ILCS » Chapter 750 · Act 5
Illinois Compiled Statutes

750 ILCS 5/203 (2026)

License to Marry

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(750 ILCS 5/203) (from Ch. 40, par. 203)
    Sec. 203. License to Marry. When a marriage application has been completed and signed by both parties to a prospective marriage and both parties have appeared before the county clerk and the marriage license fee has been paid, the county clerk shall issue a license to marry and a marriage certificate form upon being furnished:
        (1) satisfactory proof that each party to the
    
marriage will have attained the age of 18 years at the time the marriage license is effective or will have attained the age of 16 years and has either the consent to the marriage of both parents or his guardian or judicial approval; provided, if one parent cannot be located in order to obtain such consent and diligent efforts have been made to locate that parent by the consenting parent, then the consent of one parent plus a signed affidavit by the consenting parent which (i) names the absent parent and states that he or she cannot be located, and (ii) states what diligent efforts have been made to locate the absent parent, shall have the effect of both parents' consent for purposes of this Section;
        (2) satisfactory proof that the marriage is not
    
prohibited; and
        (3) an affidavit or record as prescribed in
    
subparagraph (1) of Section 205 or a court order as prescribed in subparagraph (2) of Section 205, if applicable.
    With each marriage license, the county clerk shall provide a pamphlet describing the causes and effects of fetal alcohol syndrome. At least annually, the county board shall submit to the Illinois Department of Public Health a report as to the county clerk's compliance with the requirement that the county clerk provide a pamphlet with each marriage license. All funding and production costs for the aforementioned educational pamphlets for distribution to each county clerk shall be provided by non-profit, non-sectarian statewide programs that provide education, advocacy, support, and prevention services pertaining to Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.
(Source: P.A. 96-1323, eff. 1-1-11.)

    
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 15 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 1995–2021 · leading case: People v. Downin, 828 N.E.2d 341 (Ill. App. Ct. 2005).
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People v. Downin, 828 N.E.2d 341 (Ill. App. Ct. 2005). · cites it 2× “XIV), because it criminalizes sexual intimacy between individuals who could obtain a marriage license under the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (the Act) (750 ILCS 5/203 (West 2002)), and presumably engage in the same sexual conduct prohibited under section 12…”
Doss v. Gilkey, 649 F. Supp. 2d 905 (S.D. Ill. 2009). “*911 The clerk of the county where the marriage is to be solemnized issues a marriage license and marriage certificate form, see 750 ILCS 5/203 and 5/207, and after the marriage is solemnized the certificate form is to be forwarded to the clerk within 10 days after the…”
United States v. Derrick Thomas & Jason A. Scott, 159 F.3d 296 (7th Cir. 1998). “More than 40 percent of the 16 year old girls in our society have had sexual intercourse, Alan Guttmacher Institute, Sex and America’s Teenagers 18-20 (1994); 45 of the 50 states permit marriage at 16 — including Illinois (if the parents consent, as almost all the states…”
Victor B. Valencia v. Alberto R. Gonzales, Attorney Gen., 406 F.3d 1154 (9th Cir. 2005). · cites it 2× “More than 40 percent of the 16 year old girls in our society have had sexual intercourse, Alan Guttmacher Institute, Sex and America's Teenagers 18-20 (1994); 45 of the 50 states permit marriage at 16 including Illinois (if the parents consent, as almost all the states require),…”
In re Est. of McDonald, 2021 IL App (2d) 191113 (Ill. App. Ct. 2021). “750 ILCS 5/203 (West 2016); In re Estate of Crockett, 312 Ill.”
In Re Est. of Crockett, 728 N.E.2d 765 (Ill. App. Ct. 2000). · cites it 2× “Both an appearance and a signature in the presence of the county clerk are required by the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (hereinafter the Dissolution Act) (750 ILCS 5/203 (West 1996)). At the alleged ceremony, decedent did not respond because of his brain…”
Miller v. Cordray, 922 N.E.2d 973 (Ohio Ct. App. 2009). “See Section 750 ILCS 5/203; R.C. 3101.01(A). Because under both Ohio and Illinois state law, it is a legal impossibility for a 13-year-old victim to be married, the fact that the Illinois statute does not contain a nonspousal requirement is not enough in this case to render it…”
Hope Clinic for Women v. Adams, 2011 IL App (1st) 101463 (Ill. App. Ct. 2011). “9 For the rest of the decisions cited, either notice was not at issue (Planned 8 Although Illinois requires women under age 18 to obtain parental or judicial consent to marry (750 ILCS 5/203(1), 208 (West 2008)), that is not true for all states and certainly not for all…”
In re Est. of McDonald, 2020 IL App (2d) 191113 (Ill. App. Ct. 2021). “750 ILCS 5/203 (West 2016); In re Estate of Crockett, 312 Ill.”
Pena v. Mattox, 880 F. Supp. 567 (N.D. Ill. 1995). “We know in this case that Amanda’s age prevented a valid marriage in Illinois, see 750 ILCS 5/203(1), and can safely assume that the parental consent required for marriage, even if Amanda were 16, was not forthcoming in this case.”
Hope Clinic for Women Ltd. v. Adams, 955 N.E.2d 511 (Ill. App. Ct. 2011). “166 (2007) (some states have differing ages of consent for boys and girls); Michael Mello, Executing Rapists: A Reluctant Essay on the Ethics of Legal Scholarship, 4 Wm.”
People v. Downin (Ill. App. Ct. 2005). · cites it 2× “XIV), because it criminalizes sexual intimacy between individuals who could obtain a marriage license under the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (the Act) (750 ILCS 5/203 (West 2002)), and presumably engage in the same sexual conduct prohibited under section…”
Show all 15 citing cases →
— 750 ILCS 5/203(1) — 5 cases
People v. Downin, 828 N.E.2d 341 (Ill. App. Ct. 2005). “XIV), because it criminalizes sexual intimacy between individuals who could obtain a marriage license under the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (the Act) (750 ILCS 5/203 (West 2002)), and presumably engage in the same sexual conduct prohibited under section 12…”
Hope Clinic for Women v. Adams, 2011 IL App (1st) 101463 (Ill. App. Ct. 2011). “9 For the rest of the decisions cited, either notice was not at issue (Planned 8 Although Illinois requires women under age 18 to obtain parental or judicial consent to marry (750 ILCS 5/203(1), 208 (West 2008)), that is not true for all states and certainly not for all…”
Pena v. Mattox, 880 F. Supp. 567 (N.D. Ill. 1995). “We know in this case that Amanda’s age prevented a valid marriage in Illinois, see 750 ILCS 5/203(1), and can safely assume that the parental consent required for marriage, even if Amanda were 16, was not forthcoming in this case.”
Hope Clinic for Women Ltd. v. Adams, 955 N.E.2d 511 (Ill. App. Ct. 2011). “166 (2007) (some states have differing ages of consent for boys and girls); Michael Mello, Executing Rapists: A Reluctant Essay on the Ethics of Legal Scholarship, 4 Wm.”
People v. Downin (Ill. App. Ct. 2005). “XIV), because it criminalizes sexual intimacy between individuals who could obtain a marriage license under the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (the Act) (750 ILCS 5/203 (West 2002)), and presumably engage in the same sexual conduct prohibited under section…”
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