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Public vs confidential marriage license

mrsinoctmrsinoct member
First Comment
in California-Los Angeles
I'm not sure if we should get a public or confidential marriage license.  What did you all do or are you going to do?
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Re: Public vs confidential marriage license

  • Khimes7Khimes7 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    we decided to get a confidential one, FI and I thought it was weird that it would be public record and open for anyone to see it otherwise.
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  • kcliveoutloudkcliveoutloud
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    A confidential marriage licensecan be a bit of a hassle when it comes to getting a copy of your marriage certificate. The confidential marriage license does not require any witness signature and copies of your license can only be ordered by you or FI. If you can't go in person to the office then you have to mail in a request for copies and get it notarized before you can get copies of your marriage certificate. This is the way to go if you are really concerned about keeping your contact information to yourself and if you have any concerns about anyone being able to get a copy of your marriage certificate. We decided to go the public license route. Hope that helps!
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  • csunsweetiecsunsweetie member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I think (also) that not all counties do it. I remember last year around this time (before we got our license) that some of the summer brides were discussing and I don't think we had the option of one (got married in Santa Barbara county).   So check that too! I know LA County does it for sure
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  • SMHubbardSMHubbard member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    We are getting a public because it seems like less hassle and I can't see any reason we would need a private one. Some other things you might not know about a private one is that (in LA county at least) you have to be living together before you get married in order to apply for one. Also, you have to be getting married in the county where you get the private license. So, you couldn't get it in LA and then get married in Ventura for example.
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  • Bella.VitaBella.Vita
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    We decided to get a public license for the same reasons kc mentioned. We just got ours yesterday in Orange County.
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  • bostontoLAbostontoLA
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    We got a public one, it was much easier.
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  • malibu09bridemalibu09bride member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    We got a confidential one and didn't have any issues. I've heard that the public ones allow solicitors to flag you as newlyweds and that you get a lot of junk mail as a result. I'm not sure if that's true, but it may be something to check out.
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