Florida Statute 741.212 - Full Text and Legal Analysis

The 2025 Florida Statutes

Title XLIII
DOMESTIC RELATIONS

Chapter 741
MARRIAGE; DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

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F.S. 741.212

741.212 Marriages between persons of the same sex.—

(1) Marriages between persons of the same sex entered into in any jurisdiction, whether within or outside the State of Florida, the United States, or any other jurisdiction, either domestic or foreign, or any other place or location, or relationships between persons of the same sex which are treated as marriages in any jurisdiction, whether within or outside the State of Florida, the United States, or any other jurisdiction, either domestic or foreign, or any other place or location, are not recognized for any purpose in this state.

(2) The state, its agencies, and its political subdivisions may not give effect to any public act, record, or judicial proceeding of any state, territory, possession, or tribe of the United States or of any other jurisdiction, either domestic or foreign, or any other place or location respecting either a marriage or relationship not recognized under subsection (1) or a claim arising from such a marriage or relationship.

(3) For purposes of interpreting any state statute or rule, the term “marriage” means only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife, and the term “spouse” applies only to a member of such a union.

History.—s. 1, ch. 97-268.

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Amendments to 741.212

Annotations, Discussions, Cases:

Cases Citing Statute 741.212

Total Results: 23

Lowe v. Broward County

766 So. 2d 1199, 2000 Fla. App. LEXIS 11893, 2000 WL 1345513

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Sep 20, 2000 | Docket: 1329491

Cited 25 times | Published

contends that section 741.212, Florida Statutes (1999), "directly preempt[s]" the DPA. Section 741.212 provides:

Wilson v. Ake

354 F. Supp. 2d 1298, 1 A.L.R. Fed. 2d 611, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 755, 2005 WL 281272

District Court, M.D. Florida | Filed: Jan 19, 2005 | Docket: 2290537

Cited 24 times | Published

7; 28 U.S.C. § 1738C,[1] and Florida Statutes § 741.212,[2] unconstitutional and to enjoin their enforcement

Advisory Opinion Re Marriage Protection

926 So. 2d 1229, 2006 WL 721779

Supreme Court of Florida | Filed: Mar 23, 2006 | Docket: 466954

Cited 12 times | Published

the proposed amendment with current law in section 741.212 of the Florida Statutes (2005), demonstrates

Wakeman v. Dixon

921 So. 2d 669, 2006 WL 162748

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Jan 24, 2006 | Docket: 1660128

Cited 10 times | Published

law does not recognize same sex marriages, section 741.212(1), Florida Statutes (2005), and defines the

In Re Estate of Sterile

902 So. 2d 915, 2005 WL 1307668

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Jun 3, 2005 | Docket: 1674977

Cited 10 times | Published

under the Florida Defense of Marriage Act, section 741.212, Florida Statutes (1999). [2] The evidence

Gonzalez-Jimenez De Ruiz v. United States

231 F. Supp. 2d 1187, 2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22849, 2002 WL 31599468

District Court, M.D. Florida | Filed: Nov 14, 2002 | Docket: 2450184

Cited 5 times | Published

recognized under Florida law. [21] See Fla. Stat. § 741.212; see also American Airlines v. Mejia, 766 So.2d

American Airlines, Inc. v. Mejia

766 So. 2d 305, 2000 Fla. App. LEXIS 1991, 2000 WL 232758

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Mar 1, 2000 | Docket: 2450174

Cited 5 times | Published

marriage and who will be considered a spouse. Section 741.212 provides as follows: "For purposes of interpreting

Russell v. Pasik

178 So. 3d 55, 2015 Fla. App. LEXIS 15177

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Oct 14, 2015 | Docket: 60294109

Cited 4 times | Published

in the State. See Art. I, § 27, Fla. Const.; § 741.212, Fla. Stat. (2011). Likewise, the fact that they

Lofton v. Kearney

157 F. Supp. 2d 1372, 2001 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13425, 2001 WL 988038

District Court, S.D. Florida | Filed: Aug 30, 2001 | Docket: 2337114

Cited 4 times | Published

union. See 1 U.S.C. § 7 (West 1997); FLA. STAT. § 741.212 (1997).

Brenner v. Scott

999 F. Supp. 2d 1278, 2014 WL 4113100

District Court, N.D. Florida | Filed: Aug 21, 2014 | Docket: 65997719

Cited 2 times | Published

the Florida Constitution, and Florida Statutes § 741.212. The Brenner plaintiffs also challenge Florida

Hall v. MAAL

32 So. 3d 682, 2010 Fla. App. LEXIS 4142, 2010 WL 1212794

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Mar 30, 2010 | Docket: 1662589

Cited 2 times | Published

not recognized for any purpose in this state.” § 741.212(1), Fla. Stat. (2002). However, with regard to

Bashaway v. Cheney Bros., Inc.

987 So. 2d 93, 2008 WL 2048279

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: May 15, 2008 | Docket: 1724183

Cited 2 times | Published

at the time of the injury and further that section 741.212, Florida Statutes (2006), prohibits recognition

Kantaras v. Kantaras

884 So. 2d 155, 2004 WL 1635003

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Jul 23, 2004 | Docket: 1281908

Cited 2 times | Published

"spouse" applies only to a member of such a union. § 741.212, Fla. Stat. (Supp.1998). Courts in Ohio, Kansas

Wall-DeSousa v. Florida Department of Highway Safety & Motor Vehicles

691 F. App'x 584

Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit | Filed: Jun 2, 2017 | Docket: 65965143

Cited 1 times | Published

Florida law. At the time, Florida law, Fla. Stat. § 741.212 (2013), prohibited the recognition of out-of-state

Gonzalez Ex Rel. Gonzalez v. School Board of Okeechobee County

571 F. Supp. 2d 1257, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 57803, 2008 WL 2941155

District Court, S.D. Florida | Filed: Jul 29, 2008 | Docket: 980733

Cited 1 times | Published

sexual topics concerning non-heterosexuals. See § 741.212, Fla. Stat. (prohibiting marriages or the recognition

Martin v. City of Gainesville

800 So. 2d 687, 2001 Fla. App. LEXIS 16945, 2001 WL 1518144

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Nov 30, 2001 | Docket: 1283117

Cited 1 times | Published

otherwise provided by law," including particularly section 741.212, Florida Statutes (2000). Rejecting this basis

PHILIP MORRIS USA INC. and R.J. REYNOLDS TOBACCO COMPANY v. BRYAN RINTOUL, as Personal Representative of the Estate of Edward Caprio

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: May 11, 2022 | Docket: 63301697

Published

the State of Florida 4 Prior to Obergefell, section 741.212, Florida Statutes (2014), governed same- sex

Cohen v. Shushan

212 So. 3d 1113, 2017 WL 1018422, 2017 Fla. App. LEXIS 3430

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Mar 15, 2017 | Docket: 4617590

Published

union” with the Decedent within the meaning of section 741.212(3), Florida Statutes. Mali [Shushan] is therefore

Russell v. Pasik

178 So. 3d 55, 2015 WL 5947198

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Oct 14, 2015 | Docket: 2919902

Published

in the State. See Art. I, § 27, Fla. Const.; § 741.212, Fla. Stat. (2011). Likewise, the fact that they

Brandon-Thomas v. Brandon-Thomas

163 So. 3d 644, 2015 Fla. App. LEXIS 6051, 2015 WL 1874457

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Apr 24, 2015 | Docket: 2652144

Published

entered into in another state. She pointed to section 741.212, Florida Statutes (2013), commonly known as

Oliver v. Stufflebeam

155 So. 3d 395, 2014 Fla. App. LEXIS 20831, 40 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. D 66

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Dec 24, 2014 | Docket: 2618731

Published

out-of-state marriage on the authority of section 741.212 of the Florida Statutes which states that same-sex

Shaw v. Shaw

177 So. 3d 977, 2014 Fla. App. LEXIS 13262, 2014 WL 4212771

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Aug 27, 2014 | Docket: 1165009

Published

Article I, § 27, Fla. Const.; § 741.212(1), Fla. Stat. (2013).

Pierre v. Trelles

902 So. 2d 915, 2005 Fla. App. LEXIS 8270

District Court of Appeal of Florida | Filed: Jun 3, 2005 | Docket: 64838518

Published

under the Florida Defense of Marriage Act, section 741.212, Florida Statutes (1999). . The evidence