Formal Case
1.	two Catholics married in the Catholic Church
2.	a Catholic and non-Catholic or non-baptized who receive permission to marry within the Catholic Church
3.	any two non-Catholics in their own Christian tradition or in front of a Justice of the Peace
4.	any two non-baptized in their own religious tradition or in front of a Justice of the Peace
The formal case is the most common marriage case evaluated by the tribunal. A packet is presented to the petitioner to be completed and returned to his or her Sponsor (a priest, deacon, lay advocate or pastoral assistant). This case requires a petition, required documents, witnesses and a Marriage Narrative of both parties lives before marriage, their courtship, engagement and marriage. Both parties are invited to participate fully in this case. The cooperation of all parties will determine the length of this case. Formal Cases normally take between 8-12 months to complete.
Lack of Form Case
All Catholics must marry in front of a priest, deacon and two witnesses in a sacred place (c.1108). If a Catholic does not secure permission from the proper authorities for a dispensation from this form, their marriage is considered null due to Lack of Canonical Form. This is considered a Documentary Case and often takes two to four weeks to process. This case requires a petition, a recent certificate of Baptism of Catholic party(ies), marriage license and decree of civil divorce.
Prior Bond or Ligamen Case
This commonly occurs when an individual (Petitioner) was married to an individual (Respondent) who was legally bound to a former spouse (co-Respondent). (c 1085) This is also considered a Documentary Case and often takes three to six weeks to process. This type of case requires a petition, a recent baptism certificate of any Catholic party, certificate of marriage between the petitioner and respondent, decree of divorce between the petitioner and respondent; certificate of the Respondent’s first marriage; decree of civil divorce of the Respondent’s first marriage.
Pauline Privilege  (cc. 1141)
The Pauline Privilege is based on I Cor. 712-15. It applies to the marriage of two non-baptized persons, which is dissolved in favor of the faith when a new marriage is contracted by one of the parties who receives baptism, provided the non-baptized persons departs. The parties in question were unbaptized throughout the entire marriage under scrutiny. This case is determined by the local Bishop or his delegate. This usually takes two to four months.
Petrine Privilege (cc. 1150)
These are cases in which dissolution of the bond was granted where one of the parties was non-baptized at the time of the marriage. Such a marriage is dissolved in favor of the faith when the parties desire to become Catholic or desires to marry a Catholic. This case is submitted to Rome to be judged by the Holy Father. Since this case is sent to Rome, we are unable to establish a time period for its completion. These cases are sometimes difficult and often need the assistance of the tribunal.