California Marital Records Database

By Kenneth Wright


Everyone wants to get married. It's that one important event in your life that you want to turn out right, no matter what. It's something that you can consider an achievement. This is why a lot of people - couples, especially - believe that keeping copies of your personal records is important. It's like you're keeping your marriage record inside a safe that's free from all danger. You can do this by requesting for access to marriage records, although there'll be certain laws and rules you need to follow. For example, if you want to obtain a copy of California marriage records, you will have to file an application with the state's Department of Public Health and its Vital Records office.

The said office is tasked with the responsibility of keeping the state's marriage records; a task that it has been doing way back 1850. The records that you can obtain from the office, however, are only those for marriages that took place in 1949 up to1986, as well as those from 1998 to 1999. Likewise, there is a process that you need to adhere to.

Number one in the list is for you to choose what type of copy to avail of. You have two choices: certified informational copy and certified copy. An informational copy is just information about the record you requested for (like the married couple's complete names and the place of marriage). A certified copy, on the other hand, is the real thing. You will need to submit a sworn statement under penalty of perjury. It should be notarized, too. Failure to submit this requirement will result to the denial of your request.

Number two on your list has to do with fees. Every marriage record you request for is worth $14. You have to pay this amount and send it along with the application form and sworn statement. The Vital Records office will not accept cash payments, only money orders and personal checks.

Finally, if the marriage record you are looking for cannot be located or found at the Department of Public Health's Vital Records office, the next step to take is to file a new request, this time with the County Clerk or County Recorder of the county where the marriage happened. For confidential marriages, records are kept by the County Clerk, while the County Recorder keeps all public marriages records. You'll also have to pay a fee, but the amount will vary from one state to another.

Since it is highly likely that you will be asked to wait for several days or weeks before your request is granted, you might want to find an alternative for securing copies of marriage license records in California. And your best option would be to avail of the services of an independent online record searcher. An online record searcher makes available a comprehensive online database that you can use anytime of the day, no matter where you are (as long as there is Internet connection, of course!). What makes the deal even sweeter is the fact that you won't have to pay for every record that you request for; you only need to pay a one-time fee that's of a minimal amount. And in exchange for this one-time payment, you will get unlimited access to all the public records you need from their database. So you get more without having to spend a lot. It's the best deal of its kind that you will ever find!




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