Search Free Los Angeles County Marriage Records

Look up free Los Angeles County marriage records to gain insight into anyone’s marital status.

Marriage records are available in Los Angeles County because of California’s Public Records Act (PRA). There are many reasons why someone may want to search for marriage records; you may want to know more about someone in your life or perform a genealogy search to learn about one’s family roots. Sometimes, a marriage record may be needed for business or legal reasons.

While marriage data is generally available, knowing how and where to find it is vital. In addition, how marriage records are accessed can change from one county to the next. Below is everything you need to perform a marriage record search in Los Angeles County.

This resource was written by Attorney Robert Bailey Jr, who holds a Juris Doctorate from Widener University School of Law.

How To Complete a Los Angeles County Marriage Records Lookup

To find available marriage records in Los Angeles County, you can search with their Registrar-Recorder County Clerk. This office has a repository of marriage records available dating back to 1852.

In California, a couple can request to have a confidential marriage.¹ When you obtain this type of license, the marriage record is not public information and can only be accessed by the specific parties that were married. The only exception you may have is if there is a court order authorizing access.

For public records, a citizen has the opportunity to examine available marriage records for up to five records without being charged anything. To request a marriage record, one can complete the Application for Public Marriage Record. You can request either a certified or informational copy.

While anyone can ask for an informational copy, only a limited group of people can request a certified copy. Those people include either person listed on the marriage record, a parent or a legal guardian. Other limited family members (e.g., grandparent, grandchild, sibling, child, spouse, domestic partner) are also allowed to ask for a certified marriage record.

A certified copy can also be provided to a member of a government agency (e.g., law enforcement) for official business or anyone authorized to represent a registrant on a marriage record or their estate.

For a certified copy, a notary must sign the application or, if requesting a marriage record in person, it must be signed in front of the cashier. When requesting a marriage record, a citizen must provide the following information:

• Date of marriage
• Name of Groom
• Maiden Name of Bride
• Relationship to Registrant (Certified Copies Only)

Applications can be mailed to the address below:

Los Angeles County
Registrar-Recorder County Clerk
P.O. Box 489
Norwalk, California 90651

You can also request marriage records in person by going to their office. To do so, complete their online vital record application and schedule an appointment. The fee for receiving a marriage record is $17.00.

For additional questions about viewing and requesting a marriage record, you can contact the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder County Clerk by phone at 562-462-2137. You can also talk to someone at their primary address below:

Los Angeles County 
Registrar-Recorder County Clerk
12400 Imperial Hwy. 
Norwalk, California 90650

If you are looking for a way to request marriage records online, you can do so through an approved third-party vendor, VitalChek. Be aware though, as there are additional processing and shipping fees when you choose to select this option.

Note: An informational copy contains the same general information as a certified copy, but it can not be used to legally establish a person’s identity.

In Los Angeles County, you can look for options to access marriage records at the city level in certain locations. One example is a person can request a marriage record through the Santa Clarita City Clerk. A request for a certified marriage record through the Santa Clarita Clerk costs $32.00.

If you have any other questions, you can review their FAQ page or reach out to the City Clerk’s Office by phone at 661-259-2489 or by going to the address below:^{4, 5}

Santa Clarita City Clerk’s Office
23920 Valencia Blvd., Ste. 120
Santa Clarita, California 92355

A person can also look for archived marriage records, which will be discussed in the next section.

How To Find Archived Marriage Records in Los Angeles County California

A citizen may want to look up archived marriage records as part of a genealogy search or for some other reason. Whatever the reason, sometimes these types of records involve a different process for accessing or requesting them.

For archived Los Angeles County marital records, you can start by conducting a search with the Registrar-Recorder County Clerk.

They have marriage records dating back to 1852, along with indexes that are available for public inspection. Inspection is free for up to five records, and a citizen can use the same steps outlined in the previous section to request a record; there just may be a longer processing time for these older documents.

For other types of records, a citizen can search through the Los Angeles County Archives & Records Center. However, all vital records, including marriage certificates and indexes, belong in the custody of the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder County Clerk’s Office.

There are also other ways you can find older marital records. Los Angeles County archived marriage records may be held by historical societies, libraries and the religious institutions that performed the wedding ceremony. A record seeker can also dig through newspapers, marriage indexes and other types of documents where a wedding may be recorded.

A common law marriage occurs when parties are considered married, even though they did not go through the formal wedding and license process. California does not recognize common law marriage (it has been abolished since 1895), with the exception of those that were already recognized in another state that allows this type of unofficial union.

California does recognize domestic partnerships, which are registered with the Secretary of State.^{6, 7}

In addition to the Los Angeles County resources, you can also look through available archived marriage records with the California State Archives. If you are not sure where to start, you can view their Frequently Asked Questions page.

How To Track Down Records of Marriages Elsewhere in California

In searching for Los Angeles County, California marriage records, you may find out that the nuptials occurred in another county within the state. If you know the specific county, you may be able to simply check with the local government agency that is responsible for those marriage records.

Alternatively, marriage records are available with the Vital Records Department of the California Department of Public Health.

To make a request for a marriage record, be aware that the vital records office has certificates from 1905 to the present, with the exception of 2008 to 2022 and 2023. For those years, you will have to figure out the county where the person was married and call or visit their recorder’s office.

With the California Department of Public Health’s Vital Records Office, a certified copy of a marriage record can be requested by mailing in a completed Application for Certified Copy of Marriage Record to the address below:⁸

California Department of Public Health
Vital Records – MS 5103
P.O. Box 997410
Sacramento, California 95899

When filling out this application, make sure you select the correct type of marriage record you are requesting. You can request either a Certified Copy or a Certified Informational Copy. While a certified informational copy is available to anyone, a certified copy may only be obtained by the following limited group of people:

• Person on the marriage record
• Certain family members – parent, legal guardian, child, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, domestic partner or spouse
• A party entitled through a court order
• A member of law enforcement or other government agency conducting official business
• A person authorized by statute or court order to act on behalf of the person listed on the marriage record or their estate

There are also approved third-party resources for requesting a marriage certificate online. Those are as follows:

• VitalChek
• State Vital Records
• Vital Records Online

The cost of requesting a marriage certificate through the California Department of Public Health Vital Records Office is $17.00. However, there are additional processing and shipping costs associated with making a request online.

For additional information, you can contact the Vital Records Office by email at [email protected] or by phone at 916-445-2684.

How Do You Apply for a Marriage License in Los Angeles County California?

If you are looking to apply for a marriage license in Los Angeles County, you can do so with the Registrar-Recorder County Clerk.

Before you apply for a marriage license, it is important to confirm that you and your future spouse can meet all of the eligibility requirements.⁹ These requirements include, among other things, not being married, providing appropriate proof of any past divorces and being at least 18 years old (or receiving appropriate consent).

The first step is to complete a marriage license application, which can also be completed online. The cost of a regular marriage license is $90.00, and $85.00 for a confidential marriage license. The cost for a civil ceremony is $25.00.

Once you submit your marriage license application, you can then schedule an appointment online. Appointments can be made up to three weeks in advance. When you go to get your marriage license you have to make sure both people are present and provide sufficient proof of identity (e.g., driver’s license, passport) that is not expired.

If you have any additional questions about obtaining a marriage license, you can contact the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder County Clerk by phone at 800-201-8999 (option 1) or at the address below:

Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder County Clerk
12400 Imperial Hwy. 
Norwalk, California 90650

With the information provided in this article, you now have an understanding of what types of marriage records are publicly available; you also have the tools and resources to conduct a thorough search of Los Angeles County marriage records.