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Read. Follow. Verify.Michigan expands authorized marriage officiants to civil celebrants and raises violation penalties
Last action · June 10, 2025: referred to Committee on Government OperationsSponsors: Veronica Klinefelt and 3 others
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What This Bill Would Do
Michigan Senate Bill 286 updates marriage licensing and solemnization laws to explicitly include s alongside clergymen and magistrates, while increasing the fine for officiating an unlicensed marriage to $500.00.
Couples choosing a rather than a traditional clergy member or magistrate gain explicit legal recognition for their wedding officiant, and officiants face stiffer financial penalties and charges for failing to verify marriage licenses or return certificates on time.
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Marriage officiants
Officiants face updated certificate completion rules, a 10-day return window, and increased misdemeanor fines of $500.00 for performing ceremonies without a valid license.
Couples marrying in Michigan
Couples must ensure their chosen officiant is authorized under the statute and that their marriage license is delivered prior to the ceremony.
County clerks
County clerks issue marriage licenses to residents and non-residents and receive the returned original marriage certificates from officiants.
Key Facts
- The bill amends sections 1, 4, and 6 of 1887 PA 128 to update marriage licensing and officiant rules.
- Parties intending to be married must obtain a marriage license from the county clerk and deliver it to the person officiating the marriage before it can be performed.
- If both parties are non-residents of Michigan, 1 party must obtain the license from the county clerk of the county where the marriage is to be performed.
- Persons officiating a marriage must fill in certificate spaces for the time, place, 2 witness signatures, and their own name, title, address, and signature.
Show all 8 facts
- Officiants must separate the duplicate license and certificate, deliver the duplicate half to one of the married parties, and return the original to the county clerk within 10 days.
- Officiants must keep an accurate record of all marriages solemnized in a book used expressly for that purpose.
- An officiant who joins parties without a properly issued license or violates the act is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of $500.00 or imprisonment in the county jail for 90 days.
- The amendatory act does not take effect unless Senate Bill No. 285 of the 103rd Legislature is enacted into law.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if an officiant performs a wedding without a properly issued marriage license?
How long does an officiant have to return the original marriage certificate to the county clerk?
Where must non-resident couples obtain their marriage license?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently passed chamber. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Law.
Procedural history
13 actions- Jun 10, 2025HouseCommitteereferred to Committee on Government Operations
- Jun 10, 2025HouseIntroducedread a first time
- Jun 10, 2025Housereceived on 06/10/2025
- Jun 10, 2025SenateFloorPASSED ROLL CALL # 163 YEAS 22 NAYS 15 EXCUSED 0 NOT VOTING 0
- Jun 5, 2025SenatePLACED ON ORDER OF THIRD READING
- Jun 5, 2025SenateREPORTED BY COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE FAVORABLY WITHOUT AMENDMENT(S)
Show 7 earlier actions
- Jun 4, 2025SenateCommitteeREFERRED TO COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE
- Jun 4, 2025SenateCommitteeREPORTED FAVORABLY WITHOUT AMENDMENT 6/3/2025
- May 20, 2025SenateSENATE CO-SPONSOR(S) NAMED: SEAN MCCANN
- May 8, 2025SenateSENATE CO-SPONSOR(S) NAMED: MALLORY MCMORROW
- May 8, 2025SenateSENATE CO-SPONSOR(S) NAMED: ERIKA GEISS
- May 7, 2025SenateCommitteeREFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT
- May 7, 2025SenateIntroducedINTRODUCED BY SENATOR VERONICA KLINEFELT
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Conditional Legislative Enactment
Senate Bill 286 explicitly relies on the passage of companion Senate Bill 285 to take effect, linking civil celebrant provisions directly to separate statutory updates.
Connected Entities
Sources
legislature.mi.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance40How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy10Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz15Current news / social attention level
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