DIVISION 3. MARRIAGE [300. - 560.]
Division 3 enacted by Stats. 1992, Ch. 162, Sec. 10.
§§ 300–560 · 58 sections
PART 1. VALIDITY OF MARRIAGE §§ 300–310 · 12 sections
- § 300 (a) Marriage is a personal relation arising out of a civil contract between two persons, to which the consent of the parties capable of making that contract is…
- § 301 Two unmarried persons 18 years of age or older, who are not otherwise disqualified, are capable of consenting to and consummating marriage.
- § 302 (a) An unmarried person under 18 years of age may be issued a marriage license upon obtaining a court order granting permission to the underage person or…
- § 303 If it appears to the satisfaction of the court by application of a minor that the minor requires a written consent to marry and that the minor has no parent or…
- § 304 (a) In determining whether to issue a court order granting permission to marry pursuant to Section 302 or 303, the court shall do all of the following: (1)…
- § 305 Consent to and solemnization of marriage may be proved under the same general rules of evidence as facts are proved in other cases.
- § 306 Except as provided in Section 307, a marriage shall be licensed, solemnized, and authenticated, and the authenticated marriage license shall be returned to the…
- § 306.5 (a) Parties to a marriage shall not be required to have the same name. Neither party shall be required to change their name. A person’s name shall not change…
- § 307 This division, so far as it relates to the solemnizing of marriage, is not applicable to members of a particular religious society or denomination not having…
- § 308 A marriage contracted outside this state that would be valid by laws of the jurisdiction in which the marriage was contracted is valid in California.
- § 309 If either party to a marriage denies the marriage, or refuses to join in a declaration of the marriage, the other party may proceed, by action pursuant to…
- § 310 Marriage is dissolved only by one of the following: (a) The death of one of the parties. (b) A judgment of dissolution of marriage. (c) A judgment of nullity…
PART 2. MARRIAGE LICENSE §§ 350–360 · 12 sections
- § 350 (a) Before entering a marriage, or declaring a marriage pursuant to Section 425, the parties shall first obtain a marriage license from a county clerk. (b) If…
- § 351 The marriage license shall show all of the following: (a) The identity of the parties to the marriage. (b) The parties’ full given names at birth or by court…
- § 351.5 Notwithstanding subdivision (b) of Section 351 or 359 of this code, or Section 103175 of the Health and Safety Code, if either of the applicants for, or any…
- § 351.6 Notwithstanding Section 307, 351, 351.5, 359, or 422 of this code, or Section 103175 or 103180 of the Health and Safety Code, a mailing address used by an…
- § 352 No marriage license shall be granted if either of the applicants lacks the capacity to enter into a valid marriage or is, at the time of making the application…
- § 354 (a) Each applicant for a marriage license shall be required to present authentic photo identification acceptable to the county clerk as to name and date of…
- § 355 (a) The forms for the marriage license shall be prescribed by the State Department of Public Health, and shall be adapted to set forth the facts required in…
- § 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…
- § 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…
- § 358 (a) The State Department of Public Health shall prepare and publish a brochure that shall contain the following: (1) Information concerning the possibilities…
- § 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…
- § 360 (a) If a marriage license is lost, damaged, or destroyed after the marriage ceremony, but before it is returned to the county recorder, or deemed unacceptable…
PART 3. SOLEMNIZATION OF MARRIAGE §§ 400–426 · 9 sections
CHAPTER 1. Persons Authorized to Solemnize Marriage §§ 400–402 · 3 sections
- § 400 (a) Although marriage is a personal relation arising out of a civil, and not a religious, contract, a marriage may be solemnized by a priest, minister, rabbi,…
- § 401 (a) For each county, the county clerk is designated as a commissioner of civil marriages. (b) The commissioner of civil marriages may appoint deputy…
- § 402 In addition to the persons permitted to solemnize marriages under Section 400, a county may license officials of a nonprofit religious institution, whose…
CHAPTER 2. Solemnization of Marriage §§ 420–426 · 6 sections
- § 420 (a) No particular form for the ceremony of marriage is required for solemnization of the marriage, but the parties shall declare, in the physical presence of…
- § 421 Before solemnizing a marriage, the person solemnizing the marriage shall require the presentation of the marriage license. If the person solemnizing the…
- § 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…
- § 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…
- § 425 If no record of the solemnization of a California marriage previously contracted under this division for that marriage is known to exist, the parties may…
- § 426 If for sufficient reason, as described in subdivision (d), either or both of the parties to be married are physically unable to appear in person before the…
PART 4. CONFIDENTIAL MARRIAGE §§ 500–536 · 19 sections
CHAPTER 1. General Provisions §§ 500–511 · 12 sections
- § 500 When two unmarried people, not minors, have been living together as spouses, they may be married pursuant to this chapter by a person authorized to solemnize a…
- § 500.5 For purposes of this part, the document issued by the county clerk is a marriage license until it is registered with the county clerk, at which time the…
- § 501 (a) Except as provided in Section 502, a confidential marriage license shall be issued by the county clerk upon the personal appearance together of the parties…
- § 502 If for sufficient reason, as described in subdivision (d), either or both of the parties to be married are physically unable to appear in person before the…
- § 503 The county clerk shall issue a confidential marriage license upon the request of a notary public approved by the county clerk to issue confidential marriage…
- § 504 A confidential marriage license is valid only for a period of 90 days after its issuance by the county clerk.
- § 505 (a) The form of the confidential marriage license shall be prescribed by the State Registrar of Vital Statistics. (b) The form shall be designed to require…
- § 506 (a) The confidential marriage license shall be presented to the person solemnizing the marriage. (b) Upon performance of the ceremony, the solemnization…
- § 508 Upon issuance of a confidential marriage license, parties shall be provided with an application to obtain a certified copy of the confidential marriage…
- § 509 (a) A party to a confidential marriage may obtain a certified copy of the confidential marriage certificate from the county clerk of the county in which the…
- § 510 (a) If a confidential marriage license is lost, damaged, or destroyed after the performance of the marriage, but before it is returned to the county clerk, or…
- § 511 (a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), the county clerk shall maintain confidential marriage certificates filed pursuant to Section 506 as permanent…
CHAPTER 2. Approval of Notaries to Authorize Confidential Marriages §§ 530–536 · 7 sections
- § 530 (a) No notary public shall issue a confidential marriage license pursuant to this part unless the notary public is approved by the county clerk to issue…
- § 531 (a) An application for approval to authorize confidential marriages pursuant to this part shall be submitted to the county clerk in the county in which the…
- § 532 No approval, or renewal of the approval, shall be granted pursuant to this chapter unless the notary public shows evidence of successful completion of a course…
- § 533 An approval to issue confidential marriage licenses pursuant to this chapter is valid for one year. The approval may be renewed for additional one-year periods…
- § 534 (a) The county clerk shall maintain a list of the notaries public who are approved to issue confidential marriage licenses. The list shall be available for…
- § 535 (a) If, after an approval to issue confidential marriage licenses is granted pursuant to this chapter, it is discovered that the notary public has engaged in…
- § 536 (a) The fee for an application for approval to authorize confidential marriages pursuant to this chapter is three hundred dollars ($300). (b) The fee for…
PART 5. Remote Marriage License Issuance and Solemnization §§ 550–560 · 6 sections
- § 550 Notwithstanding any other law, including, but not limited to, Section 420, a county clerk may issue a marriage license, including a confidential marriage…
- § 552 A couple seeking a marriage license or solemnization pursuant to this part shall present, in the manner requested by the county clerk, a copy of a valid…
- § 554 (a) Each member of the couple shall be physically located in the State of California while using remote technology to obtain a marriage license pursuant to…
- § 556 (a) At the discretion of the county clerk, a couple applying for a marriage license using remote technology may sign their marriage license electronically or…
- § 558 A county clerk may provide guidance relating to marriage license applications, marriage license issuance, and the witnessing or solemnizing of the marriage…
- § 560 For purposes of this part, “remote technology” means audiovideo technology that is provided by a county clerk and allows the couple, or the couple and others…