California Marriage License Laws
- Obtain a California marriage license to ensure the state legally recognizes your marriage.getting married image by Bettina Baumgartner from Fotolia.com
Your upcoming wedding is an exciting, romantic time meant to start you and your mate's life together as a married couple. However, because marriage is a type of legal contract, your wedding is also a time to organize and obtain the documentation that legally records your marriage. California has specific requirements for obtaining a marriage license, and no marriage will be recognized by the state unless those requirements are met. To ensure your wedding and subsequent marriage go as smoothly as possible, be sure to apply for your marriage license well in advance of your wedding date. - Apply for your marriage license at the courthouse in the county where you plan to be married. A California marriage license issued by any given county is effective across the state. However, if you are married in any county aside from the one where you obtained your marriage license, you will not be eligible for a confidential marriage license, and all of the personal information contained in your marriage license will be considered of public record.
- Applicants must be 18 or older to apply for a marriage license without parental consent. Eighteen-year-old applicants may apply for a marriage license with parental consent.
- Both parties must appear at the courthouse together and sign the marriage license application in the presence of the court clerk.
- All California counties require government-issued photo identification, such as a driver's license or passport, to apply for a marriage license. Many counties also require a copy of your birth certificate, so it is recommended that you include a copy with your application for any county.
- Both parties will need to include their parents' full legal names, their mother's maiden name and the city and state where each of their parents were born on the marriage license application.
- Marriage license fees in California vary by county, but currently range from $45.00-$84.00. Check with the county where you plan to obtain your license for the exact fee required at the time of your application.
