Marriage License & Ceremony

NAPA COUNTY IS ISSUING MARRIAGE LICENSES TO COUPLES IN WHICH ONE PARTY MUST BE A NAPA COUNTY RESIDENT BY APPOINTMENT ONLY. 

NAPA COUNTY IS PERFORMING WEDDING CEREMONIES ONLY FOR COUPLES WHO OBTAIN THEIR LICENSE IN NAPA COUNTY BY APPOINTMENT ONLY.

PLEASE EMAIL or CALL 707-253-4247 FOR MORE INFORMATION.

UPDATED MAY 1, 2023

Overview

Couples must purchase a marriage license prior to a marriage ceremony from any California County Clerk’s office. A public license is valid for 90 days from the date of issuance. Using a California Marriage License, the ceremony can take place anywhere in the State of California.  

Please read the Name Equality Act of 2007 prior to submitting an application. The Name Equality Act of 2007 requires couples to state on the license the middle and last names they intend to use after the wedding. IF either party wants to change their name, that new name MUST be entered on the marriage license BEFORE purchase.

Please read the information at the link carefully before you complete the marriage license application.

Hours

Please call 707-253-4247 and our staff will assist you with scheduling and issuing a marriage license.

To purchase a license: 

  • Parties (both over 18 years of age) and one of whom is a Napa County resident should contact us at 707-253-4247 to begin the application process.  Once the application is filed both parties must appear in person together at our office at 1127 First Street Ste. A, Napa, CA 94559 (our building is across the alleyway behind 2nd St. Parking Garage) Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays.

    • If either party is under the age of eighteen, a license cannot be issued without a court order. Please contact Family Court Services (FCS) of a California Superior Court to learn more about the process. The Napa County FCS can be reached at 707-299-1130.
  • Parties must have valid, current government issued photo identification such as a driver’s license or passport.
  • Parties must provide all the information requested on the Marriage License Application (use this link to access the application) including parents' full birth names and places of birth.
  • If either party was married previously, the way the marriage ended (divorce, annulment, death, termination of state registered domestic partnership) and the date the marriage ended are required. Napa County does not require documentation regarding the date the marriage ended.
  • There is no waiting period, blood test nor residency requirements to be married in California.

Fee & Payment

The fee for a public license is $83.00. You do not receive proof of your marriage automatically; it is suggested but not required, that a certified copy be pre-paid for at the time the license is issued for an additional $17.00. We do not accept checks with an out of state address but do accept cash, money orders, travelers' checks and all major debit/credit cards. There is an additional $2.50 processing fee charged by our vendor if a debit/credit card is used for payment.

Ceremony

You can make an appointment to have a civil ceremony in our office, performed by our staff, for a $51 fee. We schedule our ceremonies daily, Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays.

NOTE: Couples who will be purchasing their license the same day of their scheduled ceremony should arrive 30 minutes prior to the scheduled time of the ceremony to allow our staff time to complete the license process prior to the ceremony. As a courtesy to other couples and to our staff, if you arrive late, please be prepared to wait or alternately rescheduled to be married at a later date.

We ask that couples bring at least one witness for the ceremony. If needed, our office can provide a witness for a fee of $35.00.

Marriage Commissioner for the Day

It is possible to have a friend or relative deputized as a Deputy Marriage Commissioner for the Day, so he or she can perform your ceremony. The person must be over 18 years of age. Personal appearance is required in our office at 1127 First Street Ste. A, Napa CA 94559 (our building is across the alleyway behind 2nd St. Parking Garage) to be sworn in as a Deputy Marriage Commissioner. Once the oath is taken, the deputy commissioner can perform one ceremony as specified in the oath.

Please complete the Deputy Marriage Commissioner application (PDF) Opens a New Window.  (use this link to access the application) and forward the completed application to [email protected] so that we can make an appointment for you to appear in person. If you wish to bring the application with you, please call us at 707-253-4247 for an appointment. The fee is $63. We do not accept checks with an out of state address but do accept cash, money orders, travelers' checks and all major debit/credit cards. There is an additional $2.50 third party processing fee if a debit/credit card is used for payment.