Your marriage is legally recorded according to the laws in your state. The State issues a license for marriage, often through County or City government offices. Once the marriage license is signed and returned, you are legally married. The State usually keeps a record of your marriage and the license. The marriage license is a public document, and information about it can be obtained by anyone.
Other government agencies may require you to report your marital status, such as tax returns or applications for government programs. You may also be asked to report your marital status when applying for credit or loans, student tuition assistance and other civil documents. Some of these documents are saved from year to year, so changes from earlier filings might be detected.
In almost half of the states, it is illegal to discriminate in hiring, housing, insurance, or credit decisions on the basis of marital status. In those states, it is not legal to require a record of marital status for those transactions. Many companies have a policy of non-discrimination on the basis of marital status, and those companies do not require that you state your marital status.
The marriage license and state record are the only formal records of the marriage. Your statements regarding your marital status on other legal documents could be covered by perjury laws, so your own statements are also a record of your marital status.
Related posts:
- Does obtaining just a marriage license make you legally married?
- Are you legally married after being approved for a marriage license?
- What do you do to become legally married?
- What is the difference between common law marriage and marriage?
- Is a marriage made invalid in states or countries with different marital requirements?
