Tennessee Code Annotated
Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-3-104 (2026)
Conditions precedent to issuance of license
✓ current as of May 2026
- (a) A county clerk or deputy clerk shall not issue a marriage license until the applicants make an application in writing, stating the names, ages, current addresses, and social security numbers of both of the proposed contracting parties. An applicant under eighteen (18) years of age must also include the name and current address of the parents, guardian, or next of kin of the applicant. The application must be sworn to by both applicants. Should either individual be incarcerated, the inmate must not be made to appear but shall submit a notarized statement containing the inmate's name, age, current address, and social security number. If an applicant has a disability that prevents the applicant from appearing, the applicant may submit a notarized statement containing the applicant's name, age, current address, and social security number.
- (b)
- (1) If an applicant is a member of the armed forces of the United States stationed in another country in support of combat or another military operation, the applicant shall submit:
- (A) A notarized statement containing the applicant's name, age, address in the United States, if applicable, and the names and addresses of the applicant's parents, guardian, or next of kin;
- (B) A certified copy of the applicant's deployment orders; and
- (C) An affidavit from the battalion, ship, or squadron commander, as applicable, notarized by the judge advocate stating that the applicant is deployed.
- (2) A person submitting a statement under subdivision (b)(1) who intends to appear for the marriage ceremony via video conferencing pursuant to § 36-3-302(b) must indicate such intention in the statement.
- (1) If an applicant is a member of the armed forces of the United States stationed in another country in support of combat or another military operation, the applicant shall submit:
Amended by 2024 Tenn. Acts, ch. 608,s 1, eff. 3/27/2024.
Amended by 2019 Tenn. Acts, ch. 93, s 3, eff. 7/1/2019.
Amended by 2017 Tenn. Acts, ch. 397, s 1, eff. 5/18/2017.
Acts 1937, ch. 81, § 2; C. Supp. 1950, § 8414.2; modified; Acts 1959, ch. 124, § 1; 1965, ch. 59, §§ 1, 2; 1971, ch. 60, §§ 1, 2; 1976, ch. 755, § 1; T.C.A. (orig. ed.), § 36-406; Acts 1993, ch. 418, § 2; 1994, ch. 639, § 1; 1995, ch. 241, §§ 1, 2; 1997 , ch. 551, § 30.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 7
cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1986–2024 · leading case: Brumlow v. Brumlow, 729 S.W.2d 103 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1986).
Brumlow v. Brumlow, 729 S.W.2d 103 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1986). “) waived the waiting period and age requirement for issuance of a marriage license prescribed in T.C.A. § 36-3-104,105 (1980). The complaint alleges that Janice Dyer received no notice of such waiver and makes various other allegations concerning the expenses incurred in…”
Aghili v. Saadatnejadi, 958 S.W.2d 784 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1997). “It is signed by the officiant as required by Tenn.Code Ann. § 36-3-103(c)(l) (1996), 5 and it contains the information required by Tenn.”
George Grant v. Elaine Anderson, Clerk Of Williamson Cnty. (Tenn. Ct. App. 2018). “Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-3-104 (a)(1). 12 If the county clerk is exercising an authority or fulfilling a duty that has not been statutorily prescribed for her, we fail to see how that renders meaningless the Citizen Plaintiffs’ “right .”
In Re: Est. of Bruce Hurley (Tenn. Ct. App. 2024). “Among other things, the application must state “the names, ages, current addresses and social security numbers of both of the proposed contracting parties” and “[t]he application must be sworn to by both applicants.”
Sara Beth Stovall v. The City of Memphis (Tenn. Ct. App. 2004). “Stovall asserts that a marriage consummated by ceremony should not be invalidated by failure to comply with Tennessee’s marriage laws, to wit: Marriage consummated by ceremony not invalidated by failure to comply with law – Restriction – Failure to comply with the requirements…”
In Re: Est. of Betty D. Gentry Meek (Tenn. Ct. App. 2014). “3 The Executors subsequently filed a Motion for Summary Judgment seeking to dismiss all claims on the following grounds: the marriage was void ab initio as a result of Plaintiff providing intentionally false, misleading, and fraudulent information on the marriage application in…”
In Re J.M.N. Jerry Clyde Nix ex rel. v. Amy Nix Cantrell (Tenn. Ct. App. 2008). “shall have the power to suspend the three-day period prescribed in § 36-3-104 or in such person’s judgment remove the restriction as to age herein set out, and to authorize the county clerk to issue a marriage license regardless of the waiting period or age limit.”
— Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-3-104(a) — 1 case
Aghili v. Saadatnejadi, 958 S.W.2d 784 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1997). “It is signed by the officiant as required by Tenn.Code Ann. § 36-3-103(c)(l) (1996), 5 and it contains the information required by Tenn.”
— Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-3-104(a)(1) — 1 case
George Grant v. Elaine Anderson, Clerk Of Williamson Cnty. (Tenn. Ct. App. 2018). “Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-3-104 (a)(1). 12 If the county clerk is exercising an authority or fulfilling a duty that has not been statutorily prescribed for her, we fail to see how that renders meaningless the Citizen Plaintiffs’ “right .”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the
Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and
treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.