Who Holds San Mateo County Marriage and Divorce Records
Two offices handle these records, and they are not the same place. Marriage records sit with the San Mateo County Clerk-Recorder, a separate elected office that runs the county vital records counter at 555 County Center, First Floor, Redwood City. That office issues the license, records the marriage after the ceremony, and sells certified copies. The official page is the San Mateo County Clerk-Recorder home.
Divorce case files live with the Superior Court of California, County of San Mateo. Family law cases are filed at the Hall of Justice and Records and are managed by the court's Family Law Division. A certificate of dissolution may also be issued through the Clerk-Recorder once the judgment is final, but the case docket, the orders, the pleadings, and the support file all belong to the court. The same split shows up on the court's divisions and self-help pages, where family law is its own track.
Note: The Clerk-Recorder is not the Clerk of the Superior Court. They share a county campus and a postal code, yet they are run by different elected officials.
Getting a San Mateo County Marriage License
Marriage licenses come out of the County Clerk Division at 555 County Center, First Floor, Redwood City, CA 94063-1665. Hours are 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, with an appointment line at (650) 599-1713 and walk-ins welcome. Both parties must show up in person and hand the clerk a valid government-issued photo ID. Blood tests are no longer required in California. The clerk's office says the visit may take about 30 minutes, less if the couple finished the Online Marriage License Application before arrival.
California Family Code section 306 is the basic license rule: a marriage must be licensed, solemnized, and authenticated to be valid. The license is valid for 90 days, and the ceremony may take place anywhere in California. The signed license must be returned to the County Clerk within 10 days after the ceremony so the marriage certificate can be created. A couple who has been divorced within the past 90 days must bring a certified copy of that dissolution. Foreign-language dissolution papers need a certified English translation.
The Clerk-Recorder accepts cash and Visa or MasterCard for the license. The fee does not include a certified copy of the marriage certificate. The full marriage license page lives at smcacre.gov/county-clerk-recorder/applying-marriage-license.
The Clerk-Recorder publishes the marriage license rules and the appointment process on its applying-marriage-license page. View the official requirements. The screen shot below is the page couples land on when they begin the process.
The page lists ID rules, the 90-day rule, the appointment line, and links to the online pre-application that cuts down counter time.
How to Apply for a San Mateo County Marriage License
The steps below match what the Clerk-Recorder posts for in-person license issuance. They apply to public and confidential marriage licenses the same way, with one small change in the form set.
- Fill out the online pre-application at smcacre.gov before the visit. This saves time at the counter and reduces typos in the recorded record.
- Book a slot at (650) 599-1713, or plan a walk-in within the 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. window. Both parties must arrive together.
- Bring valid government-issued photo ID for each party. Driver license, state ID, passport, or military ID all work.
- If a prior marriage ended within the past 90 days, bring a certified copy of that dissolution. Bring a certified English translation if the dissolution is in another language.
- Sign the license in front of the clerk. Both parties must sign, and the names on the license must match the IDs.
- Pay the license fee in cash or by Visa/MasterCard. There is no waiting period in California, so the license is handed over the same day.
- Get married within 90 days, anywhere in the state. The officiant signs the license and returns it to the County Clerk within 10 days so the certificate can be recorded.
Note: A certified marriage certificate is a separate purchase and is not part of the license fee.
Marriage License Application Fields
The certified-copy application is the form most people see in writing. Its field list shows what the clerk asks for and what level of proof is needed. The table below is pulled straight from the official Application for Certified Copy of Marriage Record published by the San Mateo County Clerk-Recorder.
| Field | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Type of Vital Record | Yes | Marriage; Public; Confidential. |
| Official or Informational Copy | Yes | Official needs a relationship pick and a notarized sworn statement by mail. Informational does not. |
| Print Name of Applicant | Yes | Person filling out the form. |
| Signature and Sworn Date | Conditional | Required for an official copy by mail. |
| Residential Address, City, State, ZIP | Yes | Number, street, city, state, ZIP code. |
| Mailing Address (if different) | Optional | Used when the mail address is not the home address. |
| Telephone Number | Yes | Daytime contact. |
| Number of Copies and Dollar Amount Enclosed | Yes | Fee paid by preprinted check or money order. |
| Driver License or Government ID Number | Yes | Used to confirm identity. |
| Party A and Party B Names | Yes | First, middle, last name at birth or prior name before marriage. |
| County Office Where License Was Purchased | Yes | Must match the county that issued the license. |
| Date of Marriage | Yes | Month, day, year. |
San Mateo County Marriage and Divorce Fees
Fees split across two offices. The Clerk-Recorder lists license and certificate prices on its marriage fee page and on the wider vital records fee page. The Superior Court lists family law copy fees in its court records fee schedule.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Public marriage license | $79 |
| Confidential marriage license | $80 |
| Duplicate or replacement license | $5 |
| Standard ceremony at the Clerk's chapel | $65 |
| Internet wedding cam supplement | $50 |
| Deputize Marriage Commissioner (for one day) | $60 |
| Certified marriage certificate, general public | $19 |
| Certified copy of marriage or domestic partnership dissolution record | $15 |
| Copy of any record or paper on file with the court | $0.50 per side |
| Certifying a copy of any paper on file | $40 |
The image below is the official vital records fee page that backs these prices. View the fee schedule. The numbers update from time to time, so confirm before mailing a check.
The same page shows that payment by mail must be a check or money order made out to the San Mateo County Clerk-Recorder.
How to Look Up San Mateo County Marriage Records
A marriage record search starts at the Clerk-Recorder. The office sells in-person certified copies at the 555 County Center counter, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, with a valid photo ID. A mail request needs a notarized sworn statement on the back of the form, plus Party A and Party B names as they appear on the license, the date of marriage, and the county office that issued the license. The full instructions are on the marriage certificates page.
Pre-1966 marriage records sit in off-site storage. The clerk asks for 24-hour notice and may need an extra one or two days to pull the file. Mail processing usually runs about two weeks once the application arrives, so plan ahead if the certificate is needed for a name change, a passport, or a Social Security update.
The image below is the official Clerk-Recorder page that explains the mail and walk-in steps. View the marriage certificates page. The page also flags that confidential marriage records have stricter access rules than public ones.
Note: The Clerk only sells a copy of a record it issued, so a couple licensed in another county must ask that county for the certificate.
How to Find San Mateo County Divorce Records
Divorce records and the court file behind them live with the Superior Court Family Law Division at the Hall of Justice and Records, 400 County Center, Redwood City. Family law documents are currently held back from the public Odyssey online portal, so the file itself is not searchable from a home computer. The court's divorce and legal separation self-help page walks through the steps and forms.
Anyone who wants a copy must ask the court's Records Management Division. The request goes by mail with the case number, the names of both parties, the rough filing date or document title, a stamped return envelope, and a blank "not to exceed" check made out to the Superior Court. Most non-confidential family law documents can be released this way. Custody evaluations, child welfare reports, and any sealed orders stay out of public view.
California Family Code section 2320 sets the basic residency rule: a spouse must have lived in California for six months and in the county for three months before filing. That rule decides whether San Mateo is the right venue for the case in the first place. A petition filed without the right residency can be tossed.
The court's self-help screenshot is here for reference. View the divorce self-help entry point.
The self-help track sends most users to the court's Family Law Facilitator for free in-person help with forms.
How to File for Divorce in San Mateo County
The steps below mirror the Family Law Division's own filing path. They apply to a dissolution and to a legal separation, with small form changes.
- Confirm California residency. Family Code section 2320 calls for six months in the state and three months in the county.
- Pull the forms from the California Courts self-help site and the San Mateo Family Law Division.
- File the petition with the Family Law Division at 400 County Center, Redwood City.
- Pay the filing fee or file a fee waiver request if income limits are met.
- Serve the other spouse or partner through a third party, not yourself.
- Complete the financial disclosure forms, including income and expense and schedule of assets and debts.
- Work out custody, visitation, support, property, and debts, by agreement if possible.
- File the judgment paperwork, then request certified dissolution copies from Records Management.
San Mateo County Family Law Help
Two free resources sit in front of most self-represented filers. The court's Family Law Facilitator helps with child support, spousal support, custody orders, and the paperwork that goes with a divorce, parentage, or domestic violence case. The office is part of the court's Self-Help Center and is described on the facilitator page.
The second is the Domestic Violence Restraining Order Clinic, run with Bay Area Legal Aid. It is listed on the county Domestic Violence Council page at smcgov.org/dvc and helps petitioners draft and file DVROs, which often run side by side with a divorce case. Both services are free and do not need a means test for basic help.
Note: The facilitator is a neutral court office and cannot give private legal advice or take sides in a case.
Contact the San Mateo County Clerk-Recorder
The Clerk-Recorder is the first stop for a marriage license, a marriage certificate, or a certified dissolution copy listed as a vital record. Walk-in service is at the 555 County Center counter on the first floor.
San Mateo County Clerk-Recorder, County Clerk Division
555 County Center, First Floor
Redwood City, CA 94063-1665
(650) 363-4500
Appointments: (650) 599-1713
Email: CountyClerk@smcacre.gov
Hours: Mon-Fri 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
For broader county records, see the San Mateo County public records page. For court file copy requests, see the Clerk of the Superior Court.
Remote and Confidential Marriage Records
The Clerk-Recorder still offers a remote marriage license with a virtual ceremony under special or emergency circumstances. Both adult applicants must be physically in California, at least one must be a San Mateo County resident, and each must have a different email address, a valid photo ID, high-speed internet, and Microsoft Teams. Requests go to CountyClerk@smcacre.gov along with the completed application and any dissolution proof if a prior marriage ended within the past 90 days.
Confidential marriage licenses are also issued in San Mateo County. The record is not open to the public the way a regular marriage license is. Only the spouses or a person with a court order can buy a certified copy. The application fields are the same, but the access rules are tighter, and the clerk will not confirm the existence of a confidential record to anyone else.
The image below shows the Clerk-Recorder home page where these services start. View the Clerk-Recorder home page. The page links to fees, forms, and the office hours that apply to walk-ins.
California State Vital Records Office
The state-level office is California Department of Public Health, Vital Records (CDPH-VR). It keeps a backup index of every marriage and divorce recorded statewide and sells certified copies by mail when the county cannot. CDPH-VR processing runs much slower than the county counter, so it is the right channel only when the county of record is unknown or unreachable.
California Department of Public Health, Vital Records
MS 5103, P.O. Box 997410
Sacramento, CA 95899-7410
(916) 445-2684