This bill amends RCW 26.04.180 and creates a new named section called the "medical emergency marriage act." It changes marriage license procedure by requiring the county auditor to issue a license at the time of application or no later than the third full day after application, and by specifying that a license generally may not be used until three days after the application date. The bill also makes a license void if the marriage is not solemnized within 60 days of issuance and requires the county auditor to provide written notice of that 60-day voiding requirement when issuing the license. The bill creates a procedural exception that allows a marriage license to be used immediately if, before use, the county auditor first receives a written statement from a physician licensed to practice medicine in Washington stating that one or both applicants is at risk of imminent death or incapacity. This is a procedural change to how marriage licenses are issued and used; it is not a criminal or penalty provision. Affected parties identified include county auditors (who must issue licenses and provide notice), physicians licensed in Washington (who may provide the required written statement), and applicants for marriage licenses. The text provided does not specify a new RCW number for the added section, does not define "physician licensed to practice medicine in the state" beyond using the phrase, does not provide standards or a form for the physician's statement, and does not define "imminent death or incapacity."

If enacted, county auditors will need to make marriage licenses available faster — they must issue a license within three full days of application and must give applicants a written notice that the license will expire if not used within 60 days. Couples still generally cannot use a license until three days after they apply, but a new exception lets them use a license immediately if a Washington-licensed physician provides a written statement that one or both applicants faces imminent death or incapacity. That change gives people in medical emergencies a clear, expedited option to marry without waiting the usual three days. The parties most affected are county auditors, who will have a small new administrative duty to meet the faster issuance deadline, accept and record physician statements, and provide the required 60-day notice, and physicians, who may be asked to provide those written statements. Applicants gain the practical option of immediate marriage in emergencies but otherwise still face the waiting period; there is no additional funding specified, no form or standards for what the physician statement must say, and no definition of “imminent death or incapacity,” so how strictly the exception is applied could vary across counties.