California Wedding Laws - Universal Life Church

FAM § 356. A marriage license issued pursuant to this part expires 90 days after its issuance. The calendar date of expiration shall be clearly noted on the face of the license.

(Enacted by Stats. 1992, Ch. 162, Sec. 10. Operative January 1, 1994.)

FAM § 357.

(a) The county clerk shall number each marriage license issued and shall transmit at periodic intervals to the county recorder a list or copies of the licenses issued.

(b) Not later than 60 days after the date of issuance, the county recorder shall notify licenseholders whose marriage license has not been returned of that fact and that the marriage license will automatically expire on the date shown on its face.

(c) The county recorder shall notify the licenseholders of the obligation of the person solemnizing their marriage to return the marriage license to the recorder’s office within 10 days after the ceremony.

(Amended by Stats. 2006, Ch. 816, Sec. 12. Effective January 1, 2007. Operative January 1, 2008, by Sec. 56 of Ch. 816.)

FAM § 359.

(a) Except as provided in Sections 420 and 426, applicants to be married shall first appear together in person before the county clerk to obtain a marriage license.

(b) The contents of the marriage license are provided in Part 1 (commencing with Section 102100) of Division 102 of the Health and Safety Code.

(c) The issued marriage license shall be presented to the person solemnizing the marriage by the parties to be married.

(d) The person solemnizing the marriage shall complete the solemnization sections on the marriage license, and shall cause to be entered on the marriage license the printed name, signature, and mailing address of at least one, and no more than two, witnesses to the marriage ceremony.

(e) The marriage license shall be returned by the person solemnizing the marriage to the county recorder of the county in which the license was issued within 10 days after the ceremony.

(f) As used in this division, “returned” means presented to the appropriate person in person, or postmarked, before the expiration of the specified time period.

(Amended by Stats. 2006, Ch. 816, Sec. 14. Effective January 1, 2007. Operative January 1, 2008, by Sec. 56 of Ch. 816.)

FAM § 423. (a) The person solemnizing the marriage shall return the marriage license, endorsed as required in Section 422, to the county recorder of the county in which the license was issued within 10 days after the ceremony.

FAM § 422. The person solemnizing a marriage shall sign and print or type upon the marriage license a statement, in the form prescribed by the State Department of Public Health, showing all of the following:

(a) The fact, date (month, day, year), and place (city and county) of solemnization.

(b) The printed names, signatures, and mailing addresses of at least one, and no more than two, witnesses to the ceremony.

(c) The official position of the person solemnizing the marriage, or of the denomination of which that person is a priest, minister, rabbi, or other authorized person of any religious denomination.

(d) The person solemnizing the marriage shall also type or print their name and mailing address.

(Amended by Stats. 2019, Ch. 115, Sec. 9. (AB 1817) Effective January 1, 2020.)