Ensuring Marriage Integrity

About the Program

Category: County Administration and Management (Best in Category)

Year: 2018

The internet has given rise to unlicensed "officiants" who get their papers online yet take no care to understand state marriage law nor properly perform and record marriages, putting couples at risk. In 2015, Clark County had over 5,000 licensed officiants, and an unknown quantity of unlicensed officiants. The Clerk's Office currently licenses approximately 60 new officiants each month. Over the last two years, Clark County Clerk's Office worked closely with officiants to clear out over 2,000 inactive officiants from the officiant database; developed a tracking program to identify who is performing marriages; began quarterly outreach to officiants who failed to file their certificates by the legislative deadline; established a training program for new officiants; and began issuing ID cards that officiants could carry to show potential couples that they have the authority and the knowledge to ensure that the marriage ceremony is legal. This issue is a national one. A recent article out of Houston ask, "Are you Really Married? Take a look at who married you." With these changes, the 80,000 couples who marry in Las Vegas each year can be assured that what happens here, will be on file with Clerk's Office.