Jones, 051619 KYAGO, AGO OAG19-9

• Case Date: May 16, 2019
• Court: Kentucky

Sandra Jones AGO OAG19-9 No. OAG19-009 Kentucky Attorney General Opinion Commonwealth of Kentucky Office of the Attorney General May 16, 2019          Subject: Whether identification issued by a foreign government satisfies the requirements of KRS 402.100(4) concerning marriage license applications.          Requested by: Sandra Jones Woodford County Clerk          Written by: Marc G. Farris, Assistant Attorney General          Syllabus: Because KRS 402.100(4) does not limit the government-issued identification that a clerk must request from marriage license applicants, and because there is no requirement that applicants for marriage license be residents of the Commonwealth or of the United States, identification issued by a foreign government satisfies the requirements of KRS 402.100(4).          Statutes construed: KRS 402.100; KRS 402.210          OAGs cited: OAG 78-431; OAG 82-416           OPINION OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL          The Woodford County Clerk has requested an opinion from this Office as to whether identification issued by a foreign government satisfies the statutory requirements for issuing a marriage license. For the reasons set forth below, we believe that the statute permits applicants to provide any government-issued identification when applying for a marriage license, and therefore does not require that the identification was issued by the Commonwealth or the United States government.          KRS 402.100 sets forth the information that applicants must supply to the clerk in order to receive a marriage license. Among other things, applicants must provide "vital information," including "the full name, date of birth," and other personal details. KRS 402.100(l)(b). KRS 402.100(4) provides: "A Social Security card or other government-issued identification card shall be requested as a means of identification of each party but the number shall not be recorded or retained." Nothing in the statute (or in any other statute) limits or defines the term "government-issued identification." We believe that the absence of any such limiting language, combined with other statutory...