How to Get Your San Francisco Marriage Certificate

No marriage is official until there is paperwork to back it up. The government has to issue a marriage certificate and log it in the books for it to be an officially documented marriage. This is why people need to know how to get their hands on a San Francisco marriage certificate if that is where they live. Going through the process of getting one is not as straightforward as we all might like for it to be. Thus, it is often necessary for people to reach out to DoNotPay to receive some help getting their hands on a .

What Is the Purpose of a Marriage Certificate?

A marriage certificate officially states that two adults have joined in the union that we call marriage. They must have access to this paperwork so that they know that their marriage has been logged in the official government records. Couples will not receive any of the benefits of marriage until they get that marriage logged in the official government record.

Your marriage certificate is also useful as:

A cherished document that has sentimental value to you
Something that you may need to show when applying for other official documents
The best way for you to get your marriage benefits

It may just be a piece of paper to everyone else, but it is your official marriage certificate, and that should mean a lot to you. If you have some sentimentality about things like this, then you will surely understand why people are pretty attached to their marriage certificates.

How to Get Your San Francisco Marriage Certificate

There are a few things that you need to know about getting your . These stipulations apply to every person who takes the time to get one, and you must pay attention to these rules so you know what to expect when you go to get your marriage certificate:

Your marriage certificate will not be available until 10 days after the wedding
You will have to pay a $17.00 processing fee to obtain your marriage certificate

Additionally, you should know that there are various ways that you can request your marriage certificate including:

In-person: You will need to present a valid ID. This is the fastest way to get your hands on your records. Processing time for an in-person visit is approximately 20 minutes
Online: You may submit your request for a marriage certificate online through a partnership that the city government of San Francisco has made with an independent company known as VitalChek Network. They can handle your request and accept payments from all of the major credit card issuers. You should receive your records approximately 5 business days after you have made the request.
Via The Mail: You are always welcome to request your marriage certificate via the mail. If you do so, you will need to make the processing fee check payable to the San Francisco county clerk, and you should also expect to wait approximately 5 business days before your records are in hand.

San Francisco Online

San Francisco website

Phone Number

(800) 669-8312

Mailing Address

Vital Record Mail Services

ATTN: DC Vital Records

P.O. Box 222130

El Paso, TX 79913

What Documents Do You Need to Get Your Records?

There are several documents that you will need to get your marriage certificate. The city government needs to ensure that you are who you say you are, and they need to verify all of this by checking your records against what they have on file. This is the only way that they can ensure that they are issuing documents to the right person. The following documents are necessary:

A valid identification
An application for a certified copy of a confidential marriage certificate (this is something that can be found on the clerk's website)

The importance of these documents cannot be overstated. Therefore, you should make sure you have both on hand if you are going to make an application to receive your marriage certificate.

How Does DoNotPay Help With This?

There is a method that DoNotPay has developed to help people get the marriage certificates that they require, and here is how it works:

If you want to get a Marriage Certificate Copy in San Francisco but don't know where to start, DoNotPay has you covered in 7 easy steps:

Go to the Certificates of Marriage product on DoNotPay.
Select whether the certificate belongs to you or a relative/loved one. If it belongs to someone else, enter the details of both people on the certificate, and select/upload evidence that proves your relationship with them. If the certificate is yours, enter the details of your spouse.
Enter the city, state, and county where the marriage certificate was issued as well as the date it was issued.
Indicate what you will be using this certificate for, and choose whether you need an authorized or certified copy.
Enter your contact information and shipping address. Upload copies of your government-issued identification, such as a driver's license.
Choose whether you would like to electronically sign this form or not. Once we generate the form, verify that all of the information is correct.
If you need the document to be notarized, schedule a notarization appointment using our Notary product. Otherwise, proceed to our Mail Checks product and let DoNotPay mail-in your request form with a check on your behalf.