By state
California marriage license: public or confidential, and what it costs
California sells two kinds of license, a rare arrangement among the states. Here is what each costs at the county clerk, who may use the confidential one, and the dates to respect.
License fee · California
$61–$97
| County range | $61–$97 |
| Waiting period | none |
| Earliest ceremony | October 24, 2026 |
| License expires | January 22, 2027 |
Your wedding day fits the license.
Public or confidential license, priced by each county; the officiant returns it within 10 days. Official page
A California marriage license is issued by the county clerk, and each county sets its fee: the pages read for this site range $61 to $97, for example Los Angeles public $91, confidential $85. California offers two kinds. The public license is the usual one: it needs at least one witness at the ceremony, the marriage can take place anywhere in California, and the record is public. The confidential license is reserved for couples who already live together; it needs no witness, the ceremony must take place in the county that issued it, and only the spouses can obtain copies of the record. There is no waiting period: the license can be used the day it is issued. It is valid for 90 days, and after the ceremony the officiant has 10 days to return it to the county recorder, who registers the marriage and sells certified copies. Both partners appear together at the clerk's office with a valid photo ID; no blood test is required. Fees were read on the county pages on October 24, 2026.
From license to certificate: what you pay at each step
License + certificate copies
$99
| License (before the wedding) | from $61 |
| Certified certificate copies (2) | $38 |
| Who issues the certificate | state and county |
Fees and rules read on official pages by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How the fees are checked
Public and confidential licenses compared
| Public license | Confidential license | |
|---|---|---|
| Who can use it | Any couple | Couples already living together |
| Witnesses | At least one | None |
| Where the ceremony takes place | Anywhere in California | The county that issued it |
| Who can get copies | Anyone (public record) | The spouses only |
The price gap between the two is small in most counties, so the choice rests on privacy and on where the wedding will be. Couples who marry in another county, for example at a family home, need the public license. Those who want the record kept out of public indexes choose the confidential one, and accept that genealogists and agencies will not see it without their consent.
The dates, counted from the day of issue
Day 0: the clerk issues the license. From the same day: the ceremony can take place. Day 90: the last day to marry. Within 10 days of the ceremony: the officiant returns the signed license to the county recorder. A few weeks later: the recorder has registered the marriage and certified copies can be ordered. The calculator above gives the calendar dates from the issue date you enter.
Marriage license fee in your state
License · California
$61–$97
| Who sets the fee | each county or town |
| Course discount | none |
| Example | Los Angeles public $91, confidential $85 |
After the wedding
The recorder of the county where the license was issued sells certified copies of the marriage certificate; a copy is needed to change a name with Social Security and the DMV, as the name change checklist explains. For a ceremony at the county clerk's office, the courthouse wedding page adds up the license, the ceremony and the copy. A California birth certificate, sometimes asked of a partner born in the state, costs $31: California birth certificate.