A certified copy of a San Mateo County marriage certificate can be obtained in several ways, as detailed below. If you have any questions, please email [email protected] or call +1 (415) 655-9455.

Please note that informational marriage certificates that bear a disclaimer—such as “INFORMATIONAL, NOT A VALID DOCUMENT TO ESTABLISH IDENTITY”—are not eligible for California Secretary of State apostille certification. You must obtain an official certified copy of the marriage certificate.

Please also note that the certified copy will only be issued by the county in which the marriage license was purchased, regardless of the county in which the ceremony was performed.

IMPORTANT: If the marriage was confidential, only the parties to the marriage can obtain a certified copy of the marriage certificate, and only by appearing in person at the Assessor-Recorder’s office. The only exception to this is if another individual is authorized by court order. The instructions below pertain to non-confidential marriages only.

Fastest: In Person

The fastest way to obtain a certified copy of a San Mateo County marriage certificate is to pick it up in person at the County Clerk-Recorder’s Office. You are only allowed to pick up a certified copy of a marriage certificate for yourself and your child, legal ward, parent, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, spouse, or domestic partner, as well as any clients who have extended power of attorney to you.

If you plan to obtain the marriage certificate in person, book an appointment in advance at the Redwood City office.

In case you are unable to pick up the certificate in person, we can obtain the certified copy for you. You will need appear before a notary either in person or through remote online notarization to sign a limited power of attorney that gives us authority to retrieve the marriage certificate. We can help to arrange an electronic notarization—please contact us to discuss.

Once we receive the notarized power of attorney (via mail for in-person notarization or via certified PDF for an electronic notarization), our authorized agent will travel to the Clerk-Recorder’s Office to retrieve the certified copy of the marriage certificate.

Medium: Order Online

You can order a certified copy of the San Mateo County marriage certificate online through a California-approved third-party vendor such as VitalChek, State Vital Records, or Vital Records Online. You can choose to have it delivered to yourself and then mail it to us, or you can send it directly to us. Before sending us a marriage certificate, please email us at [email protected] with the following information:

• Your name, telephone number, and current physical location
• The name, address, telephone number, and email address of the person to whom we will ship the apostilled marriage certificate
• The destination country (e.g. France)
• The physical location of the marriage certificate or ordering status if you ordered one

Please note: Some third-party processors are quoting up to six weeks or more to deliver your certified copy. If you cannot wait that long, choose the in-person option instead.

Slowest: Order through the Mail

Option 1: Order the marriage certificate from San Mateo County

You can order a certified copy of a marriage certificate by mail from the San Mateo County Clerk-Recorder. In this case, you will need to sign the form before a local notary or an online notary and then mail the form and a check or money order to the issuing agency.

Please be sure to complete all fields in the application when applying by mail. Also, be careful to order an Official Certified Copy, not an Informational Certified Copy.

You can choose to have San Mateo County marriage certificate delivered to yourself and then mail it to us, or you can have the certificate shipped directly to us by adding our information in the “Mailing Address” field on the application.

C/O SF Notary + Apostille, 2511 Carlsbad Ave., Sacramento, CA 95821

Option 2: Order the marriage certificate from the State of California

You can also order a certified copy of a marriage certificate by mail from the California Department of Public Health – Vital Records. Note: the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) can only provide records of public marriages that occurred between 1905 to 1999 and 2008 to 2023. Certified copies of marriage certificates for any marriages that occurred from 2000 to 2007 or after 2023 must be obtained from the San Mateo County Recorder.

You will need to sign the form before a local notary or an online notary and then mail the form and a check or money order to the issuing agency.

Please be sure to complete all fields in the application when applying by mail. Also, be careful to order an AUTHORIZED COPY, not an INFORMATIONAL COPY.

You can choose to have CDPH marriage certificate delivered to yourself and then mail it to us, or you can have the certificate shipped directly to us by adding our information in the “Mailing Address” fields on the application.

C/O SF Notary + Apostille, 2511 Carlsbad Ave.
95821 Sacramento CA USA

Prior to ordering the marriage certificate from the County or State

Whichever mail-order option you select, please email us at [email protected] with the following information before sending us a marriage certificate:

• Your name, telephone number, and current physical location
• The name, address, telephone number, and email address of the person to whom we will ship the apostilled marriage certificate
• The destination country (e.g. France)
• The physical location of the marriage certificate or ordering status if you ordered one

Please note: government agencies can take several weeks to deliver your certified copy. If time is a concern, choose the in-person option instead.

The instructions on this page only apply to San Mateo County marriage certificates. If you need a marriage certificate from another county that is not San Mateo, please visit that county’s website for instructions. Each county uses different forms and employs different processes.

If you have any questions, please email [email protected] or call +1 (415) 655-9455.

Disclaimer: Information on this website is for informational purposes only. These instructions are based on our knowledge and experience and are meant to be helpful; however, they might contain errors. Please let us know if you encounter mistakes so that we can promptly correct them. SF Notary + Apostille is not a law firm, and its agents are not attorneys. Please contact a licensed attorney or your local bar association for counsel on legal matters.