---
type: "Bill"
title: "Marriage; penalty for failure to certify record, persons other than minister subject to penalties."
description: "Penalty for failure to certify record of marriage; persons other than ministers. Provides that persons other than ministers authorized to celebrate the rites of marriage are subject to a $25 penalty for failing to certify the record of marriage. Under current law, such penalty is applicable only to ministers authorized to celebrate such rites of marriage."
jurisdiction: "us/states/va"
legislature: "Virginia General Assembly"
session: "2025"
identifier: "HB 2689"
citation: "Virginia HB 2689 (2025)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["W. Chad Green"]
version_count: 3
action_count: 26
vote_count: 7
first_action: "2025-01-16"
last_action: "2025-03-19"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/bac9ad45-b57d-4493-9e47-9a2b87d6cdba"
source_url: "https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20251/HB2689"
source_hash: "a1f41745b5a391c8621562266bee212e99a3ea8b204e43376a1530b3374b776a"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-va"]
---

# Virginia HB 2689 (2025) — Marriage; penalty for failure to certify record, persons other than minister subject to penalties.

Penalty for failure to certify record of marriage; persons other than ministers. Provides that persons other than ministers authorized to celebrate the rites of marriage are subject to a $25 penalty for failing to certify the record of marriage. Under current law, such penalty is applicable only to ministers authorized to celebrate such rites of marriage.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **Introduced** (filed) — [source](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1021808.PDF)
2. **Chaptered** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1071266.PDF)
3. **Enrolled** (enrolled) — [source](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1057095.PDF)

## Votes

- Passed House (99-Y 0-N) — **99–0** (pass) · lower
- Reported from Courts of Justice (22-Y 0-N) — **22–0** (pass) · lower
- Passed Senate (30-Y 9-N) — **39–0** (pass) · upper
- Subcommittee recommends reporting (8-Y 0-N) — **8–0** (pass) · lower
- Reported from Courts of Justice (15-Y 0-N) — **15–0** (pass) · upper
- Constitutional reading dispensed (on 2nd reading) (36-Y 0-N) — **36–0** (pass) · upper
- Read third time and passed House (97-Y 0-N) — **97–0** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- W. Chad Green — primary (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2025-01-16** Presented and ordered printed 25100168D `introduction`
- **2025-01-16** Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice `referral-committee`
- **2025-01-24** Assigned Courts sub: Civil `referral-committee`
- **2025-01-27** Subcommittee recommends reporting (8-Y 0-N)
- **2025-01-29** Reported from Courts of Justice (22-Y 0-N) `committee-passage`
- **2025-01-31** Read first time `reading-1`
- **2025-02-03** Read second time and engrossed `reading-2`
- **2025-02-04** Read third time and passed House (97-Y 0-N) `passage, reading-3`
- **2025-02-04** Reconsideration of passage agreed to by House
- **2025-02-04** Passed House (99-Y 0-N) `passage`
- **2025-02-05** Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading)
- **2025-02-05** Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice `referral-committee`
- **2025-02-12** Reported from Courts of Justice (15-Y 0-N) `committee-passage`
- **2025-02-14** Rules suspended
- **2025-02-14** Constitutional reading dispensed (on 2nd reading) (36-Y 0-N)
- **2025-02-14** Passed by for the day
- **2025-02-17** Read third time `reading-3`
- **2025-02-17** Passed Senate (39-Y 0-N) `passage`
- **2025-02-19** Enrolled `enrolled`
- **2025-02-19** Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB2689ER) `passage`
- **2025-02-19** Signed by Speaker `passage`
- **2025-02-22** Signed by President `passage`
- **2025-03-03** Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 3, 2025 `enrolled, executive-receipt`
- **2025-03-03** Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., March 24, 2025 `executive-receipt`
- **2025-03-19** Approved by Governor-Chapter 104 (Effective 07/01/25) `executive-signature`
- **2025-03-19** Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0104)

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/bac9ad45-b57d-4493-9e47-9a2b87d6cdba`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Virginia legislature records).