§ 19-3-35.1.AIDS brochures; listing of HIV test sites; acknowledgment of receipt
Chapter 3. Marriage Generally · Article 2. License and Ceremony · Last amended 2011 · Last verified October 9, 2026
Full Text of § 19-3-35.1
Plain-English Summary
This section is one of the steps every couple meets at the probate court. It doesn’t require an HIV test. It requires information. The Department of Public Health must prepare three things: a brochure describing AIDS and HIV, along with the dangers, populations at risk, risk behaviors and prevention measures; a list of sites that give confidential and anonymous HIV tests without charge; and a form the applicants sign to acknowledge that they received both.
When you apply for a marriage license, the probate judge’s office must give each applicant the brochure and the test-site list at the time of the application. Then comes the firm part: no marriage license shall be issued unless both the proposed husband and the proposed wife sign a form acknowledging that both received the brochure and listing. A missing signature stops the license.
The section dates from 1988. Its October 1, 1988 dates mark when the materials had to reach every probate judge’s office and when the hand-out and signature rules began. It was last amended in 2011. Terms used in the section take their meanings from Code Section 31-22-9.1, a public health statute outside Title 19. The brochure sits beside the other information the probate court passes along to applicants: sickle cell information under § 19-3-40 and the marriage manual under § 19-3-41. The application itself is governed by § 19-3-33.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need an HIV test to get married in Georgia?
No. This section doesn’t require an HIV test. It requires that each applicant receive a brochure about AIDS and HIV and a list of sites that offer confidential, anonymous HIV tests without charge. Whether to get tested is your choice. What the law does require is that both of you sign a form acknowledging that you received the brochure and the list before the license can be issued.
What happens if one of us doesn’t sign the HIV brochure acknowledgment form?
The probate court can’t issue the license. The section says no marriage license shall be issued unless both the proposed husband and the proposed wife sign a form acknowledging that both received the brochure and listing. One applicant’s signature isn’t enough. The form confirms receipt only; it doesn’t say that you were tested or that you agree to be tested.
Who prepares the AIDS brochure given out with marriage licenses?
The Georgia Department of Public Health. The section directs that department to prepare the brochure, the list of free HIV test sites and the acknowledgment form, and to furnish them to the office of each probate judge. The statute notes that the department was formerly known as the Department of Human Resources for these purposes.
When do we get the HIV information during the marriage license process?
When you apply. The section says each person who applies for a marriage license shall receive the brochure and test-site list from the probate judge’s office at the time of the application. Both applicants receive them, and both must sign the acknowledgment before the license issues, so expect it to be part of the application step that Code Section 19-3-33 describes.
Are the HIV tests on the list free and confidential?
That is how the statute describes them. The Department of Public Health must prepare a listing of sites at which confidential and anonymous HIV tests are provided without charge. The section doesn’t say how often the list is updated, so check with a testing site directly about its current hours and services before you go.
Amendment History
Laws 1988, p. 1799, § 5; Laws 2009, Act 102, § 1-16, eff. July 1, 2009; Laws 2011, Act 244, § 6-3, eff. July 1, 2011.