Tuesday 20 May 2014

California Marriage And Divorce Records

By Ben Kingsley


Marriage records are official government documents that verify the marriage between two individuals. As marriage records are timeless similar to birth or death records, these are considered as valuable supporting documents for a number of reasons. One can use the marriage records California to change one's name, prove the legitimacy of a kid and to serve genealogical purposes and others. For those who are interested in obtaining a marriage record in California, it is important that they distinguish whether what they need is an authorized copy or an informational copy of the marriage record. Authorized copies are given to those directly connected with the registrants and can serve as supporting documents whereas an informational copy contains the same information, however it is not valid as a supporting document.

To get a copy of the marriage records, it is important that one check if the records are available from the CDPH. The CDPH Vital Records contains marriage indexes from 1949-1986 and 1998-1999. The rest of the records are available from the County Recorder or County Clerk Office where the marriage license was issued. Public marriages and non-confidential marriage records are available for third party individuals but the copies are "informational copies" only; however, they are certified copies.

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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