Also known as: actes de mariage · marriage certificate · marriage act
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
An official document that records the solemnization of a marriage. The document serves as primary proof of the marital status and is prepared after the required formalities before a civil authority.
Ava Adebayo and Aaron Adams completed and signed their marriage application, appeared before the clerk, and paid the fee. The clerk issued both the license and the accompanying marriage certificate form. Ava later presented the completed acte de mariage to establish her marital status for a benefits claim.
Amelia Amari sought recovery after her long relationship with Albert Allen ended. She offered evidence of their shared life and an informal ceremony. The court refused to treat the relationship as a marriage because no acte de mariage had ever been issued or recorded.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Anita Ali and Aisha Ahmed obtained a state marriage license and solemnized their union. They received an acte de mariage from the county clerk. When a federal program later denied benefits based on a different marriage definition, the certificate became central to their equal-protection challenge.
Alliance Holdings sought to classify an advanced degree as marital property in dissolution proceedings. The court examined the couple's acte de mariage and the timing of the degree's acquisition to determine whether the asset qualified for equitable division.
Artemis Logistics employees Colin and Dorothy presented a certified divorce decree from another state when applying for a license. The clerk examined the resulting acte de mariage to confirm that no prior undissolved marriage prohibited the new union.
Azure Solutions tenant Braschi sought to remain in a rent-controlled apartment after his partner's death. He offered their joint acte de mariage and years of cohabitation to prove a qualifying family relationship under local succession rules.
A certified copy of an acte de mariage qualifies as an official public record of a marriage. Courts admit it under the hearsay exception for vital records because the document is created and maintained by a public office pursuant to a legal duty.
Absence of the certificate does not automatically invalidate a marriage, but many statutes require satisfactory proof that no prior marriage exists before a new license issues. Without the document or equivalent evidence, clerks may properly refuse to issue a new license.
The formal certificate provides conclusive evidence of a ceremonial marriage. Courts rely on it to distinguish licensed unions from informal relationships that may or may not meet common-law requirements.
…physician who can prescribe for married patients does not have sufficient skill to protect the health of patients who lack a marriage certificate, or who may be currently divorced, it is illogical to the point of irrationality." 429 F. 2d, at 1401.[^maj-8] Furthermore, we must join the Court of Appeals in noting that not all…