{"data":{"id":"us-nc/n.c.-gen.-stat.-51-6","jurisdiction":"us-nc","citation":"N.C. Gen. Stat. § 51-6","heading":"Solemnization without license unlawful.","body":"No minister, officer, or any other person authorized to solemnize a marriage under the laws of this State shall perform a ceremony of marriage between a man and woman, or shall declare them to be husband and wife, until there is delivered to that person a license for the marriage of the said persons, signed by the register of deeds of the county in which the marriage license was issued or by a lawful deputy or assistant. There must be at least two witnesses to the marriage ceremony.\nWhenever a man and woman have been lawfully married in accordance with the laws of the state in which the marriage ceremony took place, and said marriage was performed by a magistrate or some other civil official duly authorized to perform such ceremony, and the parties thereafter wish to confirm their marriage vows before an ordained minister or minister authorized by a church, or in a ceremony recognized by any religious denomination, federally or State recognized Indian Nation or Tribe, nothing herein shall be deemed to prohibit such confirmation ceremony; provided, however, that such confirmation ceremony shall not be deemed in law to be a marriage ceremony, such confirmation ceremony shall in no way affect the validity or invalidity of the prior marriage ceremony performed by a civil official, no license for such confirmation ceremony shall be issued by a register of deeds, and no record of such confirmation ceremony may be kept by a register of deeds. (1871-2, c. 193, s. 4; Code, s. 1813; Rev., s. 2086; C.S., s. 2498; 1957, c. 1261; 1959, c. 338; 1967, c. 957, ss. 6, 9; 1977, c. 592, s. 2; 2001-62, s. 6.)","path":["Chapter 51. Marriage.","Article 2. Marriage Licenses."],"source_url":"https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_51/GS_51-6.html","current_through":"S.L. 2026-30","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-08-27T18:04:47Z","sha256":"4da7f8f8ec336e6d372c1e57894296458474722f7b0733a89b1b8ff0bdc4ac22","source_id":"us-nc","stale":false,"prev":"us-nc/n.c.-gen.-stat.-51-5.5","next":"us-nc/n.c.-gen.-stat.-51-7"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}