APPROVED CHAPTER
MAY 29, 2025 130
BY GOVERNOR PUBLIC LAW
STATE OF MAINE
_____
IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD
TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-FIVE
_____
H.P. 47 - L.D. 83
An Act Concerning the Filing of Marriage Licenses and the Recording of
Intentions as Part of the Electronic Vital Records System
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 19-A MRSA §651, sub-§2, as repealed and replaced by PL 2021, c. 49, §1,
is amended to read:
2. Application. The parties wishing to record notice of their intentions of marriage
shall submit an application for recording notice of their intentions of marriage. The
application may be issued to any 2 persons otherwise qualified under this chapter regardless
of the sex of each person if the clerk or State Registrar of Vital Statistics is satisfied as to
the identity of the applicants. The application must include a signed certification that the
information recorded on the application is correct and that the applicant is free to marry
according to the laws of this State. If either party intends to change that party's name upon
marriage, the application must include the proposed new name of that party. The
applicant's signature must be acknowledged before an official authorized to take oaths. An
electronic copy of the completed application must be attached to the marriage record in the
electronic system specified by the State Registrar of Vital Statistics. An application
recording notice of intention to marry is not open for public inspection for 50 years from
the date of the application except that:
A. The names of the parties for whom intentions to marry are filed and the intended
date of marriage are public records and open for public inspection; and
B. A person with a researcher identification card under Title 22, section 2706,
subsection 8 is permitted to inspect records and may be issued a noncertified copy of
an application.
Sec. 2. 19-A MRSA §652, sub-§5, as amended by PL 2001, c. 354, §3 and PL
2003, c. 689, Pt. B, §6, is repealed.
Sec. 3. 19-A MRSA §653, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2019, c. 340, §12, is further
amended to read:
1. Filing; enter notice. A person who believes that parties are about to contract
marriage when either of them can not cannot lawfully do so may file a caution and the
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reasons for the caution in the office of the clerk where notice of their intentions is required
to be filed or with the State Registrar of Vital Statistics. If either party applies to enter
notice of their intentions, the clerk or State Registrar of Vital Statistics shall withhold the
license until the judge of probate from the county involved approves the marriage. If the
license has already been issued and the parties have not yet been married, the office of the
clerk or the State Registrar of Vital Statistics shall notify the parties that they may not marry
until the judge of probate from the county involved approves the marriage.
Sec. 4. 19-A MRSA §654, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2019, c. 340, §13, is further
amended to read:
2. Return of marriage license. The parties or the person who solemnized the
marriage shall return the marriage license to the State Registrar of Vital Statistics or the
clerk who issued the license within 7 15 working days following the date on which the
marriage is solemnized by that person. The clerk and the State Registrar of Vital Statistics
each shall retain a copy of the license. If a marriage license is returned later than 15 working
days following the date on which the marriage is solemnized, the marriage must be marked
as a late filing.
Sec. 5. 19-A MRSA §654, sub-§4, as amended by PL 2019, c. 340, §13, is further
amended to read:
4. Recorded by clerk or State Registrar of Vital Statistics. The clerk or State
Registrar of Vital Statistics shall record all attach electronic copies of the completed
marriage licenses returned under this section in the electronic system specified by the State
Registrar of Vital Statistics.
Sec. 6. 19-A MRSA §656, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2021, c. 49, §2, is further
amended to read:
2. Completed license; ceremony performed. Each marriage license issued must be
completed and the certification statement signed by both parties to the intended marriage.
The parties' signatures may be obtained at issuance or at the time the marriage is
solemnized. The completed license or licenses must be delivered by the parties to the
person solemnizing the marriage. Upon completion of the solemnization, which must be
performed in the presence of at least 2 witnesses other than the person officiating, the
person officiating and the 2 witnesses shall sign the license or licenses, which are then
known as the marriage certificate or certificates, and the parties are considered legally
married.
Sec. 7. 19-A MRSA §660, as enacted by PL 2015, c. 193, §1, is amended by
amending the section headnote to read:
§660. Late-filed application for certificate of Delayed marriage registration
Sec. 8. 19-A MRSA §660, as enacted by PL 2015, c. 193, §1, is amended by
enacting a new first paragraph to read:
In order to provide an official record of statements concerning marriages that have
occurred in this State, the State Registrar of Vital Statistics must accept a registration of
any marriage for which no record can be found in either the files of the State Registrar of
Vital Statistics or the clerk of the municipality where the marriage license was issued or in
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the municipality where the marriage occurred, as long as such registration is filed in
accordance with this section.
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Statutes affected:
Bill Text ACTPUB , Chapter 130: 19-A.651, 19-A.652, 19-A.653, 19-A.654, 19-A.656, 19-A.660