Getting a Marriage License in California
Getting a Marriage License in California is not difficult.
When get your marriage license you’ll be confronted with important choices. These choices affect how your personal information is captured and recorded for public use. Here are a few facts about California Marriage Licenses to help guide you toward your wedding day.
Two Choices For Marriage Licenses
The typical marriage license, issued in the State of California is a standard, one page document, purchased at any California County Clerk Recorder’s office. The document records necessary information about the couple getting married, the date of the marriage, the location, the individual Officiating the marriage, two spots for “witnesses” to sign, and a line to record the bride’s change of name.
This document is “public.” Don’t worry, random citizens cannot access it. In fact, the newly married couple can’t even get a copy without a formal application and a fee. “Public” simply means the document can be obtained with the consent of those listed on the document. A random stranger cannot gain access to this information without your consent.
The second type of marriage license issued in California is the Confidential Marriage License. Once recorded, this license cannot be accessed by anyone except for those whose names are on it. Likewise, the information found on the confidential license is kept from any public record.
A significant difference between these two types of licenses is the handling of witnesses. Whereas the standard marriage license requires at least one signature of a witness (signature, printed name and personal address), the confidential license does not require a witness to sign. A confidential license must be signed by the bride and groom and the Officiant and then processed through the County Clerk’s office (who also signs it), but no witnesses’ signatures are required. Since there is no need for witnesses to sign a Confidential Marriage License, this type of license is ideal for elopements.
The fee to obtain either a standard or confidential license is the same in the State of California.
The County Clerk Recorder
As was mentioned above the County Clerk Recorder’s office is the place where marriage licenses are issued and processed. The Clerk’s office is responsible for issuing marriage licenses, verifying them once they are returned, issuing edit requirements in the case of errors and inputting the demographic data found on the license into public record. The Clerk works with the Department of Public Health to maintain records relevant to marriages in each county.
In order to receive a marriage license in the State of California, both parties must appear in person to the County Clerk Record’s office, present picture identification, pay the fee and complete the Clerk’s portions of the license including official names, addresses and change-of-name. The couple signs the document in the presence of the Clerk and takes the document with them.
The wedding couple will then bring the license to the ceremony and give it to the officiant. Your Officiant will complete the documentation. Once the officiant and witness (if any) sign the license it can be returned to the clerks office by the officiant, the wedding couple, or for that matter anyone. Allow about one week for the license to be processed. Then the wedding couple can go online to the clerks office where the license was pulled and order a Certified Marriage Certificate, which can then be used for all legal transactions eg: passport, DMV, etc. When the couple applies for their license the clerk can explain how to apply for a Certificate.
Below is a link to the California Wedding forms;
Certified Marriage Certificate PDF Form
Errors and Edits to Marriage Records
Since the Marriage License is an official government document it must be free of errors. A very small change in printing can constitute an error. Take care not to make any mistakes in spelling or dating the document. The Clerk’s office asses a $35 re-filing penalty for errors. If the error is the Officiant’s mistake, the Clerk will send it to the Officiant’s personal address for correction.
Edits to the marriage record are typically unnecessary. The most common edit is a change to the bride’s married name. It is unnecessary to make this change with the Clerk since the name change is done at the Federal level. Name change requires a change to multiple forms of identification including Social Security Card and Driver’s license. Each of these has its own process.
Choosing a Clerk’s Office
You’ve probably figured this out already but when you decide to get married you will need to visit the Clerk’s office. Marriage licenses have a 90 day lifespan. You may visit any Clerk’s office in the State of California to get a license. Once the document is completed by the Officiant, there is a 10 day window to return it to the Clerk’s office. This is typically done by mail. The Clerk’s office provides a return envelope at the time you purchase the license.
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