10- 146 C.M.R. ch. 14, § 1

Current through 2024-51, December 18, 2024

Section 146-14-1 - DEFINITIONS

A. For purposes of this rule, the following terms shall have the meanings set forth below:

1.Applicant means two living parties, or the legal representatives of the parties, that claim to have been married in Maine whose marriage certificate was never filed in a municipal office and/or the Department.

2.Application means the application form for the registration of late-filed marriage as prescribed and furnished by the State Registrar for the purpose of documenting a marriage that took place in Maine and was never filed in a municipal office and/or the Department.

3.Attested copy means a copy of an original document that has been certified as a true copy by a municipal clerk or an official authorized to take oaths.

4.Ceremony means the solemnization of marriage by a duly-authorized person, as specified by 19-A M.R.S. §656(2), in the physical presence of two witnesses and the officiant.

5.Ceremonial certificate means a document provided by a officiant authorized to perform marriages in Maine that recognizes that parties were joined in marriage. A ceremonial certificate is not a legal document.

6.Certified copy means a document created from paper or electronic format, issued by a municipal clerk and the Department containing all, or part of, the exact information contained on the late-filed marriage certificate, and which, when issued, holds the full force and effect of the original marriage certificate. The evidentiary value of a record submitted more than one year after the event shall be determined by the judicial or administrative body or official before whom the certified copy is offered as evidence.

7.Certification statement means the following "I hereby certify that the information provided is correct to the best of my knowledge and belief and that I was free to marry under the laws of Maine."

8.Court of competent jurisdiction means a court with jurisdiction over the married parties and anyone else the court deems necessary.

9.Department means the State of Maine Department of Health and Human Services, Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Office of Data, Research and Vital Statistics.

10.Documentary evidence means the written proof to establish the facts of marriage, outlined in Sections 6 and 7, which shall be presented and retained by the Data, Research and Vital Statistics office of the Department.

11.File means the action by which a record is presented to Department for review and registration.

12.Intentions mean the intentions of marriage notice application or the intentions or marriage notice application/work sheet prescribed and furnished by the State Registrar.

13.Late-filed marriage means a marriage certificate issued by the Department, based upon an approved application and acceptable documentary evidence used to establish the facts of marriage that occurred more than one year in the past and was never filed in a municipal office or with the Department.

14.Legal representative means an individual that is authorized to act on behalf of married parties whose marriage certificate was never filed upon presentation of a written and notarized statement from both of the parties.

15.Marriage license means the duly-completed and signed license and certification statement which is used to support the facts of a marriage that, for the purpose of this Rule, occurred more than one year from the date of marriage and the documentation used to record the marriage.

16.Municipal clerk means the duly-elected or appointed clerk of the cities, towns or plantations where the notice(s) of marriage intentions are required to be filed, the marriage license(s) issued and the completed marriage certificate(s) returned, pursuant to 19-A M.R.S. §656.

17.Officiant means a person, duly-authorized as specified in 4 M.R.S. §1056 and 19-A M.R.S. §655, who performs a marriage ceremony or solemnizes a marriage.

18.Parties mean two living persons, claiming that a marriage of the two took place in Maine more than one year prior to the date of application.

19.Registration means the process by which vital statistics data, reports, and certificates are accepted and filed into official certificates of the system of vital statistics, whether on paper or electronically, for permanent retention.

20.State registrar means the State Registrar, Deputy State Registrar or other designated official of the Department.

21.System of vital statistics means the collection, registration, preservation, amendment, certification, verification, and maintenance of the security of vital records, and the collection of other reports and related activities, including the tabulation, analysis, publication and dissemination of vital statistics.

22.Transmit means, for the purposes of this Chapter, making an approved late-filed certificate of marriage available to the municipality where intentions were filed, and the municipality where the marriage ceremony took place, whether transmitted electronically or on paper.

23.Witness means an individual, regardless of his or her age, who has sufficient understanding or capacity to understand and attest to the veracity of a marriage ceremony.

10- 146 C.M.R. ch. 14, § 1