Confidential Marriage License
Advantages
One of the advantages of a confidential marriage license is that your specialized notary,usually a specially authorized wedding officiant, (please note: not ALL wedding officiants are specially authorized to issue this marriage licence) can provide you with an immediate signed and notarized duplicate of your marriage license and certificate that is valid proof of your marriage for all federal and state governmental purposes, such as immigration issues or property issues. No other California county provides such a duplicate. Instead, if you marry with a marriage license issued by any other county you'll have to wait up to 10 weeks or more to receive a certified copy of your marriage license and certificate.
Limitations
The only limitation of a confidential marriage license is that, the license is valid only if your marriage ceremony takes place in Los Angeles County.
Legalities
A confidential marriage license is a completely legal license and can be issued by either a special notary, who has been commissioned by the county of Los Angeles to issue a wedding license to a couple, or by the county clerk's office. There are only 6 Los Angeles county clerk's offices serving the 10 million citizens of Los Angeles County, opened during working hours, so it is often beneficial to a couple to avoid the hassle of the trip together since the couple must appear together during working hours in order to file it with the clerk. A special notary can file the wedding license for you any time of the week.
Requirements
A couple must state to the notary or Los Angeles county clerk office that they have been living together, as a married couple- not as roommates. There is no time requirement as to how long the couple has lived together and the notary has no way of checking that fact.
Cost
A Confidential Marriage License in Los Angeles county costs the same as a public marriage license, which is $70.
