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internet ordained ministers? Legal in Montgomery county

KimBGKimBG
500 Comments
in Pennsylvania-Philadelphia
Ok so originally we were going to have our friend who is an ordained minister via the internet.  He had told me it was legal and now i am getting worried that i t might not be legal. Has anyone had a friend marry you or did practice in a church?


I just want it to be legit! LOL
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Re: internet ordained ministers? Legal in Montgomery county

  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] member
    5000 Comments Combo Breaker
    edited December 2011
    From what I understand it is not legal in PA.  

    However PA has self uniting license, i.e. Quaker marriages.  You could go this route and then have someone there who kinda leads, wink, wink, nudge, nudge, you know what I mean.  
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  • Amerbutt81Amerbutt81 member
    2500 Comments Fifth Anniversary
    edited December 2011
    We had a hard time agreeing on a pastor, so we had decided that if we absolutely couldn't agree on anyone else, our friend Joe would marry us.  I kinda only half-checked (because we did finally agree to someone), but I think it's legit.
    Mrs. JEGs
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    October 1, 2011

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  • LaRositaMonitaLaRositaMonita
    1000 Comments Fifth Anniversary Combo Breaker
    edited December 2011
    It's not legal to marry someone in PA unless you an ordained minister of a religious organization.  There are a number of non-denominational, secular ministers in the Philly area who are actually incorporated as religious organizations so that they can perform civil wedding ceremonies.  However, PA will not legally recognize a marriage performed by a friend who gets ordained, say, over the Internet. 

    You can have your friend marry you, however, if you apply for the self-uniting license that NCV mentioned.  Quakers do not have any religious clergy, and as such their marriages ceremonies have the couple marrying each other without an officiant.  You could get this license, sign off on it, and then have a friend perform a ceremony for pomp and circumstance's sake.  I would call the courthouse in the county in which you intend to marry (or a county nearby, it doesn't really matter) to check that they will grant you a self-uniting license even if you don't technically belong to a Quaker congregation.
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  • joysaw00joysaw00 member
    Fourth Anniversary 10 Comments
    edited December 2011

    The city of Philadelphia issues self-uniting licenses so you can get one regardless of whether you are Quaker or not -- which are valid in any county. They cost about $90 more than a regular license, if I remember correctly. I have officiated weddings for people who used them (though I don't recall which county offhand).

    Of course it never hurts to ask your county clerk, as the previous poster suggested, but I also warn you to not necessarily believe them if they advise against it. I've been surprised to hear from many couples whom I have married that the clerks they dealt with didn't seem to know about them or gave them bad advice.

    Here is the link to Philly's license info:

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