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STATE OF CALIFORNIA
Marriage License Information

MARRIAGE LICENSE...
To get married in California, you must purchase a License in this State by the County Clerks Office.  The two types of Marriage Licenses offered are Regular and Confidential.
All marriage licenses are good for 90 days from the time of purchase.

The Regular Marriage License is of public record and requires one Witness.
The couple MUST be over 18 and both must apply together, in person, at the county clerks office.  This license may be purchased in one county and used in another county. It is Open for public viewing and is published in newspapers.

A Confidential Marriage License may ONLY be issued to an unmarried male and an unmarrried female who are both 18 years or older, are living together as husband and wife, and must sign an affidavit on the application & license attesting to those facts.

The couple MUST be married in the county where the license is issued. No witnesses are required to be at the ceremony, AND no witnesses sign on the marriage license.

If previously married, they must know MONTH, DAY & YEAR the judgment of dissolution of marriage, court order or annulment was made final (there is a specific date stated on face of judgment that indicates the date the marital status ended).

If judgment was made final within the last 90 days, the Office of the Clerk-Recorder requires notary ministers to request proof, by way of documentation.


Minors may NOT purchase a confidential marriage license.
Emancipated minors CAN NOT purchase a confidential marriage license.


This marriage license is a confidential record and is registered at the County Clerk's Office in the county where it was purchased. Only the bride or groom may purchase copies of the marriage license and must present valid picture identification together with the required fee to the County Clerk in order to do so. Persons other than the bride or groom requesting copies of a confidential marriage license may only do so by presenting a court order to the County Clerk in the county where the license is registered.
This license is not open for public viewing & it takes the Bride or the Groom or a Court Order to get a copy of it.



CONFIDENTIAL MARRIAGE LICENSE APPLICATION

Please type in your answers when the application opens up,
then print, sign and FAX, email or mail to I do Vows.

We can NOT accept hand written applications!
(the button on bottom right of the application will clear your information)


If you do NOT have Adobe Acrobat or Reader, then click below to
DOWNLOAD ADOBE READER

YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE A RESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
LICENSE IS LEGAL WORLD WIDE

HOW TO ORDER A CERTIFIED COPY OF YOUR
CONFIDENTIAL MARRIAGE LICENSE
*** PLEASE NOTE ***
To all of my couples to whom we have issued their Marriage License

I know that most of the time our newlyweds don't remember
everything when their paperwork is handed over to them.
So....here it is again in print!


You will NOT receive a copy of your marriage license after you have
been married UNLESS you request and pay for a
certified copy from the County Clerk or County Recorder.
***           ***

A certified copy of your Confidential License Can be OBTAINED at the County Clerks office, In the County where the marriage was performed, by one of three ways:

PLEASE NOTE:
ONLY the Bride or Groom may purchase copies of their confidential marriage license.


1. Mail in or submit in person the completed and signed application attached to the
    original confidential marriage license (this may be done ONLY once). If mailing,
    use the envelope you were given with a self-addressed, stamped, business-size
    envelope and a check ($13.00 for each certified copy).

2. Request a copy online from VitalChek (you must have your signature
    acknowledged by a notary public).

If you loose the application given to you by RevGail, then you MUST do one of the following:

3. Appear in person with current government-issued photo Identification at the Santa
    Barbara County Clerk-Recorder's Office.
OR

4. Appear in person before a County Clerk OR Notary Public in your county of
    residence
with current government-issued photo Identification and obtain a  
    Notarized Certificate of identification attesting to your identity. Mail in or submit in
    person the Certificate, along with a copy request, to the Santa Barbara County
    Clerk-Recorder's Office. In other words... write a letter, have the letter
    notarized and send a check in the amount for however many copies you
    want.

 

Certified copies cost $13.00 apiece. When ordering by mail, send your request to the Santa Barbara address listed below. Please include a self-addressed, stamped, business-size envelope with your application (or letter), certificate of identity and your payment. Please allow three to four weeks to receive your certified copy.

Santa Barbara County Clerk-Recorder 
Hall of Records
P.O. Box 159
Santa Barbara , CA, 93102
805-568-2250


Hours are Mon - Fri.  8:30am - 4:30pm 
$77.00 for Regular License
$79.00 for the Confidential License. 
$13.00 for each Certified Copy

How to change your name.


BRIDES: HOW TO CHANGE YOUR NAME


To apply for a name change you will need to:


1. Obtain a certified copy of your marriage license as described above.

2. Contact the Social Security Administration (SSA) to change your name
on their records:

Complete an Application For A Social Security Card.  Take (or mail) your completed application and documents to your local Social Security office.  Show proof of your U.S. citizenship or immigration status, legal name change and identity.

All documents must be either originals or copies certified by the issuing agency. They cannot accept photocopies or notarized copies of documents.

3. Take your certified marriage license and new social security card to the Department of Motor Vehicles.  Complete application form DL 44 (An original DL 44 form must be submitted. Copies will not be accepted.  Give a thumb print, have your picture taken, pay the application fee

DMV electronically verifies your name, birth date and social security number with the SSA. If your information does not verify, you will not receive your new California driver license or identification card. You will receive a Request for Verification of Information letter from DMV informing you that the information you provided (name, birth date, and/or SSN) does not match SSA's records. You will be issued an interim license valid for 60 days and/or a receipt for your ID card until you receive your new photo license and/or photo ID card in the mail. Check your address before you leave DMV and tell the DMV representative if your address is incorrect. Your new license and/or ID card will be mailed to you within 60 days. If you do not receive your license and/or ID card after 60 days, call 1 (800) 777-0133 to check on the status. Have your interim license and/or ID card receipt with you to provide information when requested.

TO OBTAIN AN APOSTILE OR EXEMPLIFIED COPY OF A CERTIFIED
MARRIAGE LICENSE FOR USE IN A FOREIGN COUNTRY


First, you will need to request a certified copy of your marriage license.
Once you receive it, you will need to send these 4 items to the Secretary of State:

1. The certified copy of your marriage license
2. $20.00 USD  (this is the fee for the apostile)
3. Include a cover letter requesting the apostile (please indicate which country Apostile is for)
4. Include a self-addressed, stamped envelope
Mail these item to:

Secretary of State
Notary Public/Apostile/Authentification
P.O. BOX 942877
Sacramento, CA  94277-0001


Phone (916) 653-3595
California Secretary of State