Angela V
7 Posts
(Orange County, CA)
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Hi Marian,
I called the OC Recorder’s office and neither person knew the procedure for authorization to issue Confidential Marriages licenses in Orange County, CA. I mentioned that there should be a course of instruction and they both put me on hold for over 15 minutes and never picked up! Since you mentioned that you were considering taking the class with the county, can you please give me any information that you obtained regarding this? Perhaps an online link, the cost, requirements etc.? If anyone else has any information, I would appreciate it! Thank!
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Lisa Thornton
288 Posts
(Upland, CA)
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Angela, I feel your frustration. I too, am trying to get the course through San Bernardino county clerk's office. I've been there in person, emailed via their website and called. I did speak to a supervisor who said there's a list and to keep checking back as they only have the class periodically. I'm going to email her again to find out what's going on.
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Marian Harmon
271 Posts
(Lancaster, CA)
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I'm not surprised... not all counties have a formal program. The requirement is simply that the notary is authorized by the county to issue the certificates. How you get that authorization really depends on the county, I think. In Los Angeles, they apparently have a class. I've not done it yet... and I'm not sure if I will... I'm still mulling it over.
As for Orange County? Well, I tried calling, too, just for fun... and they told me that Orange County hasn't given a notary this special permission for at least 9 years, and likely won't be doing it any time soon. So, essentially... OC has pretty much discontinued the program, except for those that already have permission. The guy told me that the demand for for confidential licenses does not necessitate it. Does that make sense?
There is the demand in LA County, only because it is such a large county. In fact, one of the reasons I don't want to deal with it right now is that the class for LA county is done on the main office is in Norwalk -- which for someone like me might is a nightmare. Not only is it about 90 miles one-way, but 90 miles through downtown Los Angeles. It's not a trip I enjoy.
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Angela V
7 Posts
(Orange County, CA)
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Thank you Marian, I knew you would have the answer, you always do! : )
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Marian Harmon
271 Posts
(Lancaster, CA)
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You're welcome... though it's not always a matter of having the answer so much as it is knowing how to find it. ;) Research and information digging is something I really enjoy doing.
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Joan Bergstrom
187 Posts
(Riverside, CA)
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I got called months ago by a Press Enterprise Newspaper reporter who wanted to confirm with me that a CA Notary could "issue confidential marriages" ?
I said no, there is a document that must be notarized (Jurat) and this is the role a CA notary is involved in.
One thing I was surprised is the number of confidential marriages in San Bernardino county for 2008 was approx 1,900.
There were over 2,100 confidential marriages in Riverside county for 2008.
I'm nosey and asked the reporter!
This reporter wrote an article that appeared in the paper sometime in Oct, Nov or Dec 2009?.
There were more of these confidential marriages than I thought.
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Marian Harmon
271 Posts
(Lancaster, CA)
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"I said no, there is a document that must be notarized (Jurat) and this is the role a CA notary is involved in."
It is actually a bit more involved than that. The notary essentially acts on behalf of the clerk, and it is a special commission issued at the county level. The notary acts as an agent or intermediary of sorts, issues the license to the couple and files it for them with the clerk. That much I know.
It really is a unique thing...and unlike our ability to notarize statewide, the commission for issuing confidential marriage licenses is only good on a county-wide basis.
Most of the notaries who do this are usually wedding officiants of some kind. That's not me... but I have been approached by several non-notary officiants looking for a notary that could issue them.
I know that at my local clerk's office, which is just a satellite office in a trailer, there's a big sign on the wall that cracks me up -- mostly because it shows how illiterate they are, but also because it reads funny.
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Marian Harmon
271 Posts
(Lancaster, CA)
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Oh, dear. That's not what I intended to do. So sorry that's so big!
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Paul Williamson
103 Posts
(Inverness, FL)
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Oops, can be excused.
I think the clerks office needs some grammar lessons as well.
Marriage licenses will not be issued to
notary public's on Fridays.
Should read:
Marriage licenses will not be issued to
notaries public on Fridays.
The correct plural is "Notaries Public" and this certainly isn't a case of the noun being possessive.
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Marian Harmon
271 Posts
(Lancaster, CA)
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Isn't it awful? I shuddered when I first saw the sign, in the County Clerk's office, right where everyone sees it as they wait in line.
I even tried to let them know about the error, and they just gave me blank looks.
At some point, one just needs to sigh and walk away.
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Joan A Malone
388 Posts
(San Jose, CA)
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Thanks for posting the sign Marian. It would be funny, if it were not so sad.
When my husband and I married, we did a Confidential Marriage. We went to a Notary/Minister. She was able to officiate and notarize our signatures. This process was to take 15 minutes. It ended up taking two hours. Technical problems with her computer for photos. My husband discovered the problem, her computer was not plugged in. LOL
She was too funny with a wig that kept falling into her face. Her dog had Cushings Disease and kept nipping at my husbands pants. Great memories! She also had the wax seal.
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Lisa Thornton
288 Posts
(Upland, CA)
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I heard back from the supervisor at the San Bernardino county clerks office. She called my cell in response to my direct email to her (she gave me her business card the last time I went in person). She said there is a freeze on the program. The county will be combining the clerks office with the assessors office so check back the same time next year.
Oh well, so much for that endeavor !
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Robert Koehler
103 Posts
(Tampa, FL)
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Personally I see very little need for "Confidential Marriage Licenses". As I have posted previously on this board, I don't believe such a thing should exist. I *do* think that notaries should be able to act as agents for the state and issue marriage licenses *period* as a much-needed convenience to the general public.
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j fitz
2 Posts
(modesto, CA)
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I think this is one of the problems in our country. People don't want to learn to spell and use proper grammar. When someone politely points out to such a person the correct way so that they won't embarass themselves in the future, they become irate and get angry at the person trying to help.
Idiocracy is becoming reality.
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