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Getting a marriage license in San Francisco requires advanced planning and it isn’t cheap. First you have to go to the Office of the County Clerk website to make an appointment and pay the $93 fee (!) and a $5 processing fee. This fee doesn’t even include a certified copy—those are an extra $13 each!
When you go for your appointment you must bring ID with your full legal name. Lucky for us, before we left for California I checked my driver’s license and realized that it did not have my middle name on it, so I grabbed our passports. Make sure you have all of the required items and that they meet the exact specifications!
At exactly 90 days out I scheduled our marriage license appointment and paid the $93 fee. We showed up bright and early to City Hall on Friday morning (conveniently located within walking distance of our hotel).
SF City Hall
Inside City Hall
At 8:15 AM we were the first appointment of the day. We found our way to the County Clerk’s office and got the paperwork. We filled out the required form and waited for our names to be called. While we waited we watched all of the happy couples arriving to get their marriage licenses. Since we were in California, where same-sex marriage is permitted, we saw lots of same-sex couples obtaining their licenses. In fact, we were the only heterosexual couple in the office! After a few minutes we were called up to the counter, swore that the information was true, and waited for the paperwork to be processed. We even spent the extra $5 for the souvenir marriage license (it looks cool, okay!).
County Clerk’s Office
The PN’s & our Souvenir Marriage License
If you couldn’t tell, I was somewhat appalled by the cost of the marriage license in San Francisco. How much is a marriage license in your county!?
$20, plus a buck for parking. :]
$115. I don’t know if that covers any copies/etc., but I’m just as glad I don’t have my heart set on getting married where I live!
Instead we’re getting married in the next state over, where it’s in the $15-30 range.
It was $40, plus $2 for parking in Cleveland…The parking could have been more, however we went on a Wednesday afternnon and we were the only people in the office, so no waiting! The certified copies only cost $1, but they have a LONG turnaround time to get them out to you.
Ours are $99.50, unless you’ve had a premarital prep course which gives you a $60 discount.
i think it was $43 + $3 per copy.
$10 I think. Pretty cheap! Then add $5 per certified copy.
We paid $18.00 to file, plus we got a souvenir certificate for free. Then it was $1.00 per copy, which we were able to obtain 3 days after the wedding.
$115, plus extra for some fees we will have to pay. They have strict time lines of when you can apply based on your wedding date and with it being out of state we will have to pay extra because there is no way we can work it out to fit within the rules. So ours will be expensive! Not to happy about that.
$100 up here in my part of Canada.
$20 in MI for residents, not sure how much copies cost.
$77 in Sacramento (plus the $13 for the certified copy). We wanted to go to SF to do it, but we’re cheap, so we did it in my parents hometown.
@Leslie: We should’ve gotten married there! We have to wait 4-6 weeks for our certified copy and there is no way to expediate it! This especially stinks because I need it to get on Mr. PN’s dental insurance!
@doublemint921: Wow! Sounds like you are the winner (or should I say loser) for the most fees! Ouch!
I think we had to pay $45, which did not include any copies (which are like, $10, I think.)
I believe it’s $15, but we can only get it M-F, 9-4, which means FI will have to take a day off work, which means one fewer days of honeymoon 
Ours is going to be about $30. Our license is valid for 65 days. We need to double check that we don’t have to wait to receive it in the mail. We are also coming from out of state so it would mean taking extra time off to get the licence.
Mrs. Pinot Noir, if you are pressed for time, may I suggest that when your certified copy is available (after that 4-6 week window), you order via the internet company that the city of SF appears to outsource copying service to:
From http://www.sfgov.org/site/assessor_index.asp?id=15241#HCIGACOMMC
“Via the internet, you may go to http://www.vitalcheck.com/cainfo.asp and request a copy online with a $5.00 service fee to Vital Check.”
The total becomes $18, but I literally received my copy in the mail (which is disappointingly just a scan of the license form) only 1-2 days after my request.
I second your sentiment about the super-expensivo San Francisco marriage licenses
We’re having a destination wedding in Europe, and although, believe it or not, we are saving in a lot of ways (fewer guests, very cheap venue fees, minimal flowers and decor), I don’t want to tell you the cost of marriage notice (equiv. to license) and marriage visas for both of us! Well into the triple digits. C’est la vie!
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Mrs. Pinot Noir, New York/Napa Valley Age and Occupation: 24, Health Educator Fiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Market Researcher Engagement Date: November 10, 2007 Wedding Date: October, 2008 Blogging Since: June 25, 2008 Venue: Auberge du Soleil About Me: I am a Minnesota raised, NYC transplant planning a destination wedding in Napa. I'm balancing my love for the environment and my hubby-to-be's love for tradition to create our "green wedding in disguise." Our wedding will include local food and wine, antique touches and lots of love and laughter. When wedding planning isn't taking up my free time (and money) I love to read, cook, workout, watch baseball and travel! Follow along in my adventure as I attempt to plan an eco-friendly and socially responsible wedding (with eco-oblivious Mr. Pinot Noir).
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