PRELIMINARY PROVISIONS

Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes

DOMESTIC RELATIONS (TITLE 23)

MARRIAGE

CHAPTER 11. PRELIMINARY PROVISIONS

§ 1101. Short title of part.
§ 1102. Definitions.
§ 1103. Common-law marriage.
§ 1104. Forms.
§ 1105. Fees.
§ 1106. Records and statistics.

§ 1101. Short title of part.

This part shall be known and may be cited as the Marriage Law.

§ 1102. Definitions.

The following words and phrases when used in this part shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

"Department.": The Department of Health of the Commonwealth.
"Marriage.": A civil contract by which one man and one woman take each other for husband and wife.
"Marriage license" or "license.": A license to marry issued under this part.

§ 1103. Common-law marriage.

This part shall not be construed to change the existing law with regard to common-law marriage.

[Webmaster note: Under Pennsylvania law, a marriage may be established either (1) by formal religious or civil ceremony pursuant to a duly issued license, or (2) by common-law marriage, which may be established (a) if a man and a woman employ words (either written or oral) in the present tense contracting such a relationship, or (b) by cohabitation and reputation of marriage from which arises a presumption of marriage, in the absence of contrary evidence. In re Vojatovich Estate, 51 D.&.C. 10 (1945).
Common-law marriage in Pennsylvania requires that the parties agree to be married. See, Africa v. Vaughan, 998 F.Supp. 552 (E.D.Pa.: 1998). There must be an exchange of words in the present tense by which the couple intends to create the status of marriage. See, Staudenmayer v. Staudenmayer, 552 Pa. 253, 714 A.2d 1016 (1998). However, the form of the words used does not matter; the intention of the parties cannot be disregarded. Fiedler v. National Tube Co., 161 Pa. Superior Ct. 155, 53 A.2d 821 (1947).]

§ 1104. Forms.

Marriage license applications, consent certificates, marriage licenses and other necessary forms shall be supplied at the expense of the county and shall be uniform throughout this Commonwealth as prescribed by the department. Statements of physicians and laboratories relative to examinations for syphilis shall be prepared and furnished by the department.

§ 1105. Fees.

(a) General rule.--The fee to be charged for issuing a marriage license or declaration and for returns thereof to the department shall be $3 of which $2.50 shall be retained by the county wherein the license is issued and 50› shall be remitted to the Commonwealth.

(b) Transmitting Commonwealth moneys.--All moneys collected under this section for the Commonwealth shall be transmitted to the State Treasurer no later than the tenth day of the following month.

§ 1106. Records and statistics.

(a) Filing transcript or record.--The county shall furnish the department, not later than the 15th day of each month, witha transcript or record of each marriage license issued and each return of the celebration of a marriage received or filed during the preceding calendar month.

(b) Forms.--The transcripts or records required to be furnished shall be made on forms prepared and furnished by the department and shall contain such information as the department may require.

(c) Confidentiality.--The records furnished to the department under this section shall not be open to public inspection except as authorized by the regulations of the Advisory Health Board.

(d) Statistics.--The department shall from time to time compile and publish statistics derived from records furnished under this section.

The complete Pennsylvania Statutes are not yet available on the web. However, selected portions have been made available and can be accessed by CLICKING HERE. These statutes, though available instantaneously over the web, may not be the current law. Court decisions overturning them, later statutes amending them, and a host of other factors come into play when interpreting them. They are provided here as a resource. They should provide some information about the state of the law. However, a competent lawyer, who from other sources will research the law to insure what is current, should always be employed in matters of importance.

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Title 23, Domestic Relations; Chapter 11 / Judiciary@aol.com / last revised December 1999