Applying for a Marriage License and According Fees

Marriage License:

My then fiancé and I went to the County Clerk's office in Van Nuys on August 14,2010. The one in Norwalk is too far from our location so we called to inquire about one in our vicinity. We entered the place at 11:00 am and we were entertained after 20 minutes of waiting in the queue. Since the application is readily available online, we printed a copy for ourselves and filled it up the night before. If you don't have the luxury of time to do it at home, you can proceed to the County Clerk's office and fill up an application there.

REQUIREMENTS:

-One valid I.D. for the petitioner

-One valid I.D. for the beneficiary

-$90 fee for the marriage license

-Application form

-You must both be present in order to show "proof of identity"

The process only took 15 minutes for us. The usual time for the process takes an hour depending on the volume of clients. I handed over my Philippine passport while Jordan showed his license. I brought along an original copy of my birth certificate just in case but I was never asked for it. Your passport will suffice.

The registrar then asked us to sign the marriage license. As it goes with every legal document, we scanned the papers to check for errors. Once again, my name was misspelled though I don't blame her for it. The registrar produced one copy for their file and a personal copy for us to keep.

I was told to jot down the married name of my choice. My single name used to be in this format:

A A A B C. I decided to drop my last name so it's now, A A A B D.

You cannot change your first name. You are not required to change your name. You can choose to alter your middle name as your current last name, a hyphenated combination of your current middle name and current middle name or that of your spouse or the traditional way. What you can do is use a hyphenated combination of your present last name and future husband's last name or simply, your husband's last name as it is the tradition. Be sure to check any errors because you cannot amend the license once it is issued by the County Clerk. The registrar was very adamant about it.

Afterwards, we took a quick oath and paid the fee of $90 for the marriage license. Our marriage license was issued on the same day. They offer a same day service only until 3pm. The last step that we had to decide on was the desired ceremony date. In California, the available days are only on Fridays. We chose August 29th since I didn't have a dress yet. At the end of it, you will be given an envelope which you should bring on the wedding day. Do not fold it in any way.

FYI: You can apply for a marriage license online though by law, it cannot be mailed so you are required to pick it up once the document is produced.

Keep in mind that the marriage license is only valid for 90 days so you must marry within the given time frame.

instructions for marriage records

appointment slip

Wedding Day:

Requirements:

-One valid I.D. for the petitioner

-One valid I.D. for the beneficiary

-One valid I.D. for the witness/es

-A fee of $14 for a copy of the marriage certificate

-Civil ceremony fee of $25

-Marriage license

Proceed to the line where the other grooms and brides are then wait for your name to be called. You must show your marriage license. Once again, you both must present one valid I.D. and sign the provided documents. The witnesses will be asked to present valid I.D.s and sign the marriage certificate. Do not alter your signature just yet. You will then pay for the civil ceremony fee of $25 and $14 for a copy of the marriage certificate. Since it was just two days before Halloween, the registrar gave us and our witnesses a couple of candy bars. That part made me laugh. Moving on, you will be directed towards the ceremony area and stand there until the marriage officiator beckons for you. Once called, you will proceed into the area for the ceremony. After which, the officiator will sign the papers and you'll be officially wed.

fill up and submit the pink version of this form

The marriage certificate takes approximately two months to produce. In the meantime, you can apply for a Social Security Number. If by any chance, you failed to do so before the expiration of your visa, apply for a Social Security Number once you receive your two year green card.