California · Family Code

FAM §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 for registration by the county recorder,

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What this law says, in plain English

This statute addresses situations where a marriage license becomes lost, damaged, or destroyed after the ceremony but before county recorder registration or acceptance.

Read the full statutory text

(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 for registration by the county recorder, the person solemnizing the marriage, in order to comply with Section 359, shall obtain a duplicate marriage license by filing an affidavit setting forth the facts with the county clerk of the county in which the license was issued. (b) The duplicate marriage license shall not be issued later than one year after the date of marriage and shall be returned by the person solemnizing the marriage to the county recorder within one year of the date of marriage. (c) The county clerk may charge a fee to cover the actual costs of issuing a duplicate marriage license. (d) If a marriage license is lost, damaged, or destroyed before a marriage ceremony takes place, the applicants shall purchase a new marriage license and the old license shall be voided.

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