§ 19-3-42.Effect on marriage due to the lack of authority in person officiating
Chapter 3. Marriage Generally · Article 2. License and Ceremony · Last amended 2010 · Last verified October 9, 2026
Full Text of § 19-3-42
Plain-English Summary
Few couples check an officiant’s credentials. This section keeps that gap from voiding a marriage. A marriage that is valid in other respects and supposed by the parties to be valid shall not be affected by want of authority in the minister, the Governor or a former Governor, judge, city recorder, magistrate or other person who performed it.
Two conditions do the work. The marriage must be valid in other respects, so the section can’t rescue a marriage that fails for another reason — for example, a party below the age limits of § 19-3-2, a party with a living spouse from an undissolved marriage, or a relationship § 19-3-3 forbids. And the parties must have supposed the marriage valid. The protection runs to couples who married believing all was in order.
The second clause stops a bad actor. The objection shall not be heard from a party who fraudulently induced the other to believe that the marriage was legal. That spouse can’t use the officiant’s lack of authority as a way out. Whether particular conduct amounts to fraudulent inducement is a question of fact for the court. The section was last amended in 2010. For who may perform a marriage, see § 19-3-30(c); for the essentials of a valid marriage, see § 19-3-1.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is my marriage valid if the officiant wasn’t legally authorized?
It can be. Under this section, a marriage that is valid in other respects and that the parties believed was valid shall not be affected by the officiant’s lack of authority. The officiant’s defect alone doesn’t undo it. But the marriage must meet every other requirement, and whether those conditions are met in a particular case is a question a court decides on the facts.
Can my spouse get out of our marriage by claiming the officiant wasn’t ordained?
Not if the marriage is otherwise valid and you both believed it was valid. And if your spouse fraudulently led you to believe the marriage was legal, the section says your spouse’s objection shall not be heard at all. Ending a valid marriage takes a divorce under Chapter 5 of this title, which lists the grounds in § 19-5-3.
Does this section fix every problem with a marriage ceremony?
No. It covers one defect: lack of authority in the person who performed the ceremony. The marriage must be valid in other respects. A marriage void for another reason — for example, because a party had a living spouse from an undissolved marriage under § 19-3-2, or the parties were related within the degrees § 19-3-3 forbids — isn’t saved by this section.
What if one spouse tricked the other into believing the marriage was legal?
That spouse can’t raise the officiant’s lack of authority. The section says the objection shall not be heard from a party who fraudulently induced the other to believe that the marriage was legal. Whether a spouse’s conduct amounts to fraudulent inducement depends on the facts, and the court decides it.
Who is authorized to perform marriages in Georgia?
Code Section 19-3-30(c) directs the license to the Governor or a former Governor, any judge (including judges of state and federal courts of record in Georgia), a city recorder, a magistrate, a minister, or another person of a religious society or sect authorized by its rules to perform the ceremony. This section protects couples when the person who officiated turns out not to have that authority.
Amendment History
Laws 1983, p. 884, § 4-1; Laws 2010, Act 439, § 3, eff. July 1, 2010.
Formerly Code 1863, § 1667; Code 1868, § 1708; Code 1873, § 1709; Code 1882, § 1709; Civil Code 1895, § 2423; Civil Code 1910, § 2492; Code 1933, § 53-213.