City and County of San Francisco marriage license
To marry in City and County of San Francisco, you apply to the San Francisco Office of the County Clerk. There, both applicants must appear together, there is no residency requirement and the license is valid throughout the state.
- Fee
- $129 public license / $129 confidential license
- Waiting period
- NoneMarry the same day
- License valid
- 90 daysFrom issuance
- Both must appear
- YesTogether, at the same time
Reviewed July 26, 202614 official sourcesSee sources
Where to apply
- Apply online
- Yes
An application is submitted when the appointment is booked through the County Clerk's online booking system, or an application can be downloaded, completed and brought to the appointment instead. Neither route issues a license: both people must still attend the appointment at City Hall in person.
Official requirementYou need an appointment to get a marriage license. You must submit a marriage license application when you book the appointment.
- Apply in person
- Yes
Licenses are issued by the Office of the County Clerk at City Hall, Room 160, 1 Dr. Carlton B Goodlett Place, Monday to Friday, processing hours 8 am to 4 pm, closed on public holidays. An appointment cannot be rescheduled — it must be cancelled, and no refund is given.
Official requirementYou need an appointment to get a marriage license.
When to apply
We will work out when you can apply. We never ask for names, dates of birth or any other personal detail.
Who must appear
- Both applicants
- Yes
The Clerk publishes one priority service rather than an exception to appearing: a party who is an active uniformed member of the US armed forces currently serving in a deployed or deployable unit may apply for military priority wedding services with an active military ID and an original Declaration of Active Military Service form.
Official requirementBoth people getting married must go to the appointment and bring: unexpired, government-issued photo ID (like a passport, driver's license, resident alien card, or military ID)
- Residency
- There is no residency requirement. The Office of the County Clerk states that California residency and US citizenship are not requirements for marriage in California.Official requirement
California residency and US citizenship are not requirements for marriage in California.
Identification and personal information
We list what the office says it may ask for. We never collect any of it.
- Identification
- Each person must bring unexpired, government-issued photo identification
- A passport
- A driver's license
- A resident alien card
- A military ID
- If the identification does not show your full legal name, also bring a certified copy of your birth certificate or a social security card that does show your full legal name
The Clerk gives these four documents as examples rather than as a closed list. Expired identification is not accepted.
Official requirementunexpired, government-issued photo ID (like a passport, driver's license, resident alien card, or military ID)
- Social Security number
- A social security card is one of two documents the Clerk names — the other is a certified copy of a birth certificate — that an applicant must bring if their photo identification does not show their full legal name.
This is an identity-document rule, not a requirement to supply a Social Security number. Neither the published public nor confidential license application form has a Social Security number field.
Applies in some casesIf your ID doesn't have your full legal name, bring a certified copy of your birth certificate or social security card that shows your full legal name.
- Age
- Both applicants must be 18 or older and not currently married. A confidential license may be issued only to parties who are at least 18; a person under 18 is eligible for a public license only.
The Clerk also states that only two unmarried persons who are at least 18 with valid legal identification may apply for a marriage license in California.
Official requirementYou can get married if you: are not currently married are 18 or older have unexpired, government-issued photo ID
- Applicants under 18
- An applicant under 18 must present written consent from at least one parent or legal guardian and written permission from a San Francisco Juvenile Court Judge. A person under 18 may obtain a public marriage license only, never a confidential one.Applies in some cases
People under age 18 are only eligible for a public marriage license. To get married, the minor needs to present: Written consent from at least one parent (or legal guardian) Written permission from a San Francisco Juvenile Court Judge
Prior-marriage documents
- If a marriage ended
- If either applicant has been married or in a State Registered Domestic Partnership before, you must know the exact date the most recent marriage or partnership ended. If it ended less than 90 days before the appointment, bring a certified copy of the divorce, annulment, termination or death record, bearing an original court seal and the signature of the court clerk. A certified copy in another language must be presented together with a translation by a court-certified or American Translators Association certified translator.
The 90-day threshold is specific to San Francisco and differs from other California counties — Los Angeles County uses two years, San Diego County 90 days.
Applies in some casesIf the marriage ended less than 90 days before your appointment, you must bring a certified copy of the divorce, annulment, termination or death record with you.
Fee and payment
- Fee
- $129 public license / $129 confidential license
These are the fees the Clerk publishes as effective 1 July 2026. Both license types cost the same. Separate published fees: a civil marriage ceremony at City Hall during office hours is $113; an offsite, weekend or holiday ceremony is $336 ($186 at reservation plus a $150 commissioner's fee at the ceremony); a one-day deputy marriage commissioner is $186; a duplicate copy of a marriage license is $30; an amendment to a confidential marriage license is $37. No refunds are given once a license is issued, and an appointment cannot be rescheduled.
Official requirementMarriage License Services *New Fees Below Effective July 1, 2026 Public Marriage License......................................$129 Confidential Marriage License.............................$129 Duplicate Copy of Marriage License....................$30 Amendment to Confidential Marriage License.....$37
- Payment methods
- Cash (in person)
- Check, money order or cashier's check made payable to SF County Clerk — foreign checks are not accepted
- All major debit and credit cards: Visa, Mastercard, Discover, American Express
- Apple Pay and Google Pay (in person)
- Online payments: all major debit and credit cards, and checking accounts
This is the Clerk's current published list for County Clerk services. The Clerk's own license application form prints a narrower list — see source conflict notes.
Official requirementIn-person Payments Cash, checks, money orders, cashier's checks, all major debit and credit cards (Visa, Mastercard, Discover, American Express), Apple Pay, and Google Pay. Checks, money orders, and cashier's checks made payable to SF County Clerk. We do not accept foreign checks.
Waiting period and expiration
- Waiting period
- None
The Clerk's own application forms state that the marriage may take place on the issuance date itself, so nothing has to elapse between issuing and the ceremony. One office restriction is separate from this and matters when booking: for a County Clerk civil ceremony at City Hall, the Clerk states that licenses are not sold on the ceremony day, so the license appointment must be on an earlier day than a City Hall ceremony.
Official requirementYou must be married on or after the issuance date, and on or before the expiration date of the license.
- Waiver
This does not apply here.
There is no waiting period between issuance and ceremony, so there is nothing to waive.
Not applicable hereYou must be married on or after the issuance date, and on or before the expiration date of the license.
- License expires
- 90 days
Measured from the date the license is issued. A license not used inside the 90 days is void and a new one must be bought; no refunds are given.
Official requirementMarriage licenses are valid for 90 days from the date of issuance for a marriage anywhere in California.
- Where it is valid
- A San Francisco license may be used for a ceremony anywhere in California, but not outside California. Filing is tied to the issuing county: a San Francisco public license is returned to the San Francisco Office of the Assessor-Recorder, and a San Francisco confidential license to the Office of the County Clerk.
California differs from Illinois here — the ceremony is not restricted to the issuing county, only the recording is.
Official requirementOnce you get a marriage license, you can get married anywhere in California.
Witness and ceremony notes
- Witnesses
- Public license: at least one witness must be present at the ceremony, and the license requires the signature of at least one witness together with the person solemnizing the marriage. Confidential license: no witness is required at the ceremony and no witness signs the license. At a County Clerk civil ceremony at City Hall you must bring one witness if you are presenting a public license, and none if you are presenting a confidential license. Statewide rules add that the license has room for two witnesses and that no more than two may sign it.
The confidential license is available only to parties who are living together as spouses at the time they apply, and its record is available only to the couple.
Official requirement1 witness if you are presenting a public marriage license. No witness is required if presenting a confidential marriage license.
- Officiant
- The ceremony must be performed by someone authorised to solemnize marriages in California. County Clerk commissioners perform civil ceremonies at City Hall by reservation for parties of 6 guests or fewer; larger parties, and weekend or holiday ceremonies, are booked through City Hall Events instead, and walk-ins are not accepted. The Clerk also performs ceremonies at a San Francisco location of the couple's choosing. Anyone over 18 can be deputised to perform one specific ceremony: they must appear in person at the Office of the County Clerk with valid legal photo identification, be fluent in English, and take an oath of office. Deputisation is granted only on a San Francisco-issued license, the ceremony must be performed in California, and the service is walk-in only, Monday to Thursday, 8 am to 11 am.
The Clerk does not publish a registration requirement for outside officiants.
Official requirementA civil marriage ceremony may only be performed for 2 unmarried persons who present a valid original California marriage license prior to the ceremony.
Returning and recording the license
- After the ceremony
- The person who performed the ceremony is responsible for returning the signed license. A public license goes to the Office of the Assessor-Recorder at City Hall Room 190, in person, by its drop box or by mail, within ten days after the ceremony. A confidential license goes back to the Office of the County Clerk. If the couple was married by someone from the Office of the County Clerk, that office files the documents for them. Do not alter, strike over, write over, erase or use correction fluid or tape on the license — a damaged or illegible license is rejected and a duplicate license must be bought with an affidavit and a fee.
The Assessor-Recorder records only licenses issued by the City and County of San Francisco, and asks couples to contact the office if a completed license is past the 10-day filing period.
Official requirementAfter your wedding ceremony, send us your completed license signed by all parties and return it to our main office in person, by our drop box, or by mail within ten (10) days after the ceremony.
- Processing
- The license is issued at the in-person appointment at City Hall. For a public marriage, copies of the certificate can be ordered from the Assessor-Recorder 10 days after the license has been recorded, and a limited same-day newlywed appointment is offered where the license is recorded and a certificate issued within the hour. For a confidential marriage, a certified copy is available from the County Clerk 4 weeks after the license has been returned for registration, and not before.
A certificate is never sent automatically — it must be requested and paid for. Only the two people named on a confidential certificate, or someone holding a court order, may buy a copy of it.
Official requirementYou may get a certified copy of your confidential marriage certificate 4 weeks after your license has been returned for registration. It will not be available before then.
Ordering the certified record afterwards is a separate request: official certified copy page
Access and language
- Published notes
- Official requirement
- The City states that SF.gov follows WCAG 2.1 Level AA and the San Francisco Language Access Ordinance
- Access problems are reported to the responsible department's digital accessibility coordinator — city.administrator@sfgov.org for the City Administrator, which the Office of the County Clerk sits under, and assessor@sfgov.org for the Assessor-Recorder
- The marriage license and ceremony pages are published in Spanish, Traditional Chinese and Filipino as well as English
- The Assessor-Recorder's application for a certified copy of a public marriage certificate is published in Chinese, Spanish and Filipino
We follow rules for accessibility (WCAG 2.1, Level AA) and language access (San Francisco Language Access Ordinance).
Common questions
- How much does a marriage license cost in City and County of San Francisco?
- The fee is $129 public license / $129 confidential license, set by the San Francisco Office of the County Clerk.
- Is there a waiting period for a marriage license in City and County of San Francisco?
- No. There is no waiting period — the license can be used as soon as it is issued.
- How long is a City and County of San Francisco marriage license valid?
- The license is valid for 90 days from issuance. A ceremony after that date requires a new license.
- Do both partners have to appear in person in City and County of San Francisco?
- Yes. Both applicants must appear together to complete the application.
- Do we have to be residents to marry in City and County of San Francisco?
- There is no residency requirement. The Office of the County Clerk states that California residency and US citizenship are not requirements for marriage in California.
Each answer restates the verified rule above; the official wording and sources are in the numbered sections.
Sources and reviewed date
Every fact above is quoted from one of these pages. Reviewed July 26, 2026.
- Get a marriage licenseSan Francisco Office of the County Clerk · issuing authority · retrieved 2026-07-26
- Get married in San FranciscoSan Francisco Office of the County Clerk · issuing authority · retrieved 2026-07-26
- Have a civil marriage or domestic partnership ceremony at City HallSan Francisco Office of the County Clerk · issuing authority · retrieved 2026-07-26
- Fees for County Clerk ServicesSan Francisco Office of the County Clerk · issuing authority · retrieved 2026-07-26
- San Francisco County Clerk Public Marriage License ApplicationSan Francisco Office of the County Clerk · issuing authority · retrieved 2026-07-26
- San Francisco County Clerk Confidential Marriage License ApplicationSan Francisco Office of the County Clerk · issuing authority · retrieved 2026-07-26
- Special case weddingsSan Francisco Office of the County Clerk · issuing authority · retrieved 2026-07-26
- Become a deputy marriage commissioner for a daySan Francisco Office of the County Clerk · issuing authority · retrieved 2026-07-26
- Record your public marriage licenseSan Francisco Office of the Assessor-Recorder · issuing authority · retrieved 2026-07-26
- Get a copy of a confidential marriage certificateSan Francisco Office of the County Clerk · issuing authority · retrieved 2026-07-26
- Get a copy of your marriage certificateSan Francisco Office of the Assessor-Recorder · issuing authority · retrieved 2026-07-26
- Accessibility on SF.govCity and County of San Francisco, Digital Services · issuing authority · retrieved 2026-07-26
- California Marriage License General InformationCalifornia Department of Public Health, Vital Records · state-level source · retrieved 2026-07-26
- Types of Marriage LicensesCalifornia Department of Public Health, Vital Records · state-level source · retrieved 2026-07-26
Recorded conflicts
- Payment methods differ between two County Clerk sources. The Fees for County Clerk Services page lists cash, checks, money orders, cashier's checks, all major debit and credit cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay for in-person payments, while the Clerk's own marriage license application form — revision 09/2018 — prints only "cash, debit, or pre-printed check with account holder's name payable to the SF County Clerk". The current web page is recorded; the form's narrower list is treated as stale.
- Fee timing. The fee schedule presents the marriage license figures under the heading "*New Fees Below Effective July 1, 2026", and the County Clerk's department page still carries a notice, scheduled to run to 31 July 2026, that fees are increasing on that date. That date has passed, so the $129 figures are the fees now in force, but the page has not yet been reworded from "new" to "current".
- The certificate copy fee for a public marriage is published twice with different amounts. The Assessor-Recorder's recording page states "The fee is $17 per marriage certificate copy" for its same-day newlywed service, while its certificate page states "payment in the amount of $19.00 for each certificate requested" for mail orders. Neither figure affects the license fee, and this record does not resolve which applies to which channel.
- Same-day ceremonies at City Hall. The Clerk publishes no waiting period between issuance and the ceremony — its application forms state the marriage may be on the issuance date — but its City Hall ceremony page separately states that licenses "will not be available for purchase on the same day as your ceremony". That is a booking restriction on County Clerk ceremonies, not a legal waiting period, and it does not apply to a ceremony performed by an outside officiant.
- Two different room numbers are published for the Office of the County Clerk. The Clerk's own pages give City Hall, Room 160; the Assessor-Recorder's certificate page says "You can apply for a marriage licenses at the Office of the County Clerk located in City Hall, Room 168." The Clerk's own address is recorded here.
- The Clerk's booking and application portal runs on the City's legacy countyclerk.sfgov.org domain rather than on sf.gov. It is linked as "Book a Marriage License Appointment Here" from the Clerk's own Get a marriage license page and is recorded as a navigation target only — no fact in this record comes from it. application_url points instead at the sf.gov page carrying the downloadable public and confidential application forms.
Something wrong or out of date? Send a correction or read how corrections work.
This page is formatted to print as a checklist you can take with you.