New Singer Bill Will Help Couples Receive their Marriage Licenses Quicker, Lakewood Deputy Mayor Says [UPDATED]

The New Jersey Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee advanced a bill sponsored by Senator Robert Singer (R-Lakewood) which would provide needed help for some of the state’s largest municipalities, including Lakewood, who are struggling with a glut of paperwork demands. The request was made by the Lakewood Township.

Under Singer’s bill, S-85, municipalities with more than 100,000 residents would be authorized to appoint as many as five alternate deputy registrars to ease the workload of filing vital documents.

“The workload in the registrar’s office of New Jersey’s largest local governments can far exceed the individual capabilities of the registrar of vital statistics,” Singer, who represents the 30th Legislative District, said in a statement. “By better utilizing existing staff and authorizing them to process forms, efficiency and service levels would be increased.”

According to the 2020 Census, 7 municipalities in the state have over 100,000 residents. Lakewood is the 5th largest municipality in the state, with 135,158 people according to the 2020 Census.

The other six are Newark, Jersey City, Paterson, Elizabeth and Edison.

The duties of a deputy registrar could include receiving birth certificates and death certificates; issuing burial permits, and copies of birth, death, marriage, civil union, and domestic partnership certificates; taking the oath on marriage and civil union license applications; and issuing marriage and civil union licenses and register domestic partnerships.

“The volume is huge in our heavily populated cities,” Singer explained. “Registrars are the only ones authorized to complete these tasks, and often there is more work than there is time to do it. When people are out sick or on vacation, things only get worse.

“This will help large communities keep up with the demand without hiring in a difficult job market, and it is permissive, so no municipality would be required to change a thing,” Singer added.

Lakewood Deputy Mayor, who serves as the Liaison to the office of Vital Statistics says this will held couples receive their marriage certificates quicker.

“Municipal Registrar Lauren Kirkman worked diligently with Senator Singer’s office to get this going,” says Miller. “Lakewood is home to numerous wedding halls and we have a record amount of weddings taking place in Lakewood on a daily basis. This will certainly reduce the backlog and enable young couples the ability to obtain their marriage license quicker and more efficiently.”

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2 COMMENTS

  1. If you need a license to get married then you’re too young to get married .
    What’s the desperate rush? Underaged
    Children belong home with their parents, not ‘playing house’

  2. Read the article, it will also help getting death certificates and burial permits soon but the forum is trying to be polite.

Comments are closed.