Hamilton County Clerk Bill Knowles, noting that Valentine's Day is a favorite day of the year for some couples to tie the knot, said he is getting ready for a rush on his marriage license office.
Mr. Knowles said, “If the past is a prediction of the future, our office will experience another high number of couples applying for a marriage license on Monday.”
Couples must present proof of age. Acceptable identification is driver's license, birth certificate or passport.
Mr. Knowles said, “The Tennessee General Assembly enacted a law in 2002 requiring couples to complete a premarital preparation course. The cost of a license is $100 if counseling is not received. By completing counseling the cost is $40 per couple.
"A state form must be executed by the course provider, showing that the applicants have either attended the course together or separately within one year of the date of application for the license.
"The required certification of completion form may be down-loaded from the clerk’s website www.countyclerkanytime.com. Simply click the marriage link to obtain information defining the counseling content and the qualifications of persons who are eligible to conduct the training. A pre-application form may also be downloaded from the website."
Mr. Knowles said 2,357 marriage licenses were issued by his office in 2010. This total compares to 2,295 licenses issued in 2009.