David, I looked it up. Things change and I don't always know about it because the newspapers are so bad that we don't read them. Rules vary by country but I looked up two of the biggest ones - Wayne and another one. Wayne county includes Detroit and several large suburbs. In the two I looked up marriage license is required as is documentation, with picture. Name of parents, mother's maiden name and previous marriage/divorce documents. Covenant marriages are not permitted. Veronica Caley Milford, MI ----- Original Message ----- From: David Ritchie To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent: Thursday, September 08, 2011 8:43 PM Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: Will Britain accept Sharia Law? On Sep 8, 2011, at 3:24 PM, Veronica Caley wrote: I can't imagine a Catholic, Protestant or Jewish clergy person officiating at a marriage without a state license. It's required. Perhaps in your state. Not so, California: http://www.cdph.ca.gov/certlic/birthdeathmar/Pages/FAQforMarriageLicenseCeremonyInfo.aspx David Ritchie, married in California