In June of 2011, Gov. Brian Sandoval signed Nevada SB 381 into law, which revised existing provisions concerning the issuance of marriage licenses and specifically established county programs to regulate commercial wedding chapels. According to the law:
“‘Commercial wedding chapels’ means a permanently affixed structure which operates a business principally for the performance of weddings and which is licensed for that purpose.
1. In each county whose population is less than 700,000 in which a commercial wedding chapel has been in business for 5 years or more, the board of county commissioners shall:
(a) Ensure that an office where marriage licenses may be issued is open to the public for the purpose of issuing such licenses from 8 a.m. to 12 a.m. every day, including holidays; or
(b) Provide for the establishment of a program whereby a commercial wedding chapel that has been in business in the county for 5 years or more is authorized to issue marriage licenses to qualified applicants during the hours when an office where marriage licenses may be issued pursuant to paragraph (a) is not open to the public.
2. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 3, a program established pursuant to paragraph (b) of subsection 1 must authorize each commercial wedding chapel that has been in business in the county for 5 years or more to begin issuing marriage licenses upon filing with the county clerk a completed registration form prescribed by the board of county commissioners, along with a performance bond in the amount of $50,000. The performance bond must be conditioned upon the faithful performances of all statutory duties related to the issuance of marriage licenses and compliance with the provisions of chapter 603A or NRS that ensure the security of personal information submitted by applicants for a marriage license.”
Click here to download Nevada SB 381 in its entirety.
As stated above, Nevada wedding chapel owners/officiants must post a $50,000 performance bond if they have been in business for at least five years, are located in a county with a population of less than 700,000 and wish to issue marriage licenses.
To obtain surety bond in Nevada, professionals should contact SuretyBonds.com online or by phone at 1 (800) 308-4358 between the hours of 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. Monday through Friday. The expert surety specialists at SuretyBonds.com have a history of helping business professionals in a variety of industries get bonded as quickly and inexpensively as possible.