Frequently Asked Questions
About Vital Records
Office hours are from 8:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., Monday-Friday
Please note: Same-day service available until 4:30 p.m.
Solemnizing a marriage:
Couples themselves may solemnize their own marriage
(perform one's own marriage ceremony). According to Colorado Revised
Statute 14-2-109, a marriage may be solemnized by a judge of a court;
by a court magistrate; by a retired judge of the court; by a public
official whose powers include solemnization of marriages; by Indian
tribe officials; by clergy; by the parties to the marriage. If you
wish to solemnize your own marriage, you will be responsible for acquiring,
completing and returning the license to marry to the appropriate
county Office of the Clerk and Recorder.
No one else may solemnize a marriage.
Clergy from out-of-state need not be registered in
Colorado.
Common-Law
Marriages: A common law marriage is a
social relationship between a man and a woman that meets all the necessary
requisites of a marriage that was not solemnized, performed or witnessed
by an official authorized to perform marriages. The necessary elements
of a common law marriage are:
- An intent of both parties freely given to become
married;
- A public declaration by the parties or a holding
out to the public that they are husband and wife;
- Continuous cohabitation together as husband and
wife (this means consummation of the marriage);
- Both parties must be capable of entering into the
marriage relationship. No special time limit is necessary to establish
a common law marriage. Colorado recognizes, for income and property
tax purposes, registration as husband and wife on applications,
leases, contract forms and hotel/motel registers;
- A common law marriage cannot be terminated except
by court dissolution (divorce) or death.
There is no official Certificate of Common Law Marriage.
If the parties to a common law marriage need documentary proof, they
may complete and sign, in front of a notary, an affidavit attesting
to the marriage. It may be placed on file with the Office of the Clerk
and Recorder, most likely in the county of residence.
Documentary evidence is not required for a common
law marriage to be fact. The Colorado Department of Law has an information
sheet that may be useful. The address is here.
Disposition
of remains or cremains
There is no requirement that a dead human body or
fetus be buried in an established cemetery. Bodies or fetuses may
be buried on private land unless local ordinances prohibit it. Cremation
is considered "final disposition" and the State retains
no control over disposition of the ashes. Ashes may be disposed of
as the next of kin desires except for any restriction by local ordinances.
It is important to check any federal, county or local laws and ordinances
first before disposing of remains.
A funeral director is not required. However, the funeral
director or person acting as such who first assumes custody of the
body is the person primarily responsible for the process of completing
the death certificate, obtaining the medical certification and filing
it with the local registrar in the county of death.
Embalming is not required if disposal is within 24
hours. However, a dead human body or fetus kept more than 24 hours
before burial or cremation MUST be embalmed or properly refrigerated.
The requirement is not specific concerning type or
brand of container for transport. The intent is to preserve the public health and
the dignity with which the dead human body is treated. The dead human
body or fetus must be in a "tightly sealed container that will
prevent the leakage of fluids or odor."
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Time
period for registering the original birth, death and fetal death certificates
Birth certificates must be filed with the local registrar
within 10 days after birth. Or, if the birth certificate is filed
electronically, filed directly with the Office of State Registrar.
Death and fetal death certificates must be filed with the local registrar
within five days.
How
long does it take to get a social security card for my child once
the official birth certificate has been filed? Parents may register their newborns for Social Security
cards at the time of birth. The service is free, and a card is sent
to the parents in about 2-3 weeks after the certificate is filed.
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How can I establish paternity
for my child?
Please note: Paternity forms cannot be sent to Vital Records electronically.
Colorado Department of Public Health
and Environment
Vital Records Section
4300 Cherry Creek Drive South
HSVRD-VR-A1
Denver, CO 80246-1530
Phone:
303.692.2200
Fax: USA 1.800.423.1108; outside continental U.S. 303.691.9307
E-mail
vital.records@state.co.us
Office hours are from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday-Friday
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