California Public Marriage Records

By Ben Kingsley


California is an open state. This means that records of marriage in California are considered as public documents. Residents of California then have the freedom to access the files anytime that they need the marriage certificate.

Marriage license records in California are used by the residents for a number of purposes. The document is an important source of information for genealogy research. The information that can be obtained from it is necessary in order to update the family tree. Such document is also necessary when dealing with any legal matters with the government. One would be asked to provide a copy of their marriage certificate when they update their government records as well as process insurance. Those who are in the dating stage of their relationship would refer to the marriage records to verify their partner's status. This can help prevent problems by the time they plan for marriage.

As the name suggest, marriage certificates would contain the basic details of the marriage. One would know the complete names of the bride and the groom. The maiden name of the bride is also indicated on the record. The date and the place where the marriage occurred are also on the public document along with the names of the couple's parents. Additional information includes the names of the witnesses of the marriage.

Marriage records of California are managed by the office of the Vital Records Section at the Department of Health. The said office has managed to keep records from 1905 up to the present, however, marriages hat were registered from 1987-1995 are only available at the county where it was originally registered. A $14 processing fee has to be paid in order to proceed with the retrieval of the marriage record.

There are things that should be kept in mind when requesting for a copy of a marriage record in California. One has to fill out a request form with the basic details of the document that is being requested. Also, the personal details of the one who requested the document has to be indicated on the form, this will be used to verify their identity since the state only allows the residents to request for their personal files. The immediate families of the bride and the groom are also given access but the others would need to have a special permission to access the files of other people. One can send a mail request addressed to the state office which should include the payment in the form of check or money order. Unfortunately, this is not the fastest method to obtain such document. It may take days or weeks depending on the search.

Marriage license records can be obtained faster without waiting for days or hours. This can be done through the Internet. One just need to long on to a website that offers such service and fill out the online form with the necessary information required and the results of the search are then displayed in just seconds. This allows a fast retrieval without the hassle of going to any office. There are even websites that offer a free search.




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