Dallas County has authorized the adoption of a remote marriage application process.
The Dallas County Commissioners Court authorized this new system at its meeting on Tuesday.
Remote applications for marriage licenses became legal after Texas Senate Bill 907 was enacted. However, this law only applies in counties where a clerk has been certified by the Texas Judicial Council.
Dallas County will partner with GovOS to bring this service to the Dallas area, with initial configuration expenses estimated to cost county taxpayers $32,000. There will be a $10 application fee for couples using the service.
The Texas Office of Court Administration (OCA) previously approved the GovOS remote marriage license issuing system in October 2022. Kofile, GovOS’s parent company, is the only service provider that has been approved by OCA to facilitate this process, according to a briefing released by the Commissioners Court.
Applications for marriage licenses usually had to be done in person at the county clerk’s office, but that norm was hampered during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to official documents.
The office then began issuing marriage licenses by appointment only to reduce the volume of visitors at the office. However, this move created delays.
Adopting the remote system is intended to allow for increased efficiency, the automation of records request reports, and a decrease in in-person traffic coming to the office. Couples could forgo the visit to the office and theoretically apply for their licenses anywhere in the state or nation.
The county clerk’s office reported that it receives about 1,000 customers per month requesting a marriage license and anticipates that one-third or more of these customers would use the new service.
Tarrant County was the first in the state to authorize remote marriage licenses in October 2022. Applicants using this service must have access to a computer or laptop with a webcam and speakers for a virtual meeting with county officials.
Ok, so I can go online and create a license for anyone I want to? really? This is going to have a LOT of repercussions, especially as we have foreigners with and without green cards and they WILL utilize this services to nefarious purpose.