minister or officer, that they accept each other as husband and/or wife.
  2. For the purposes of satisfying the requirement in subsection (a) that each party must make a declaration in the presence of a minister or officer, a member of the armed forces of the United States may appear at the marriage ceremony via video conferencing if:
    1. The member of the armed forces is stationed in another country in support of combat or another military operation;
    2. A commissioned officer is present with, and confirms the identity of, the member of the armed forces;
    3. A person authorized to solemnize marriages pursuant to § 36-3-301 is present with, and confirms the identity of, the person who is marrying the member of the armed forces; and
    4. The person who is marrying the member of the armed forces is present in this state.

Code 1858, § 2440; Shan., § 4190; Code 1932, § 8413; T.C.A. (orig. ed.), § 36-416; Acts 2017, ch. 397, § 2.

Amendments. The 2017 amendment added (b).

Effective Dates. Acts 2017, ch. 397, § 3. May 18, 2017.

Law Reviews.

Common-Law Marriage in Tennessee, 19 Tenn. L. Rev. 83 (1947).

Informal Marriages in Tennessee — Marriage by Estoppel, by Prescription and by Ratification, 3 Vand. L. Rev. 610 (1950).


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