Your guide to getting your Orange County Marriage License
In most countries, the decision of getting married is a very crucial one. When two parties have decided to get married, the best way to seal this deal is by getting a wedding license and organizing a decent wedding ceremony. This way, many people will witness and actually acknowledge your love. Well in the recent past and even today, many issues have been arising regarding how couples can quickly get their Orange County marriage license. For those of you who haven’t been down this road before, this guide will help. Different states have different rules and regulations. In this article, am basically going to highlight to you the various steps involved in getting your marriage license in Orange County, California.
To ease the process of getting these important documents, different processes have been introduced. Before we discuss the most efficient ways in which you can get the marriage license, you need to know the requirements before applying.
The couples must:
Apply directly to the Orange County Office of the Clerk-Recorder. After this, you will need to show up in person in the clerk’s office to pick up your license. The County won’t mail it to you.
The engaged couple needs to produce a valid copy of photo identification. In this case, a passport or driver license will do the trick.
If you were in a previous marriage where the your spouse passed away in the last 90 days, you will be required to produce a valid death certificate. If you were divorced from the deceased spouse, you will need to produce the genuine copy of the divorce papers. You will then be required to pay $61.50 for both the marriage licenses and certificates. If you decide to use a debit or credit card, there will be an additional fee of $2.50. The fees never end!!
Be certain about the names that both of you will be wanting to use. It is also not advised to use the same name. If you however wish to change, then make sure it’s done before the marriage certificate is signed by both of you. There will be no turning back once signed unless you get a court order!
These licenses are normally issued immediately after application. They are only valid, however, only runs for a maximum of 90 days. As opposed to other states, in Orange County California, you will not be required to produce any citizenship or residency requirement. But the couples must be of above 18 years of age.
Types of Marriage Licenses
Public marriage license
Apart from this license being valid anywhere in the country, its details are also exposed to the public just in case anyone wants information.
Confidential Marriage License
No one except the relevant couple can access its information unless a special court order is acquired. So this means it’s a confidential record. Below are the two main requirements in order to obtain this license:
- I. Before the marriage, the couples must have been living together.
- II. The ceremony is restricted to orange county. That means it can’t be held anywhere else.
United States Armed Forces stationed in other countries
If a member of the armed forces want to acquire an Orange County marriage license yet he is stationed somewhere else where there is conflict or war, then the attorney has the powers to stand in for him. The attorney will be required to appear at the Office of the Clerk Recorder with the other present party. With the Power of Attorney, the document will then be signed on behalf of the unavailable party, witnessed by two officers from the United States Armed Forces.
The Power of Attorney will equally state the legal names of the couple. Upon registration, the Power of Attorney will also be part of the marriage certificate.
After your fabulous wedding, you will then be required to go and get a marriage certificate. This is not hard as long as you know what to do. This additional information is very important to note.
Ways on how you can obtain Marriage License in Orange County California Right After The Wedding Ceremony
- a) Obtaining Confidential marriage certificateYou can either obtain it by mail or in person. This is basically because the details of the certificate are no to be publicized. It is only the relevant couples entitled to the information. In some occasion, other interested parties may be granted access only by a court order. The person interested in getting the copy of the marriage license must have a valid identification photo i.e. a drivers license. In case of a mail, notarization of request letter signature is of grave importance. Make sure the original notarization letter is included. Its only one signature needed.
- b) Obtaining a marriage certificate in person – couplesUpon presentation of valid government identification, plus signing a statement made in relation to the penalty of perjury the you are indeed the authorized person, you will then be granted access to the certified copy of the marriage license. Any other unauthorized individual will receive a copy written “INFORMATION, NOT A VALID DOCUMENT TO ESTABLISH IDENTITY.”
Legal binding of two people who are in love is very important. For this to happen, you cannot exclude the marriage license. As we have discussed above, there are different types of marriage licenses and all of them are very important. It is crucial that the couples follow to the latter the outlined steps in the licenses. I hope by now you already have an idea of what it take to tie the knot in a wedding ceremony. The important part you need to be aware of, are the steps involved when wanting to get hold of your Orange County marriage license(mentioned above).
You can click here to get additional information. There are also other OC Gov’t sites that will offer you documents containing the entire rules and regulations regarding the acquisition of a marriage license in Orange County, California.
