California marriage laws require two unmarried adults to apply together for a license at any county clerk’s office, show valid photo ID, and have an authorized officiant perform a ceremony within 90 days. Both parties must consent in person, and the signed license must be returned to the county recorder within 10 days of the wedding. Once the marriage is registered, state law automatically applies community property rules, spousal support eligibility, inheritance rights, and a range of other legal protections that take effect the moment the ceremony ends.
Who Can Legally Marry
Two unmarried people who are at least 18 can marry in California, as long as neither is otherwise disqualified by law.1California Legislative Information. California Code Family Code 301 – Capacity to Consent to Marriage Disqualifications include being currently married to someone else or lacking the mental capacity to consent.
Someone under 18 can still marry, but only with a court order granting permission. At least one parent or guardian of each underage party must give written consent, and both the court order and that written consent must be filed with the court clerk before the county clerk will issue a license.2California Legislative Information. California Code Family Code 302 – Marriage of Minors Courts can require premarital counseling before granting permission.
Getting a Marriage License
A California marriage is not valid without a license. The state treats marriage as a civil contract requiring both the consent of the parties and a license followed by solemnization.1California Legislative Information. California Code Family Code 301 – Capacity to Consent to Marriage
You and your partner must appear together in person at a county clerk’s office with valid photo identification that verifies your age. A driver’s license, passport, military ID, or resident alien card will all work.3Sacramento County Clerk/Recorder. Getting Your Marriage License License fees vary by county and generally run between $35 and $100 for a public license. You can apply in any California county regardless of where you live or where the ceremony will take place, and the license is valid anywhere in the state.
Once issued, the license is good for 90 days. If that window closes without a wedding, the license expires and you have to apply and pay again. After the ceremony, the license becomes a marriage certificate when the officiant returns the completed, signed document to the county recorder in the county that issued it. That return must happen within 10 days of the ceremony.4California Legislative Information. California Code Family Code 423 – Return of Marriage License If the officiant misses that deadline, the marriage is still legally valid, but obtaining certified copies of the certificate later can be difficult.
Public vs. Confidential Licenses
California offers two kinds of marriage licenses. A public license is the default; a confidential license is a separate option for two unmarried adults who have been living together as spouses.5California Legislative Information. California Code Family Code 500 – Confidential Marriage A confidential marriage carries exactly the same legal rights and obligations as a public one. The differences are procedural and privacy-related:
- A confidential ceremony requires no witness. A public marriage requires at least one.6San Mateo County Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder & Elections. What Is the Difference Between a Confidential and a Public Marriage License
- Only the two parties to the marriage can obtain certified copies of a confidential certificate.
- Both parties must declare under penalty of perjury that they have been living together as spouses.
- Minors cannot use the confidential process, even with a court order.
The Ceremony and Who Can Officiate
California does not require any particular form of ceremony. The only legal requirement is that both parties declare, in the physical presence of the officiant and any required witnesses, that they take each other as spouses.7California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 420 – Ceremony Requirements You can write your own vows, use religious traditions, or keep it to a brief exchange at the courthouse. Marriage by proxy is not permitted, with a narrow exception for active-duty military members stationed overseas in a conflict zone.
The list of people who can perform a marriage is wider than most couples realize:8California Legislative Information. California Code Family Code 400 – Persons Authorized to Solemnize Marriage
- Any priest, minister, rabbi, or authorized person of a religious denomination who is at least 18
- Active or retired judges, magistrates, and commissioners of any California court, plus federal judges including bankruptcy and tax court judges
- Current or former state legislators, members of Congress representing California, and current or former elected city or county officials
A religious officiant has no obligation to perform a marriage that conflicts with their faith. A public marriage license has space for two witness signatures, but only one is required, and no more than two may sign.9San Mateo County Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder & Elections. Instructions on Completing Your Marriage License The witness does not need any special qualifications.
Changing Your Name
The name-change election is built into the marriage license application itself. At the time you apply, either or both parties can elect to change a middle name, last name, or both.10California Legislative Information. California Code FAM 306.5 – Name Change on Marriage License Your options for a new last name include:
- Your spouse’s current last name
- Either spouse’s last name at birth
- A hyphenated or combined version of both last names
- A single new last name combining segments of either spouse’s current or birth last name
This election can only be made when the license is issued. Once the marriage certificate is registered, you cannot go back and add or change the name on it except to correct a clerical error. If you want a different name later, you have to go through a separate court-ordered name change, which costs more and takes longer.
After the wedding, update your Social Security card to match. The Social Security Administration recommends waiting at least 30 days after the marriage date before applying, which gives the state time to update its records. You will need your marriage certificate and proof of identification.11Social Security Administration. Just Married? Need to Change Your Name?
Community Property
California is a community property state, and this is where marriage has its largest financial impact. Almost all property acquired by either spouse during the marriage while living in California belongs equally to both.12California Legislative Information. California Code Family Code 760 – Community Property That covers wages, real estate purchased with marital earnings, retirement contributions made during the marriage, and debts taken on by either spouse.
Property you owned before the marriage, gifts made specifically to you, and inheritances remain separate property. The complication comes when separate and community property get mixed. If you use an inheritance for the down payment on a house but pay the mortgage with community funds, the property becomes partly separate and partly community, and untangling that in a divorce can be expensive. Clean records from the start save real trouble later.
In a divorce or legal separation, community property is divided equally. That is a 50/50 split by default, not an equitable-distribution analysis where a judge decides what seems fair. The automatic equal-division rule is one of the most distinctive features of California family law.
Spousal Support
Courts can award spousal support, commonly called alimony, to either spouse during or after a divorce. The goal is generally to help the lower-earning spouse maintain a reasonable standard of living while transitioning toward self-sufficiency. California law directs judges to weigh several factors when setting the amount and duration:13California Legislative Information. California Code Family Code 4320 – Spousal Support Factors
- Each spouse’s earning capacity, marketable skills, and any time spent out of the workforce handling domestic responsibilities
- Whether the supported spouse helped the other earn a degree, license, or career advancement
- The length of the marriage
- Age and health of each spouse
- Documented history of domestic violence
- The standard of living established during the marriage
As a general guideline, support for marriages lasting less than ten years typically runs for about half the length of the marriage. For marriages of ten years or more, considered “long duration,” the court has broad discretion and may order support indefinitely. These are guidelines, not rigid rules, and judges adjust based on the specific circumstances.
Prenuptial Agreements
A prenuptial agreement lets you override California’s default rules before the wedding. Common uses include protecting a family business, keeping an inheritance separate, or setting expectations around spousal support. California’s enforceability requirements are stricter than many states, and agreements that skip steps get thrown out regularly.
For a prenuptial agreement to hold up in court, all of the following must be true:14California Legislative Information. California Code Family Code 1615 – Enforceability of Premarital Agreements
- Both parties signed voluntarily, without pressure or coercion.
- The party giving up rights either had their own attorney or received a written advisement to get one at least seven days before signing, then expressly waived counsel in a separate written document.
- For agreements signed on or after January 1, 2020, the party giving up rights had at least seven calendar days between first seeing the final agreement and signing it. A prenup rushed through the night before the wedding is almost certain to fail.
- Both parties made a fair and full disclosure of their property and financial obligations, or the other party knowingly waived further disclosure in writing.
- The agreement is not unconscionable as of the time it was signed.
Postnuptial agreements, signed after the wedding, are also recognized in California and follow similar principles, though the legal standards can differ slightly because the parties are already in a fiduciary relationship as spouses.
Rights Marriage Creates Beyond Property
Marriage carries legal consequences well outside the property rules. A few of the most important:
Medical decisions. If you become incapacitated and have not designated someone else through an advance directive or power of attorney, your spouse has legal authority to make medical decisions for you. California’s next-of-kin law puts spouses and domestic partners at the top of the surrogate decision-maker list when no written directive exists. Unmarried partners often have no legal standing to direct a loved one’s care in a medical emergency.
Spousal privilege. Marriage creates a legal privilege protecting private communications between spouses from being disclosed in court. In criminal cases, a spouse called by the prosecution can choose to testify but cannot be forced to. The privilege covers events before and during the marriage, and it lasts as long as the marriage does. It does not apply when one spouse is charged with a crime against the other or against their children, when the spouses are suing each other, or when the communication was disclosed to a third party.
Social Security survivor benefits. A surviving spouse can claim survivor benefits starting at age 60, or at age 50 if disabled, or at any age if caring for the deceased spouse’s child who is under 16 or has a disability. The benefit ranges from 71.5% to 100% of the deceased spouse’s benefit, depending on the survivor’s age at application.15Social Security Administration. Our Survivor Benefits: Protection for Your Family A surviving divorced spouse can also qualify if the marriage lasted at least ten years, the survivor is at least 60 (or 50 if disabled), and the survivor has not remarried before age 60.
Federal taxes. Married couples can file jointly, make unlimited transfers of assets between spouses without triggering gift or estate tax, and roll over retirement accounts when a spouse dies. Joint filing often reduces tax for couples with uneven incomes but can push two high earners into a higher combined bracket than they occupied as single filers.16Internal Revenue Service. IRS Releases Tax Inflation Adjustments for Tax Year 2026
Domestic Partnerships and Out-of-State Marriages
California offers domestic partnerships as an alternative to marriage. Two adults can register by filing a Declaration of Domestic Partnership with the Secretary of State, provided neither is currently married or in another domestic partnership, both are at least 18, and neither is related in a way that would prevent marriage.17California Legislative Information. California Code Family Code 297 – Domestic Partnerships Registered domestic partners have the same rights, protections, and obligations as married spouses at the state level, including community property, spousal support, and a dissolution process equivalent to divorce. The limitation is federal: because domestic partnerships are not marriages, they do not always trigger the same federal tax benefits, Social Security survivor benefits, or immigration sponsorship rights.
If you married in another state or country, California will recognize that marriage as long as it was valid where it was performed.18California Legislative Information. California Code Family Code 308 – Out-of-State Marriages That includes common law marriages. California does not allow couples to form a new common law marriage within the state, but a valid common law marriage from a state that recognizes them, such as Colorado, Texas, or Iowa, will be treated as a legal marriage here with all the corresponding rights and obligations.