GEORGETOWN, Del. - Governor John Carney signed the Twelfth modification to his emergency declaration on Thursday. In this order, marriage licenses are allowed to be issued via video conference.
The Sussex County Marriage Bureau closed on March 18th to comply with social distancing guidelines and to help stop the spread of COVID-19. Sussex County Clerk of the Peace Norman Jay Jones says the bureau has been backlogged with more than 60 couples applying for marriage licenses.
On Friday the bureau began issuing licenses via Zoom. 10 have been issued as of Monday morning. Jones says couples must have an officiant and a ceremony planned at a later date as the marriage bureau is not holding ceremonies during this time.
Couples can contact the marriage bureau to get necessary documents processed before they are sent a Zoom invite. Jones says the video conference will take about 15 to 20 minutes and that the license will be mailed out afterward.
"You would have one of my staffers on the Zoom call that would be processing the paperwork, putting you under oath," says Jones. "After you go under oath, the paperwork is done, then we send it out."
Jones says the marriage bureau can provide its services over Zoom in Spanish. He says vow renewals can also be done in this virtual way.
