California Updated Marriage Records Available Online

By Ben Kingsley


Birth, death, marriage and divorce records are important documents because they are issued by the government and thus have the authority or validity to serve as supporting documents. Marriage records California, for one, can serve to establish a person's identity; it can also prove the legitimacy of any child born under the marriage. For some, these records can also contain information that may be relevant to a person searching for his or her ancestors or genealogical family. Now, to be able to obtain these records, the law usually requires an affinity or relationship between the parties involved and the person requesting the information. An example would be one requesting for marriage records California. Marriage records are categorized into 2 - authorized and informational. They contain the same information but authorized copies can serve as valid documents whereas the informational copy is for information purposes only and cannot be used as a supporting document. Authorized copies are restricted whereas informational copies are available to the public.

To obtain copies of the records, one must determine if the record they want is available from the California Department of Public Health Vital Records Division or CDPH. Public marriage indexes are available from the Vital Records Division. For those who want a certified copy of the public marriage record, they must visit or contact the County Recorder where the marriage was granted. Public marriages are open to the public. Currently, the CDPH has indexes for marriages that occurred from 1949-1986 and 1998-1999; the rest of the records are available from the County Recorder's Office.

For private or confidential marriage certificates, one can check out the County of the Clerk's Office. Confidential records are restricted to the registrants themselves. The cost of the marriage indexes from the State is about $14; however, the cost may differ from one county to another. It is best practice to call the office to get the latest fee schedule.

Under California Health and Safety Code 103526, those who are eligible to obtain authorized and non-confidential marriage records include the following persons: registrants, legal guardians or parents, kids, brothers or sisters, their spouse, law enforcers who need the document in their investigation or report, adoption centers and agents or those who need the documents in behalf of their employment.

To get a copy of the records, download the form available from the site and include all the necessary documents. The sworn statement must be notarized and incomplete requests will not be processed. Payments should also be attached to the request form. Payment can be made via US drawn checks or money orders. The State's Vital Records division and some counties do not accept cash and credit card payments.

The processing time for State request records will be 6 months and up depending on the volume of the requests received. For faster processing time, it is best to visit one of the 58 counties or the county where the certificate is issued. For those who want a faster way to obtain their marriage and divorce records, they can also access online public search sites, which offer these services for a minimal fee. It is the most convenient way to request the records anytime of the day.




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