Registering your marriage abroad, applying for a spouse visa, or changing your name overseas? Most countries ask for an apostilled marriage certificate. We check it, submit it to the California Secretary of State and get it back to you.
Price and timeline
Which copy you need
- A certified copy from the county clerk-recorder where your marriage license was issued. Not the decorative certificate from your ceremony, and not a photocopy.
- An authorized copy, not an "informational" one. Informational copies are stamped "not a valid document to establish identity" and won't be accepted.
- Public or confidential, both work. For a confidential marriage, only you or your spouse can order the certified copy, from the county where the license was issued.
- A recently issued copy avoids most problems.
Married in Orange County?
Order your certified copy from the Orange County Clerk-Recorder. Bring photo ID to 601 N. Ross St., Santa Ana, or the Anaheim or Laguna Hills branches; in-person copies are usually issued the same day. Mail orders need a notarized request form, and we can notarize it for $15.
Married in Las Vegas or another state? See documents from other states.
Before you send anything
- You, or your spouse, need to order the certified copy. We can't order vital records for you.
- The apostille is permanently attached to the certificate.
- Divorce decree? Those come from the Superior Court, not the Clerk-Recorder. Send us a scan and we'll quote it.
How it works
- 1Send us a scan. We check it for free and confirm the price and timeline.
- 2Bring or mail the certified copy. Walk in at 2706 Harbor Blvd., Ste. 206, Costa Mesa, or use our prepaid label.
- 3We get the apostille from the California Secretary of State.
- 4Pay and collect. Pay online once it's reviewed, then pick up in Costa Mesa or we ship it back.
We usually reply within 30 minutes during office hours, with the exact price, steps and timeline.
General information, not legal advice. Requirements vary by country and by the office receiving your document.