N.Y. Dom. Rel. Law § 11

NEW YORK DOMESTIC RELATIONS LAW (Chapter 14) § 11 — By whom a marriage must be solemnized DRL § 11 By whom a marriage must be solemnized /legislation/laws/DOM/A3 § 11. By whom a marriage must be solemnized. No marriage shall bevalid unless solemnized by either:1. A clergyman or minister of any religion, or by the senior leader,or any of the other leaders, of The Society for Ethical Culture in thecity of New York, having its principal office in the borough ofManhattan, or by the leader of The Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture,having its principal office in the borough of Brooklyn of the city ofNew York, or of the Westchester Ethical Society, having its principaloffice in Westchester county, or of the Ethical Culture Society of LongIsland, having its principal office in Nassau county, or of theRiverdale-Yonkers Ethical Society having its principal office in Bronxcounty, or by the leader of any other Ethical Culture Society affiliatedwith the American Ethical Union; provided that no clergyman or ministeras defined in section two of the religious corporations law, or Societyfor Ethical Culture leader shall be required to solemnize any marriagewhen acting in his or her capacity under this subdivision.1-a. A refusal by a clergyman or minister as defined in section two ofthe religious corporations law, or Society for Ethical Culture leader tosolemnize any marriage under this subdivision shall not create a civilclaim or cause of action or result in any state or local governmentaction to penalize, withhold benefits or discriminate against suchclergyman or minister.2. The current or a former governor, a mayor of a village, a countyexecutive of a county, or a mayor, recorder, city magistrate, policejustice or police magistrate of a city, a former mayor or the city clerkof a city of the first class of over one million inhabitants or any ofhis or her deputies or not more than four regular clerks, designated byhim or her for such purpose as er mayor or the city clerkof a city of the first class of over one million inhabitants or any ofhis or her deputies or not more than four regular clerks, designated byhim or her for such purpose as provided in section eleven-a of thisarticle, except that in cities which contain more than one hundredthousand and less than one million inhabitants, a marriage shall besolemnized by the mayor, or police justice, and by no other officer ofsuch city, except as provided in subdivisions one and three of thissection.2-a. A member of the New York state legislature, provided that suchperson shall not charge or receive a fee.3. A judge of the federal circuit court of appeals for the secondcircuit, a judge of a federal district court for the northern, southern,eastern or western district of New York, a judge of the United Statescourt of international trade, a federal administrative law judgepresiding in this state, a justice or judge of a court of the unifiedcourt system, a housing judge of the civil court of the city of NewYork, a retired justice or judge of the unified court system or aretired housing judge of the civil court of the city of New Yorkcertified pursuant to paragraph (k) of subdivision two of section twohundred twelve of the judiciary law, the clerk of the appellate divisionof the supreme court in each judicial department, a retired city clerkwho served for more than ten years in such capacity in a city having apopulation of one million or more or a county clerk of a county whollywithin cities having a population of one million or more; or,3-a. A judge or peacemaker judge of any Indian tribal court, a chief,a headman, or any member of any tribal council or other governing bodyof any nation, tribe or band of Indians in this state duly designated bysuch body for the purpose of officiating at marriages, or any otherpersons duly designated by such body, in keeping with the culture andtraditions of any such nation, tribe or band of Indians in this stat ody for the purpose of officiating at marriages, or any otherpersons duly designated by such body, in keeping with the culture andtraditions of any such nation, tribe or band of Indians in this state,to officiate at marriages.3-b. A one-day marriage officiant, as designated by a town or cityclerk pursuant to section eleven-d of this article; or,4. A written contract of marriage signed by both parties and at leasttwo witnesses, all of whom shall subscribe the same within this state,stating the place of residence of each of the parties and witnesses andthe date and place of marriage, and acknowledged before a judge of acourt of record of this state by the parties and witnesses in the mannerrequired for the acknowledgment of a conveyance of real estate toentitle the same to be recorded.5. Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, where eitheror both of the parties is under the age of eighteen years a marriageshall be solemnized only by those authorized in subdivision one of thissection or by (1) the mayor of a city or village, or county executive ofa county, or by Source: NYSenate.gov Open Legislation | Laws of New York Page 1 --- NEW YORK DOMESTIC RELATIONS LAW (Chapter 14) § 11 — By whom a marriage must be solemnized (2) a judge of the federal circuit court of appeals forthe second circuit, a judge of a federal district court for thenorthern, southern, eastern or western district of New York, a judge ofthe United States court of international trade, or a justice or a judgeof a court of the unified court system, or by (3) a housing judge of thecivil court of the city of New York, or by (4) a former mayor or theclerk of a city of the first class of over one million inhabitants orany of his or her deputies designated by him or her for such purposes asprovided in section eleven-a of this chapter.6. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this article to thecontrary no marriage shall be solemnized by a public officer specified for such purposes asprovided in section eleven-a of this chapter.6. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this article to thecontrary no marriage shall be solemnized by a public officer specifiedin this section, other than a judge of a federal district court for thenorthern, southern, eastern or western district of New York, a judge ofthe United States court of international trade, a federal administrativelaw judge presiding in this state, a judge or justice of the unifiedcourt system of this state, a housing judge of the civil court of thecity of New York, or a retired judge or justice of the unified courtsystem or a retired housing judge of the civil court certified pursuantto paragraph (k) of subdivision two of section two hundred twelve of thejudiciary law, nor by any of the persons specified in subdivisionthree-a of this section, outside the territorial jurisdiction in whichhe or she was elected, appointed or duly designated. Such a publicofficer, however, elected or appointed within the city of New York maysolemnize a marriage anywhere within such city.7. The term "clergyman" or "minister" when used in this article, shallinclude those defined in section two of the religious corporations law.The word "magistrate," when so used, includes any person referred to inthe second or third subdivision. Source: NYSenate.gov Open Legislation | Laws of New York Page 2