Officiating In Ut

[Cypress]

I have been ordained with the ULC since 2008... I have been asked to officiate my first wedding. I have not registered with the state. I need to know how I do that, and if possible about how much will it cost me?

[Brother Kevin]

You don't have to register in order to officiate weddings in Utah. If you are ordained with ULC, you can officiate there.

If you ask the clerk whether they will allow a ULC minister to officiate marriage, they are likely to quote you a law that says ministers ordained by mail or using the Internet cannot officiate there.

They are actually violating a federal court order by quoting you this law, in my opinion. There is indeed such a law. It was signed into law by the governor, but before the law took effect, the ULC brought action in federal court and the law was found to be unconstitutional. The court issued a permanent injunction prohibiting the state from enforcing it. It seems to me that a government official showing you the law and telling you that you cannot officiate is "enforcing" the law.

It would be interesting if someone in Utah would be willing to take them to task on this, perhaps even bring suit for civil rights infringement. If you want to have some fun, take some witnesses with you and ask them the question in person. If they pull this stunt on you, get the person's name who tells you this and then ask them if there isn't a federal court ruling that prohibits the enforcement of that law. It would be interesting to see, from their reaction, if they are simply ignorant or actually trying to bamboozle people.

The law does still exist. Like many laws that are held unconstitutional, it remains on the books simply because the legislature never acted to remove it.

For example, California has a law on the books that says you have to carry ID with you. It was ruled unconstitutional decades ago, but the law is still on the books. Yet no sane California cop would try to tell you that there is a law that requires you to carry ID. So why do Utah clerks quote a law they must surely know is not enforceable? lol . . . well if you're living in Utah, you already know the answer to that one!

[Cypress]

Just so I completely understand. I don't have to go into the Clerks office and register? But, I can if I want to have some fun with the clerk there? So, if I do decide to go ahead and go in and register, and I will also take a print out of the Federal Court order... Is there a cost for Registering?

I'm really just nervous about this. Officiating my first wedding. I just don't want to mess it up.

[mark 45]

since there is no need to register,why make things harder on yourself than you already are?

and to answer your question,in some states,it does cost to register.

[Cypress]

Very true... Thank you for your advice. it is very much appreciated.

Now all I have to do is get ready for this wedding... Just a bit nervous, officiating my first ceremony.