Many couples who are planning to get married often have the perception that obtaining a marriage license in California is a difficult and time consuming process. They revert back to former years when blood tests and other formalities were part of the progression of planning a wedding. However, in contrast to widely held belief, obtaining a California marriage license can be the least cumbersome thing to deal with in comparison to all the other multitudes of details in need of attention during the event planning process. It is relatively a simple procedure, and there are only a few uncomplicated conditions to be satisfied to accomplish procurement of the compulsory document that renders your marriage a legal one.
First, both the bride and groom must be at least 18 years of age. The second prerequisite is that if either the bride or groom has been divorced in the past 90 days prior to the wedding date, the final divorce decree must be presented to the county clerk who will be is issuing the license. This is to ensure that the marriage has actually been terminated and the divorce is conclusive. Additionally, current pictured identification must be presented at the time of issuance. This can be a driver’s license, passport, or other state issued identification. Lastly, you must supply personal information, including your parents’ names and birthplace.
Any county clerk’s office located within California is able to provide the necessary certificate. The clerk will present two types of licenses from which you can choose. One option is the public marriage license, and the other is a confidential one. Although the differences between the two are comparatively subtle, there may be explicit reasons that are significant to a particular bride and groom that would be cause for them to select one over the other. Brief research will help you decide.
Regardless of which legal document is obtained, securing it is not an arduous procedure. Determining which type of California marriage license is best for you, confidential or public, would probably be the only part of the process that might require a little thought. The old days of blood tests and other constraints that were once in existence are now in the past, allowing you a little extra time to focus on the many other aspects of event planning.
If you need additional detailed information about California or Nevada marriage licenses, read the supplement article on our blog.
