Can a Tennessee minister ordained online still officiate weddings after Public Chapter 415 took effect?

Subject

Qualifications of Spiritual Leaders Who May Solemnize Marriages

Plain-English summary

The Attorney General's office addressed a two-part question prompted by the General Assembly's 2019 enactment of Public Chapter 415, which amended Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-3-301, the statute identifying who may legally officiate weddings in Tennessee.

Before the new law, a person ordained online could solemnize a Tennessee marriage if the ordination came from a religious tradition that treated ordination as a "considered, deliberate, and responsible act." The AG's office had previously taken the position, in Opinion 15-14, that an ordination obtained with no more than the click of a mouse did not satisfy that standard. But more thoughtful online ordinations, in principle, qualified.

Public Chapter 415, with the relevant amendments effective July 1, 2019, removed that pathway entirely. The legislature added a flat rule: "Persons receiving online ordinations may not solemnize the rite of matrimony." After June 30, 2019, no online ordination, however serious or considered, qualifies. The AG concluded that the statute's text is unambiguous on that point.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2019. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

What did the law say before Public Chapter 415?

Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-3-301(a)(1) listed the people authorized to officiate Tennessee marriages, including ministers, preachers, pastors, priests, rabbis, and "other spiritual leaders of every religious belief, more than eighteen (18) years of age, having the care of souls." Subsection (a)(2) added that the officiant had to be ordained "in conformity with the customs of a church, temple or other religious group or organization," and those customs had to provide for ordination "by a considered, deliberate, and responsible act."

What changed in 2019?

Public Chapter 415, signed in 2019, added one sentence to the end of subsection (a)(2): "Persons receiving online ordinations may not solemnize the rite of matrimony." That language took effect July 1, 2019.

Did the change matter for ordinations from groups like Universal Life Church?

Yes. Under the prior version, the AG's office had treated an ordination granted by a single "click of the mouse" as inadequate (Opinion 15-14), but a more thoughtful online ordination process arguably could have qualified. The 2019 amendment closed that question by ruling out online ordinations across the board.

Are weddings performed by online-ordained officiants before July 1, 2019, still valid?

The opinion addressed authority going forward, not the validity of pre-2019 marriages. Tennessee's marriage statute also has separate provisions about good-faith reliance and the validity of marriages where the officiant lacked authority. Anyone with concerns about a pre-2019 marriage performed by an online-ordained officiant should consult counsel rather than infer an answer from this opinion.

Background and statutory framework

Tennessee, like most states, channels marriage solemnization through licensed officiants. Section 36-3-301 sets out two basic categories: civil officials (judges, county mayors, certain others) and religious officiants (ministers and other "spiritual leaders" within a recognized religious group). The AG's office had long focused on the second category, repeatedly addressing whether and how online ordinations qualified.

Public Chapter 415 reflected a legislative decision to draw a bright line. Rather than continue to litigate, opinion-by-opinion, whether a particular online ordination process was sufficiently "considered, deliberate, and responsible," the legislature simply excluded online ordinations from § 36-3-301 altogether. The AG opinion gives force to that text and does not address any First Amendment or other constitutional challenge the new rule might face; it answers only the statutory question put to it.

Citations

• Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-3-301(a)(1), (2)
• 2019 Tenn. Pub. Acts, ch. 415, § 3
• Tenn. Att'y Gen. Op. 15-14 (Feb. 6, 2015)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.tn.gov/attorneygeneral/opinions.html
• Original PDF: https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/attorneygeneral/documents/ops/2019/op19-08.pdf

Original opinion text

STATE OF TENNESSEE
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
June 20, 2019

Opinion No. 19-08

Qualifications of Spiritual Leaders Who May Solemnize Marriages

Question 1
Prior to the enactment of Public Chapter 415, were spiritual leaders who had received their ordinations online authorized under Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-3-301 to solemnize marriages in Tennessee?

Opinion 1
Yes, as long as they satisfied the requirements of § 36-3-301(a)(1), (2).

Question 2
Does Public Chapter 415 change whether spiritual leaders who receive their ordinations online may solemnize marriages under § 36-3-301?

Opinion 2
Yes. After the effective date of Public Chapter 415, spiritual leaders who receive their ordinations online will no longer be among those individuals who are authorized under § 36-3-301 to solemnize marriages in Tennessee.

ANALYSIS

Currently, Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-3-301(a)(1) sets forth the individuals who are authorized to solemnize marriages in Tennessee, including "ministers, preachers, pastors, priests, rabbis, and other spiritual leaders of every religious belief, more than eighteen (18) years of age, having the care of souls," who also meet the following requirements:

In order to solemnize the rite of matrimony, any such minister, preacher, pastor, priest, rabbi or other spiritual leader must be ordained or otherwise designated in conformity with the customs of a church, temple or other religious group or organization; and such customs must provide for such ordination or designation by a considered, deliberate, and responsible act.

Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-3-301(a)(2).

Public Chapter 415, the relevant sections of which become effective July 1, 2019, amends these requirements by adding the following language to the end of subdivision (a)(2): "Persons receiving online ordinations may not solemnize the rite of matrimony." 2019 Tenn. Pub. Acts, ch. 415, § 3.

Before the enactment of Public Chapter 415, spiritual leaders receiving their ordinations online were subject to same requirements as those who received ordinations through other means. Spiritual leaders identified in § 36-3-301(a)(1) who received their ordination pursuant to a religious custom that constituted a "considered, deliberate, and responsible act" were authorized to solemnize marriages. Thus, as long as an online ordination was received pursuant to a religious custom that constituted a considered, deliberate, and responsible act, persons so ordained were authorized to solemnize marriages. But if their online ordination was not pursuant to a religious custom that required a considered, deliberate, and responsible act, spiritual leaders were not authorized to solemnize marriages. In its most recent opinion on the requirements of § 36-3-301(a)(2) as they existed before the effective date of Public Chapter 415, this office reaffirmed that online ordination that requires no more than a "click of the mouse" would not satisfy the requirement of ordination pursuant to a considered, deliberate, and responsible act. Tenn. Att'y Gen. Op. 15-14 (Feb. 6, 2015).

Public Chapter 415 changes the current framework in one respect. It amends § 36-3-301(a)(2) so that after June 30, 2019, "[p]ersons receiving online ordinations" are no longer authorized to solemnize marriages in Tennessee, even if they received their ordination pursuant to a religious custom that constitutes a "considered, deliberative, and responsible act."

HERBERT H. SLATERY III
Attorney General and Reporter

ANDRÉE SOPHIA BLUMSTEIN
Solicitor General

JONATHAN DAVID SHAUB
Assistant Solicitor General

Requested by:
The Honorable Art Swann
State Senator
748 Cordell Hull Bldg.
425 5th Avenue North
Nashville, TN 37243