When we went to the courthouse to get our marriage license, Mr. P and I decided to get a confidential marriage license. No, this doesn’t mean our marriage is a secret (or that we’re keeping it a secret). No, it doesn’t mean we love each other any less.
We chose to get a confidential marriage license for a couple of reasons:
1. We value some elements of our privacy. I mean obviously, if I have a blog and put info about myself and stuff into Cyberspace, I’m not a CIA operative (or am I?), but all our personal biz doesn’t need to be out there.
2. Did you know just anyone can walk into a court house and request a copy of your marriage license info if you do not have a confidential license?
Sure, there is a drawback. The main drawback is that no one, not even our (future) children, can access the license unless they have a court order. The other drawback that we didn’t have an issue with (but affected another couple at the courthouse at the same time) is that you need to obtain the confidential license in the same county you are to be married in. If you are planning a destination wedding, that’s a bit of a headache that most people probably don’t want to deal with. However, we both figured that in this day and age, it’s better to have secure personal information than not.
I’ve heard before that some people forego the confidential license because it can be a bit of an extra fee (maybe up to about $5-$10, though LA County’s is the same cost as a public license), but I hope that doesn’t deter people from getting a confidential license. How much money would it cost you if someone used the information in a bad way? Probably a LOT more than a pittance of several dollars! Remember, the marriage license has your address and mother’s maiden name on the form. That’s a valuable piece of information for any potential thief.
We are definetly going for the confidential license.
wow - this is good to know. Thanks Mrs. Pearl!
can you only get a confidential license if you are already living together?
My brother got married in the same county as my parents, so when he and his then-fiancee went to apply for their license a couple years ago they pulled out the book from 1972 and found my parents’ license! I I thought that was kind of cute but I certainly understand your need to protect your privacty.
Thanks for the info Mrs. Pearl, it’s something I’d never even thought about!
i didn’t even know there was an option. though since the bf and i are planning on having the real wedding out of the country i guess that’s not much of an option for us.
i thought about getting the confidential one - not sure if we will or not.
it’s not an LA county thing, i’ve seen it in a couple of other CA counties.
If this is an option in GA, I’ve never heard anything about it. I even did a ton of research on marriage licenses before we got ours.
I think it might just be a CA thing.
I’m about 95% sure that the confidential license only exists in CA. I believe it has something to do with celebrities and people of power who might want to get married in that state.
It is also really difficult to obtain an official copy of someone else’s marriage license. Without a ton of legal paperwork, all an individual can obtain is a document stating that person A is legally married to person B.
I’m not exactly sure why us “common” folk would want to bother. Unless there is a very specific security reason why someone would need a confidential marriage license, I honestly do not see the point in needed one. A marriage license is just another public record document that has to be filed. It is similar to a land deed. And you know that anyone can look up that info as well, right?
I’m with Louski, I have to say. Maybe I’m just not paranoid enough, but I can’t imagine someone using my marriage license to steal my identity, though obviously it could happen. I actually like the idea of having the license being a part of public record.
wow. i have heard of con artists going to get records and sending scam letters saying that theyll help you with your debt or whatever and take your money and run.
i can definitely see where youre coming from.
I’m not sure how someone could use a marriage license to steal personal information. Confidential licenses were designed in the old days for people who would be embarassed if others found out they hadn’t been married years ago (e.g., they had been living together for years or had children previously). They also exist in Massachusetts and are required by age-old laws to “protect” people whose parents were never married and have different last names than their parents. (It happened to a friend of mine — MA wouldn’t let her get a regular marriage license because she and her father have different last names.)
Mrs. Pearl, Los Angeles
Age and Occupation: 26, High school history teacher
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 37, Software engineer
Engagement Date: No official date, we just decided :-)
Wedding Date: July 2007
Venue: St. Anthony's Greek Orthodox Church, Ritz Carlton Huntington Hotel
About Me: Mr. Pearl and I have been together for about four and a half years now. We've been "engaged" since 2004 and were originally supposed to get married in June 2006, but postponed the wedding to July 2007. I love shopping for housewares and office supplies, music, reading chick lit, football, and the diverse world of Los Angeles dining.
This must just be a California/L.A. thing, designed with celebrities in mind, because I’ve never heard of such a thing (I’m on the East Coast). I can’t imagine why anyone would want a copy of my marriage license, but I’m all for extra privacy protections.