Can I get married while a shelter-in-place order is in effect?
For Austin, if you don’t already have a marriage license, then no, not right now.
I’ve been fielding calls from clients asking about everything from getting a will (great idea), moving in with their partners during a statewide shelter-in-place order (this can depend), to even marriage. This past week, the marriage issue came up twice, with two different fact scenarios. (If you want to quickly see the explanation for why you cannot get married in Travis County, TX right now, scroll on down).
One client, I’ll call her Jill, taking this pandemic seriously, and realizing how important it is to have her affairs in order, is wanting to marry her fiancé and long-time live-in boyfriend, whom she already has children with. This way, if anything happens to her, “They can inherit my pension.” Not coincidentally, she is also wanting a will drafted. This makes total sense to me. In these Coronapocalypse times, what better thing to do than to stop and reevaluate your priorities and take care of the people who matter the most?
After all, if a global pandemic won’t make you get your crap together, what will?
The second call came from an immigration lawyer who has a client who is wanting to get married to her long-time boyfriend, and who’s legal status in the country could be in jeopardy. It was something they had been planning anyway, but now things have a sense of urgency. She was wanting information on how to go about getting married with the Texas stay-at-home shelter-in-place order in effect.
Can I get married in Travis County, TX right now?
So can it be done? The answer, is no, not right now. Well, maybe. (I know. These are strange times).
Let me first explain the normal steps to getting married, then it will make more sense. If you want to check it out yourself, go to the Travis County Clerk website here.
The steps to getting married are:
The couple must apply for a marriage license in-person at the Travis County clerk’s office and pay the fee, (show I.D., and provide both parties’ SSN),
Then they wait 3 days (72 hours) after the marriage license is issued before tying the knot,
The couple must get married by the 89th day from the date of the issuance of the license, otherwise it expires (by an officiant who must date, sign, and note the county where the ceremony occurred on the certificate),
After marriage, they file the completed marriage license with the clerk’s office no later than 30 days after getting married.
Ok, simple enough – when we’re not living in Coronaland!
The problem is that the Travis County Clerk’s office is closed. Their offices and clerks are not available for the issuance of a marriage license now. After investigating the Travis County Clerk’s website, it stated that business can be conducted by phone or email. So I called the clerk. A nice clerk told me that they are currently not issuing any marriage licenses.
Wait. What?
You mean to tell me, you can’t get married in Travis County right now if you want to? He said that the issuance of licenses was supposed to happen in April, but then it got pushed back to May. As of the date of the publication of this blog, they don’t have an exact date when they will resume the issuance of marriage licenses, but they suspect some time in May.
So, apparently, no. You cannot get married in Travis County, TX right now.
If you already have a marriage license issued, then you’re good. Feel free to go for it. If you are wanting to get one issued now, you may have to wait until May, or until they develop a better system.
(Again, this isn’t Anderson Cooper 360, and I am not an investigative journalist, but from the research I’ve done so far it doesn’t seem doable yet. I have sent an email to the Travis County Clerk herself, to get more info. As soon as I hear back, or hear different, I’ll let you know. Remember, blog, not gospel. If anyone has different information or had a different experience, please let me know in the comments).
Can I get married by signing a Declaration of Informal Marriage?
What if you are ok doing a declaration of informal marriage? Those are typically reserved for people who are already living as if they are married, but want to have the protections of a marriage -more of a common-law type relationship. For the couples who are okay stating that they’re married – without the hassle of getting a marriage license and having an officiant and ceremony - can they get married?
Well, that also seems like a no.
The steps for a declaration of informal marriage are:
1. The couple must go in-person to the clerk’s office and provide I.D. and SSN,
2. While there, the couple must complete the Declaration of Informal Marriage License – which the County Clerk witnesses and notarizes.
3. The couple must also swear to this under oath…
“I solemnly swear (or affirm) that we, the undersigned, are married to each other by virtue of the following facts: on or about (date) we agreed to be married, and after that date we lived together as husband and wife and in this state we represented to others that we were married. Since the date of marriage to the other party I have not been married to any other person. This declaration is true and the information in it which I have given is correct.”
To see the link with a more detailed explanation, click here.
The key to applying for both licenses, whether a marriage license, or declaration of informal marriage, is having to appear in-person and verify your I.D. with the county clerk. In the case of an informal marriage, based on the form, the clerk is the person who notarizes and essentially acts as a witness to the marriage. To see the Declaration of Informal Marriage form click on the link below…
Declaration of Informal Marriage Form
Isn’t there some sort of work-around? There’s gotta be a way to get married during the apocalypse!
In thinking about it, there might be, or at least, there should be.
Governor Greg Abbott recently suspended TX statutes that require people to appear in-person before a notary, by allowing notaries to conduct their business via webcamera. Click here to see his post.
So given that notaries are now authorized to notarize documents via videoconferencing. Wouldn’t it be possible to fill out a marriage license, or declaration of informal marriage in front of a county clerk, via Zoom, FaceTime, Skype, or Microsoft Teams? Once signed, the couple could email it or fax it to the clerk. Then the clerk could issue your license, and email or mail it back to you. Something tells me if this shelter-in-place order continues, that may be the next step. For now, sorry lovebirds, you can’t get married in Travis County.
Damn the ‘Rona strikes again.
-M
