SB377 Alabama 2015 Session

Updated Feb 27, 2026

High Interest

Summary

Primary Sponsor: Greg AlbrittonSenator
Republican
Session: Regular Session 2015
Title: Marriage, license issuance function of judge of probate removed, contract , requirements, contract to be filed with judge of probate and forwarded to Office of Vital Statistics, fees for recording, Secs. 30-1-9, 30-1-10, 30-1-11 repealed; Secs. 12-19-90, 22-9A-17, 30-1-5, 30-1-12, 30-1-13, 30-1-14, 30-1-16, 30-6-11 am'd.
Summary: SB377 would replace the marriage license with a contract-based marriage system in Alabama, with contracts recorded by probate courts and sent to Vital Statistics, and new fee structures for recording and related purposes.
What This Bill Does
The bill abolishes the requirement to obtain a marriage license from the judge of probate. Instead, couples enter into a marriage contract that must include specified information, be signed by both parties and two adult witnesses, and become valid when recorded by the probate court and forwarded to the Office of Vital Statistics. The act allows a civil or religious ceremony to be part of the marriage process and imposes new recording fees, including a $25 recording fee, a $30 fee for domestic violence shelter funding, and a $20 General Fund fee, plus potential additional page charges; it also repeals certain license-related sections. The changes take effect July 1, 2015, and the Attorney General will prepare a form to meet minimum contract requirements.

Who It Affects
Couples wishing to marry in Alabama after July 1, 2015 would no longer obtain a probate-issued license; they must enter into a marriage contract containing required information, have it witnessed by two adults, and have it recorded by the judge of probate with a copy sent to the Office of Vital Statistics.
Probate courts and related state offices would handle recording and forwarding contracts, collect specified fees (including funds designated for domestic violence shelters and the General Fund), and maintain marriage records; the Office of Vital Statistics would receive copies for its records, and the District Attorney and domestic violence shelters would receive designated funds from the new fees.

Key Provisions
Abolition of the requirement to obtain a marriage license from the judge of probate; marriages would be entered into by contract instead.
A marriage contract must include names of the parties, a statement of legal authority to marry, a statement of voluntary participation, and the signatures of both parties, witnessed by two adults; the contract is valid upon recording.
The contract must be filed with the judge of probate in the county and a copy forwarded to the Office of Vital Statistics; the circuit court can correct errors in the contract, and a certified copy of corrections becomes presumptive evidence of correctness.
Fees: a $25 recording fee for the contract, a $30 additional fee to be used for domestic violence shelters via the district attorney, and a $20 fee to be deposited into the General Fund; longer contracts incur an extra $2 per page beyond two pages; an additional $20 is required to be paid to the General Fund under Section 3.
Sections related to marriage licenses (30-1-9, 30-1-10, 30-1-11) are repealed; the act also updates related fee schedules and requires the Attorney General to prepare a form for minimum contract requirements; the act becomes effective July 1, 2015.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 24, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.
Subjects: Marriage