State rankings
Universal Life Church Legal States
Universal Life Church Legal States: compare 51 US states on 3 metrics.
CultureLaw51 states · 3 metricsUpdated Sep 10, 2024Original page
6 sources
- State Wedding Laws - UCL
- Weddings by State - American Marriage Ministries
- What States Recognize Online Ordained Ministers (And Which Don't)? - Provenance
- Lawsuit over Tennessee ban on online ministers performing marriages can continue, court rules - Tennessean
- State Wedding Laws UCL - Snipboard
- Ordained Minister FAQ - UCL
Universal Church Legality
3 values across 51 entries
Officiant Must Register
2 values across 51 entries
Data
Click a column to sort.
51 states
 Alabama | Legal | No | — |
 Alaska | Legal | No | — |
 Arizona | Legal | No | — |
 Arkansas | Legal | Yes | — |
 California | Legal | No | — |
 Colorado | Legal | No | — |
 Connecticut | Legal | No | — |
 Delaware | Legal | Yes | — |
 District of Columbia | Legal | Yes | — |
 Florida | Legal | No | — |
 Georgia | Legal | No | — |
 Hawaii | Legal | Yes | — |
 Idaho | Legal | No | — |
 Illinois | Legal | No | — |
 Indiana | Legal | No | — |
 Iowa | Legal | No | — |
 Kansas | Legal | No | — |
 Kentucky | Legal | No | — |
 Louisiana | Legal | Yes | — |
 Maine | Legal | No | — |
 Maryland | Legal | No | — |
 Massachusetts | Legal | Yes | — |
 Michigan | Legal | No | — |
 Minnesota | Legal | Yes | — |
 Mississippi | Legal | No | — |
 Missouri | Legal | No | — |
 Montana | Legal | No | — |
 Nebraska | Legal | No | — |
 Nevada | Legal | Yes | — |
 New Hampshire | Legal | Yes | Require officiants to register with a government office (For non-residents) |
 New Jersey | Legal | No | — |
 New Mexico | Legal | No | — |
 New York | Variable | Yes | Marriages performed by ULC ministers have been annulled by some New York state courts and upheld by others. Weddings in New York City require the officiant to register. |
 North Carolina | Variable | No | Legal at state level, but ULC-performed marriages that took place after July 3, 1981 may be regulated at the local level |
 North Dakota | Legal | No | — |
 Ohio | Legal | Yes | — |
 Oklahoma | Legal | No | — |
 Oregon | Legal | No | — |
 Pennsylvania | Legal | No | — |
 Rhode Island | Legal | No | — |
 South Carolina | Legal | No | — |
 South Dakota | Legal | No | — |
 Tennessee | Pending | No | A 2019 Tennessee law outlawed marriages performed by ministers who had been ordained over the internet, as ULC pastors are. The law has been challenged in court and as of late 2024, reports indicate that enforcement of the law is inconsistent. |
 Texas | Legal | No | — |
 Utah | Legal | No | — |
 Vermont | Legal | Yes | Require officiants to register with a government office (For non-residents) |
 Virginia | Variable | Yes | While Viriginia as a whole does not recognize marriages performed by ULC ministers, the Virginia State office of the Attorney General determined in 2021 that local-level court clerks may choose to validate said marriages on a case-by-case basis |
 Washington | Legal | No | — |
 West Virginia | Legal | Yes | — |
 Wisconsin | Legal | No | — |
 Wyoming | Legal | No | — |
Quick answers
- Where does this universal life church legal states data come from?
- Rankodex compiles it from World Population Review and the primary sources it cites: State Wedding Laws - UCL; Weddings by State - American Marriage Ministries; What States Recognize Online Ordained Ministers (And Which Don't)? - Provenance; Lawsuit over Tennessee ban on online ministers performing marriages can continue, court rules - Tennessean.