Marriage
What is Maine's Law on Marriage
19-A MRS §650-A states, “Marriage is the legally recognized union of 2 people. Gender-specific terms relating to the marital relationship or familial relationships must be construed to be gender-neutral for all purposes throughout the law, whether in the context of statute, administrative or court rule, policy, common law or any other source of civil law.”
19-A MRS §651 addresses where parties intending to be joined in marriage shall record notice of their intentions. For information about the requirements to obtain a marriage license, see the Maine.gov website on this topic.
19-A MRS §652(8) states, "The clerk or State Registrar of Vital Statistics may not issue a marriage license to a person under 18 years of age."
19-A MRSA §701 addresses prohibited marriages: marriage outside of state to evade law, certain marriages performed in another state not recognized in this state, prohibitions based on degrees of consanguinity, persons subject to guardianship, and polygamy.
The Maine Judicial Branch’s webpage on “Unmarried Partners” states, in part, “Maine does not recognize common law marriage. Unmarried partners are considered unrelated individuals under Maine law. There is no action equivalent to a divorce for unmarried partners to address issues concerning who owns or how to divide personal property, real estate, other assets, and joint debts.”
Maine marriage and divorce records from 1892 to the present are housed at the Maine Data, Research, and Vital Statistics Office. More information can be found at the Vital Records website. For records created prior to 1892, contact the municipality where the event took place or from the Maine State Archives.
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1/9/2026 A-Z List
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