Subdivision 1.General.

(a) The following civil marriages are prohibited:

Terms Used In Minnesota Statutes 517.03

  • Common law: The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States. It is based on judicial decisions rather than legislative action.
  • full age: means 18 years of age or older. See Minnesota Statutes 645.451
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • local registrar: means an individual designated by the county board of commissioners to register civil marriages. See Minnesota Statutes 517.001
  • state: extends to and includes the District of Columbia and the several territories. See Minnesota Statutes 645.44
  • Statute: A law passed by a legislature.

(1) a civil marriage entered into before the dissolution of an earlier civil marriage of one of the parties becomes final, as provided in section 518.145 or by the law of the jurisdiction where the dissolution was granted;

(2) a civil marriage between an ancestor and a descendant, or between siblings, whether the relationship is by the half or the whole blood or by adoption;

(3) a civil marriage between an uncle or aunt and a niece or nephew, or between first cousins, whether the relationship is by the half or the whole blood, except as to civil marriages permitted by the established customs of aboriginal cultures; and

(4) a civil marriage entered into between persons when both have not attained the full age of 18 years.

(b) A civil marriage prohibited under paragraph (a), clause (4), that is recognized by another state or foreign jurisdiction under common law or statute, is void and against the public policy of this state unless neither party was a resident of this state at the time the marriage was entered into.

Subd. 2.Developmentally disabled persons; consent by commissioner of human services.

Developmentally disabled persons committed to the guardianship of the commissioner of human services and developmentally disabled persons committed to the conservatorship of the commissioner of human services in which the terms of the conservatorship limit the right to marry, may marry on receipt of written consent of the commissioner. The commissioner shall grant consent unless it appears from the commissioner’s investigation that the civil marriage is not in the best interest of the ward or conservatee and the public. The local registrar in the county where the application for a license is made by the ward or conservatee shall not issue the license unless the local registrar has received a signed copy of the consent of the commissioner of human services.