1. The Secretary of State shall establish and maintain a statewide database of ministers, other church or religious officials authorized to solemnize a marriage, notaries public or marriage officiants who have been issued a certificate of permission to perform marriages or whose certificate has been renewed. The database must:

(a) Serve as the official list of ministers, other church or religious officials authorized to solemnize a marriage, notaries public or marriage officiants approved to perform marriages in this State;

(b) Provide for a single method of storing and managing the official list;

(c) Be a uniform, centralized and interactive database;

(d) Be electronically secure and accessible to each county clerk in this State;

(e) Contain the name, mailing address and other pertinent information of each minister, other church or religious official authorized to solemnize a marriage, notary public or marriage officiant as prescribed by the Secretary of State; and

(f) Include a unique identifier assigned by the Secretary of State to each minister, other church or religious official authorized to solemnize a marriage, notary public or marriage officiant.

2. If the county clerk approves an application for a certificate of permission to perform marriages or for the renewal of a certificate, the county clerk shall:

(a) Enter all information contained in the application into the electronic statewide database of ministers, other church or religious officials authorized to solemnize a marriage, notaries public or marriage officiants maintained by the Secretary of State not later than 10 days after the certificate of permission to perform marriages or the renewal of a certificate is approved by the county clerk; and

(b) Provide to the Secretary of State all information related to the minister, other church or religious official authorized to solemnize a marriage, notary public or marriage officiant pursuant to paragraph (e) of subsection 1.

3. Upon approval of an application pursuant to subsection 2, the minister, other church or religious official authorized to solemnize a marriage, notary public or marriage officiant:

(a) Shall comply with the laws of this State governing the solemnization of marriage and conduct of ministers, other church or religious officials authorized to solemnize a marriage, notaries public or marriage officiants;

(b) Is subject to further review or investigation by the county clerk to ensure that he or she continues to meet the statutory requirements for a person authorized to solemnize a marriage; and

(c) Shall provide the county clerk with any changes to his or her status or information, including, without limitation, the address or telephone number of the church or religious organization, if applicable, or any other information pertaining to certification within 30 days after such a change. If a notary public to whom a certificate of permission to perform marriages has been issued or renewed changes his or her address, the notary public must submit to the Secretary of State a request for an amended certificate of appointment in accordance with NRS 240.036.

4. In addition to the circumstances set forth in this section in which a certificate of permission to perform marriages is no longer valid or expires, a county clerk may, in his or her discretion, establish a policy providing that a certificate of permission expires 5 years after the date it was issued or renewed. If a county clerk does not establish such a policy, the certificate of permission remains valid unless and until it becomes invalid or expires pursuant to this section.

5. A certificate of permission is valid until:

(a) If the certificate is issued to a minister or other church or religious official authorized to solemnize a marriage, the county clerk has received an affidavit of removal of authority to solemnize marriages pursuant to NRS 122.0665 or the certificate of permission is revoked pursuant to NRS 122.068.

(b) If the certificate is issued to a notary public, the appointment as a notary public has expired or has been cancelled, revoked or suspended. If, after the expiration of his or her appointment, a notary public receives a new appointment, the notary public may reapply for a certificate of permission to perform marriages.

6. An affidavit of removal of authority to solemnize marriages that is received pursuant to paragraph (a) of subsection 5 must be sent to the county clerk within 5 days after the minister or other church or religious official authorized to solemnize a marriage ceased to be a member of the church or religious organization in good standing or ceased to be a minister or other church or religious official authorized to solemnize a marriage for the church or religious organization.

7. If the county clerk in the county where the certificate of permission was issued has reason to believe that:

(a) The minister or other church or religious official authorized to solemnize a marriage is no longer in good standing within his or her church or religious organization, or that he or she is no longer a minister or other church or religious official authorized to solemnize a marriage, or that such church or religious organization no longer exists;

(b) The notary public is no longer in good standing with the Secretary of State or that the appointment of the notary public has expired; or

(c) The marriage officiant is no longer in good standing with the county clerk,

the county clerk may require satisfactory proof of the good standing of the minister, other church or religious official authorized to solemnize a marriage, notary public or marriage officiant. If such proof is not presented within 15 days, the county clerk shall remove the certificate of permission by amending the electronic record of the minister, other church or religious official authorized to solemnize a marriage, notary public or marriage officiant in the statewide database pursuant to subsection 1.

8. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 9, if any minister or other church or religious official authorized to solemnize a marriage to whom a certificate of permission has been issued severs ties with his or her church or religious organization or moves from the county in which his or her certificate was issued, the certificate shall expire immediately upon such severance or move, and the church or religious organization shall, within 5 days after the severance or move, file an affidavit of removal of authority to solemnize marriages pursuant to NRS 122.0665. If the minister or other church or religious official authorized to solemnize a marriage voluntarily advises the county clerk of the county in which his or her certificate was issued of his or her severance with his or her church or religious organization, or that he or she has moved from the county, the certificate shall expire immediately upon such severance or move without any notification to the county clerk by the church or religious organization.

9. If any minister or other church or religious official authorized to solemnize a marriage, who is retired and to whom a certificate of permission has been issued, moves from the county in which his or her certificate was issued to another county in this State, the certificate remains valid until such time as the certificate otherwise expires or is removed or revoked as prescribed by law. The minister or other church or religious official authorized to solemnize a marriage must provide his or her new address to the county clerk in the county to which the minister or other church or religious official authorized to solemnize a marriage has moved.

10. If any notary public or marriage officiant to whom a certificate of permission has been issued or renewed moves from the county in which his or her certificate was issued, the certificate shall expire immediately upon such move.

11. The Secretary of State may adopt regulations concerning the creation and administration of the statewide database. This section does not prohibit the Secretary of State from making the database publicly accessible for the purpose of viewing ministers, other church or religious officials who are authorized to solemnize a marriage, notaries public or marriage officiants to whom a certificate of permission to perform marriages has been issued or renewed in this State.

(Added to NRS by 1967, 1290; A 1969, 92; 1971, 1550; 2009, 728; 2011, 1855; 2013, 1191, 3668; 2017, 1030)