Bigamy Laws States M-P
Please note there is no centralized database for jurisdictions to check to see whether or not a person is being truthful on their application. The sentences and fines for bigamy are less than for a DUI. If a National Marriage Database were in place, this would not be a problem. I urge you to sign the petition urging Congress to institute such a database.
§551. Bigamy
1. A person is guilty of bigamy, if having a spouse, he intentionally marries or purports to marry, knowing that he is legally ineligible to do so. [1975, c. 499, § 1 (new).]
a. Bigamy is a class E crime [1975, c. 499, § 2 (new).]Section History: PL 1975. Ch. 499 §1 (NEW)
Maryland
§ 10-502. Bigamy.
(a) Scope of section.- This section does not apply to a person if:
(1) the person's previous lawful spouse has been absent from the person for a continuous period of 7 years; and
(2) the person does not know whether the person's previous lawful spouse is living at the time of the subsequent marriage ceremony.
(b) Prohibited.- While lawfully married to a living person, a person may not enter into a marriage ceremony with another.
(c) Penalty.- A person who violates this section is guilty of the felony of bigamy and on conviction is subject to imprisonment not exceeding 9 years.
(d) Charging document.- An indictment or warrant for bigamy is sufficient if it substantially states:
"(name of defendant) on (date), in (county), having a living spouse, feloniously entered into a marriage ceremony with (name of subsequent spouse), in violation of § 10-502 of the Criminal Law Article, against the peace, government, and dignity of the State."
Massachusetts
M.G.L. c272, sec. 15 -Section 15. Polygamy.
Whoever, having a former husband or wife living, marries another person or continues to cohabit with a second husband or wife in the commonwealth shall be guilty of polygamy, and be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than five years or in jail for not more than two and one half years or by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars; but this section shall not apply to a person whose husband or wife has continually remained beyond sea, or has voluntarily withdrawn from the other and remained absent, for seven consecutive years, the party marrying again not knowing the other to be living within that time, nor to a person who has been legally divorced from the bonds of matrimony.
Bigamy: The condition of a married person who knows that he/she is not legally eligible to marry and marries another. In
Michigan
Chapter 83. Of marriage and the solemnization thereof.
551.5 Bigamy prohibited.
Sec. 5. No marriage shall be contracted whilst either of the parties has a former wife or husband living, unless the marriage with such former wife or husband, shall have been dissolved.
History: R.S. 1846, Ch. 83 ;-- CL 1857, 3208 ;-- CL 1871, 4723 ;-- How. 6213 ;-- CL 1897, 8592 ;-- CL 1915, 11366 ;-- CL 1929, 12694 ;-- CL 1948, 551.5
Domestic Relations - Marriage - Void - Grounds - Bigamy (From: Michigan Appellate Digest)
No marriage may be contracted while either of the parties has a living spouse, unless the prior marriage has been dissolved. All marriages are void which are prohibited by law on account of consanguinity or affinity or because a party was already married, was insane or was an idiot. Thus, a bigamous marriage is void. MCL 551.5, MCL 552.1
552.31 Legitimacy of issue; dissolution of bigamous marriage entered into in good faith.
Sec. 31.When a marriage is dissolved on account of a prior marriage of either party, and it shall appear that the second marriage was contracted in good faith, and with the full belief of the parties that the former wife or husband was dead, that fact shall be stated in the decree of divorce or nullity; and the issue of such second marriage, born or begotten before the commencement of the suit, shall be deemed to be the legitimate issue of the parent who, at the time of the marriage, was capable of contracting.
History: R.S. 1846, Ch. 84 ;-- CL 1857, 3252 ;-- CL 1871, 4763 ;-- How. 6251 ;-- CL 1897, 8644 ;-- CL 1915, 11420 ;-- CL 1929, 12751 ;-- CL 1948, 552.31
Popular Name: No-Fault Divorce
609.355 Bigamy ; Subdivision 1. Definition. In this section "cohabit" means to live together under the representation or appearance of being married.
Subd. 2. Acts constituting. Whoever does any of the following is guilty of bigamy and maybe sentenced to imprisonment for not more than five years or to payment of a fine of not more than $10,000, or both: (1) knowingly having a prior marriage that is not dissolved, contracts a marriage in this state; or (2) contracts a marriage with another in this state with knowledge that the prior marriage of the other is not dissolved; or
(3) marries another outside this state with knowledge that either of them has a prior
marriage that has not been dissolved, and then cohabits with the other in this state.
HIST: 1963 c 753 art 1 s 609.355; 1984 c 628 art 3 s 11; 1986 c 444
Mississippi
97-29-13: Bigamy: Every person having a husband or wife living, who shall marry again, and every unmarried person who shall knowingly marry the husband or wife of another living, except in the cases hereinafter named, shall be guilty of bigamy, and imprisoned in the penitentiary not longer than ten years.
97-29-15
Bigamy shall not extend to any person whose husband or wife shall have been absent for seven successive years, without being known to such person, within the time, to be living; nor to any person whose husband or wife shall have absented himself or herself from his or her husband or wife, and remained without the United States continually for seven years; nor to any person, by reason of any former marriage which shall have been dissolved by the decree of a competent court, unless the said decree provide that such person shall not be at liberty to marry again; nor to any person, by reason of any former marriage which shall have been pronounced void by the sentence or decree, of a competent court, for the nullity of the marriage contract; nor to any person by reason of any former marriage, contracted by such person within the age of legal consent, and which shall have been annulled by the decree of a competent court.
99-19-35
A person convicted of bribery, burglary, theft, arson, obtaining money or goods under false pretenses, perjury, forgery, embezzlement, or bigamy shall not be allowed to practice medicine or dentistry, or be appointed to hold or perform the duties of any office of profit, trust, or honor, unless after full pardon for the same.
568.010. 1. A married person commits the crime of bigamy if he:
(1) Purports to contract another marriage; or
(2) Cohabits in this state after a bigamous marriage in another jurisdiction.
2. A married person does not commit bigamy if, at the time of the subsequent marriage ceremony, he reasonably believes that he is legally eligible to remarry.
3. The defendant shall have the burden of injecting the issue of reasonable belief of eligibility to remarry.
4. An unmarried person commits the crime of bigamy if he
(1) Purports to contract marriage knowing that the other person is married; or
(2) Cohabits in this state after a bigamous marriage in another jurisdiction.
5. Bigamy is a class A misdemeanor.
Montana
45-5-611. Bigamy. (1) A person commits the offense of bigamy if, while married, he knowingly contracts or purports to contract another marriage unless at the time of the subsequent marriage:
(a) the offender believes on reasonable grounds that the prior spouse is dead;
(b) the offender and the prior spouse have been living apart for 5 consecutive years throughout which the prior spouse was not known by the offender to be alive;
(c) a court has entered a judgment purporting to terminate or annul any prior disqualifying marriage and the offender does not know that judgment to be invalid; or
(d) the offender reasonably believes that he is legally eligible to remarry.
(2) A person convicted of bigamy shall be fined not to exceed $500 or be imprisoned in the county jail for any term not to exceed 6 months, or both.
History: En. by Sec. 1, Ch. 513, L. 1973; R.C.M. 1947, .
45-5-612. Marrying a bigamist. (1) A person commits the offense of marrying a bigamist if he contracts or purports to contract a marriage with another knowing that the other is thereby committing bigamy.
(2) A person convicted of the offense of marrying a bigamist shall be fined not to exceed $500 or be imprisoned in the county jail for any period not to exceed 6 months, or both.
History: En. by Sec. 1, Ch. 513, L. 1973; R.C.M. 1947, .
Nebraska
Section 28-701
Bigamy; penalty; exception.
(1) If any married person, having a husband or wife living, shall marry any other person, he shall be deemed guilty of bigamy, unless as an affirmative defense it appears that at the time of the subsequent marriage:
(a) The accused reasonably believes that the prior spouse is dead; or
(b) The prior spouse had been continually absent for a period of five years during which the accused did not know the prior spouse to be alive; or
(c) The accused reasonably believed that he was legally eligible to remarry.
(2) Any unmarried person who knowingly marries a person who is married commits bigamy.
(3) Bigamy is a Class I misdemeanor.
Source:
Laws 1977, LB 38, § 140
Nevada
NRS 201.160 Bigamy: Definition; penalty.
1. Bigamy consists in the having of two wives or two husbands at one time, knowing that the former husband or wife is still alive.
2. If a married person marries any other person while the former husband or wife is alive, the person so offending is guilty of a category D felony and shall be punished as provided in NRS 193.130.
3. It is not necessary to prove either of the marriages by the register and certificate thereof, or other record evidence, but those marriages may be proved by such evidence as is admissible to prove a marriage in other cases, and when the second marriage has taken place without this State, cohabitation in this State after the second marriage constitutes the commission of the crime of bigamy.
4. This section does not extend:
(a) To a person whose husband or wife has been continually absent from that person for the space of 5 years before the second marriage, if he or she did not know the husband or wife to be living within that time.
(b) To a person who is, at the time of the second marriage, divorced by lawful authority from the bonds of the former marriage, or to a person where the former marriage has been by lawful authority declared void.
[1911 C&P § 191; RL § 6456; NCL § 10138]—(NRS A 1967, 475; 1979, 1428; 1995, 1197)
BIGAMY - The condition of a married person who knows that he/she is not legally eligible to marry and marries another. In
2C:24-1. Bigamy
a. Bigamy. A married person is guilty of bigamy, a disorderly persons offense, if he contracts or purports to contract another marriage, unless at the time of the subsequent marriage:
(1) The actor believes that the prior spouse is dead;
(2) The actor and the prior spouse have been living apart for 5 consecutive years throughout which the prior spouse was not known by the actor to be alive;
(3) A court has entered a judgment purporting to terminate or annul any prior disqualifying marriage, and the actor does not know that judgment to be invalid; or
(4) The actor reasonably believes that he is legally eligible to remarry.
b. Other party to bigamous marriage. A person is guilty of bigamy if he contracts or purports to contract marriage with another knowing that the other is thereby committing bigamy.
L.1978, c. 95, s. 2C:24-1, eff. Sept. 1, 1979.
New Mexico
30-10-1. Bigamy.
Bigamy consists of knowingly entering into a marriage by or with a person who has previously contracted one or more marriages which have not been dissolved by death, divorce or annulment. Both parties may be principals.Whoever commits bigamy is guilty of a fourth degree felony.
Sec. 9.
Every person who shall be convicted of bigamy or polygamy, shall be imprisoned not more than seven years nor less than two years.
- the actor believes that the prior spouse is dead;
- the actor and the prior spouse have been living apart for two consecutive years throughout which the prior spouse was not known by the actor to be alive; or
- a court has entered a judgment purporting to terminate or annul any prior disqualifying marriage, and the actor does not know that judgment to be invalid.
(b) Other party to bigamous marriage.--A person is guilty of bigamy if he contracts or purports to contract marriage with another knowing that the other is thereby committing bigamy.
S 255.10 Unlawfully procuring a marriage
license. A person is guilty of unlawfully procuring a marriage license when he procures a license to
marry another person at a time when he has a living spouse, or the other person has a living spouse.
Unlawfully procuring a marriage license is a class A misdemeanor.
S 255.15 Bigamy: A person is
guilty of bigamy when he contracts or purports to contract a marriage with
another person at a time when he has a living spouse, or the other person has a
living spouse. Bigamy is a class E felony.
Class E felonies carry the shortest jail
sentences for felony cases. Jail sentences for misdemeanor and violations or
infractions are even shorter.
North Carolina
§ 14‑183. Bigamy.
If any person, being married, shall marry any other person during the life of the former husband or wife, every such offender, and every person counseling, aiding or abetting such offender, shall be punished as a Class I felon. Any such offense may be dealt with, tried, determined and punished in the county where the offender shall be apprehended, or be in custody, as if the offense had been actually committed in that county. If any person, being married, shall contract a marriage with any other person outside of this State, which marriage would be punishable as bigamous if contracted within this State, and shall thereafter cohabit with such person in this State, he shall be guilty of a felony and shall be punished as in cases of bigamy. Nothing contained in this section shall extend to any person marrying a second time, whose husband or wife shall have been continually absent from such person for the space of seven years then last past, and shall not have been known by such person to have been living within that time; nor to any person who at the time of such second marriage shall have been lawfully divorced from the bond of the first marriage; nor to any person whose former marriage shall have been declared void by the sentence of any court of competent jurisdiction. (See 9 Geo. IV, c. 31, s. 22; 1790, c. 323, P.R.; 1809, c. 783, P.R.; 1829, c. 9; R.C., c. 34, s. 15; Code, s. 988; Rev., s. 3361; 1913, c. 26; C.S., s. 4342; 1979, c. 760, s. 5; 1979, 2nd Sess., c. 1316, s. 47; 1981, c. 63, s. 1, c. 179, s. 14; 1993, c. 539, s. 1193; 1994, Ex. Sess., c. 24, s. 14(c).)
12.1-20-13. Bigamy.
1. A person who marries another person, while married to another person, is guilty of a class C felony.
2. Subsection 1 does not extend to:
a. A person whose spouse has been absent for five successive years and is
believed by him or her to be dead.
b. A person whose spouse has voluntarily absented himself and has continually
remained without the United States for the space of five successive years.
c. A person whose former marriage has been pronounced void, null, or dissolved
by the judgment of a competent court.
§ 2919.01. - Bigamy.
(A) No married person shall marry another or continue to cohabit with such other person in this state.
(B) It is an affirmative defense to a charge under this section that the actor's spouse was continuously absent for five years immediately preceding the purported subsequent marriage, and was not known by the actor to be alive within that time.
(C) Whoever violates this section is guilty of bigamy, a misdemeanor of the first degree
Oklahoma
§21‑881. Bigamy defined.
Every person who having been married to another who remains living, marries any
other person except in the cases specified in the next section is guilty of bigamy.
R.L.1910, § 2439.
§21‑882. Exceptions to the rule of bigamy.
The last preceding section does not extend:
1. To any person whose husband or wife by a former marriage has been absent for five (5)
successive years without being known to such person within that time to be living; nor,
2. To any person whose husband or wife by a former marriage has absented himself or
herself from his wife or her husband and has been continually remaining without the United States
for a space of five (5) years together; nor,
3. To any person by reason of any former marriage which has been pronounced void,
annulled or dissolved by the judgment of a competent court; nor,
4. To any person by reason of any former marriage with a husband or wife who has
been sentenced to imprisonment for life.
R.L.1910, § 2440.
§21‑883. Bigamy a felony.
Any person guilty of bigamy shall be guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment in the
State Penitentiary not exceeding five (5) years.
R.L. 1910, § 2441. Amended by Laws 1997, c. 133, § 260, eff. July 1, 1999; Laws 1999,
1st Ex.Sess., c. 5, § 164, eff. July 1, 1999.
§22‑746. Bigamy, proof on trial for.
Upon a trial for bigamy, it is not necessary to prove either of the marriages by the register,
certificate or other record evidence thereof, but the same may be proved by such evidence
as is admissible to prove a marriage in other cases, and when the second marriage took
place out of the state, proof of that fact accompanied with proof of cohabitation thereafter
in this state, is sufficient to sustain the charge.
R.L.1910, § 5903.
§43-123. Remarriage and cohabitation - Appeal from judgment.
It shall be unlawful for either party to an action for divorce whose former husband or
wife is living to marry in this state a person other than the divorced spouse within six (6)
months from date of decree of divorce granted in this state, or to cohabit with such other
person in this state during said period if the marriage took place in another state; and if an
appeal be commenced from said decree, it shall be unlawful for either party to such cause
to marry any other person and cohabit with such person in this state until the expiration of
thirty (30) days from the date on which final judgment shall be rendered pursuant to such
appeal. Any person violating the provisions of this section by such marriage shall be
deemed guilty of the felony of bigamy. Any person violating the provisions of this section
by such cohabitation shall be deemed guilty of the felony of adultery.
An appeal from a judgment granting or denying a divorce shall be made in the same
manner as in any other civil case.
R.L. 1910, § 4971. Amended by Laws 1925, c. 119, p. 166, § 1; Laws 1957, p. 82, § 1; Laws 1969,
c. 322, § 1; Laws 1970, c. 5, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1971. Renumbered from Title 12, § 1280 by Laws
1989, c. 333, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 1989. Amended by Laws 1997, c. 133, § 462, eff. July 1, 1999.
§43-124. Bigamy a felony.
Every person convicted of bigamy as such offense is defined in Section 123 of this
title shall be guilty of a felony and shall be punished by imprisonment in the State Penitentiary
for a term of not less than one (1) year nor more than three (3) years.
R.L. 1910, § 4972. Renumbered from § 1281 of Title 12 by Laws 1989, c. 333, § 1, eff. Nov.
1, 1989. Amended by Laws 1997, c. 133, § 463, eff. July 1, 1999; Laws 1999, 1st Ex.Sess., c. 5, § 336, eff. July 1, 1999.
Oregon
163.515 Bigamy. (1) A person commits the crime of bigamy if the person knowingly marries or purports to marry another person at a time when either is lawfully married. (2) Bigamy is a Class C felony. [1971 c.743 §171]
§ 4301.(a) Bigamy.--A married
person is guilty of bigamy, a misdemeanor of the second degree,
if he contracts or purports to contract another marriage, unless
at the time of the subsequent marriage:
1. the actor believes that the prior spouse is dead;
2. the actor and the prior spouse have been living apart
for two consecutive years throughout which the prior
spouse was not known by the actor to be alive; or
3. a court has entered a judgment purporting to terminate
or annul any prior disqualifying marriage, and the
actor does not know that judgment to be invalid.
(b) Other party to bigamous
marriage.--A person is guilty of bigamy if he contracts
or purports to contract marriage with another knowing
that the other is thereby committing bigamy.
(a) Bigamy.--A married person
is guilty of bigamy, a misdemeanor of the second degree, if he contracts or
purports to contract another marriage, unless at the time of the subsequent
marriage:
- the actor believes that the prior spouse is dead;
- the actor and the prior spouse have been living apart for two consecutive years throughout which the prior spouse was not known by the actor to be alive; or
- a court has entered a judgment purporting to terminate or annul any prior disqualifying marriage, and the actor does not know that judgment to be invalid.
(b) Other party to bigamous
marriage.--A person is guilty of bigamy if he contracts or purports to contract
marriage with another knowing that the other is thereby committing bigamy.
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