The D.C. Superior Court continued to require that brides and grooms-to-be turn in blood tests before obtaining a marriage license even after the D.C. Council had eliminated the test from the city’s code.
More than 200 people applied for a marriage license with the court’s Marriage Bureau Section in the last month, most obtaining a costly blood test even though the procedure was no longer required by law.
The Marriage Amendment Act, which repealed the requirement of a premarital blood test for syphilis and eliminated a long-term ban on the marriage of syphilitics, was effective as of Sept. 11. The Superior Court, spokeswoman Leah Gurowitz said, was under the impression it wouldn’t become law until Oct. 8 — the court was thrown off “because the Senate did not take its traditional summer recess.”
“So while the anticipated effective date was Oct. 8, the Senate staying in session resulted in the bill becoming effective on Sept. 11,” Gurowitz said. “A blood test was not required for any applications as of that date. We apologize for any inconvenience this change caused to marriage applicants.”
D.C. legislation must wait 30 days for congressional review before becoming law.
The blood test and certification costs upward of $100 per person depending on the provider, and Gurowitz said 221 people applied for a marriage license between Sept. 11 and Thursday.
“My apologies to those folks,” said at-large D.C. Councilman Phil Mendelson, who ushered the no-more-blood-test bill through the council.
Gurowitz did not know whether the courts would issue refunds for unnecessary blood tests.
The 42-year-old premarital blood test was widely seen as ineffective in reducing the incidence of syphilis. Mendelson’s legislation also repealed a century-old D.C. law barring the marriage of “lunatics” and “idiots.”
Anyone with questions should call the Marriage Bureau Section at 202-879-4840.
