Sec. 222. Request for changing or removing gender identifying language on a marriage certificate.

585 words·~3 min read·/il/chapter-750/act-5/222

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(a)Upon completion of an affidavit provided by the county clerk and confirmation of identity, a person, still currently married, may request a certificate of the person's current marriage free of any gender identifying language. The person may request a change from terms such as "bride" and "groom" to a nongendered term such as "spouse" or a variant of "Spouse 1" or "Spouse A". Upon such request, both parties shall be listed with a nongendered identifier on a certificate. The request shall not permanently change the gender identifying language in the clerk's records, and the affidavit and issuance shall be kept in the permanent records of the clerk.

The affidavit shall be created by the county clerk, may appear on a combined form with the form under subsection (b), and shall be substantially as follows:

REQUEST FOR NONGENDERED COPY OF A MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE

I, .........., state that I am a named spouse on a marriage license held in this office,

that I am still married to the other named spouse on that marriage license as of the date of this request, and hereby request the holder of this record provide me, and only me, with a marriage certificate with any gender-identifying language removed or changed to "spouse". I affirm that this change is for purposes of this certified copy, the change will not be made to permanent records, and a record of this request shall be held by the holder of this marriage record.

Date..........

Signature..........

(b)If 2 parties currently married request a marriage certificate with gender identifiers changed, such as "bride" to "groom" or "groom" to "bride", both parties shall appear before the clerk, indicate consent, and complete an affidavit. If the clerk is technologically able and the parties desire, the change in gender is permanent.

The affidavit shall be created by the county clerk, may appear on a combined form with the form under subsection (a), and shall be substantially as follows:

REQUEST FOR NONGENDERED COPY OF A MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE

We, ..........[Spouse A] and ..........[Spouse B], the still-married named persons on a

marriage license held in this office as of the date of this request, hereby request the holder of this record to provide a marriage certificate with gender-identifying terms such as "bride" and "groom" changed as follows:

..........[Name of Spouse A] Bride, Groom, or Spouse (select one).

..........[Name of Spouse B] Bride, Groom, or Spouse (select one).

We affirm that this change is for purposes of this certified copy, and the change will

not be made to permanent records, unless indicated by selecting Yes or No (select one) and a record of this request shall be held by the holder of this marriage record.

Date..........

Signature of Spouse A..........

Signature of Spouse B..........

(c)If a county provides a certified record, photocopy, or reproduction of an original record in lieu of a summary data sheet, the county clerk shall work with the Department of Public Health to develop a new certificate that can be issued in lieu of a reproduction of the prior record. Nothing in this subsection authorizes the county clerk to permanently mark or deface a prior record in lieu of a summary data sheet certificate.

(d)When a clerk issues a nongendered marriage certificate under subsection (a), the certificate shall not include any language indicating it has been amended nor that it is not a true and accurate record of the facts stated therein.