Get a Marriage License in Santa Barbara County, CA
Here's what to expect at the Clerk, Recorder, Assessor & Elections — fees, what to bring, and where to go.
This county’s own published figure: the page it is printed on ↗
Where the price comes from. Gov. Code § 26840 sets $10 for the license and § 26840.7 requires the clerk to collect $23 more for domestic-violence programs — so the statutory floor is $33, not $10. A board may add up to $5 for the family conciliation court (§ 26840.3) and may set the fee at cost under § 54985(a), which is why the county's figure is the one to bring. The confidential license is priced by different sections again — § 26840.1's $14 plus § 26840.8's $23 — which is why it is usually a few dollars more. Not always: Los Angeles charges less for it.
Anyone eligible may get one. At least one witness — and no more than two — must sign it at the ceremony (Fam. Code § 359(d); § 422(b) repeats it for the certificate). The officiant returns it to the county recorder of the issuing county within 10 days (§ 359(e), § 423(a)), and the completed record is public: a certified copy is $19.00, and anyone may buy at least an informational copy.
Only for two unmarried adults who are already living together as spouses (Fam. Code § 500). This license has no witness line — Part 4 of the Family Code (§§ 500–511) takes it from application to return without mentioning a witness, so there is nobody to sign. The record is not open to public inspection except by court order (§ 511), only a party to the marriage may buy a copy (§ 509), it is returned to the county clerk rather than the recorder (§ 506), and a notary public approved by this office may issue one as well as the clerk (§ 503).
Witnesses — at the ceremony, not at the counter. On a public license the officiant must enter the printed name, signature and mailing address of at least one, and no more than two, witnesses to the ceremony — Fam. Code § 359(d), repeated at § 422(b). One is enough and three is too many. You do not need a witness to collect the license; you need one standing there when you marry, and a public-license ceremony with nobody present but the officiant leaves a line that cannot be completed. A marriage under § 307 — a religious society with no clergy — is the exception that needs two.
No witness to bring? Several California counties will supply one for a civil ceremony at the office, for a fee — Inyo $10, Kings $15, Tehama $30are the ones we have read. Ask before the day: it is the counter's answer to a requirement that would otherwise stop the ceremony.
The address on the license does not have to be your home. An applicant or a witness may ask for a business address or a PO box to appear instead of a residential one (Fam. Code §§ 351.5, 351.6). It is a right you have to ask for, not a form you have to file.
At the counter. Both parties appear together, in person (§ 359(a)), each with authentic photo identification — and if you have none, § 354(a) allows a credible witness affidavit in its place. The license expires 90 days after issue (§ 356). There is no waiting period, no blood test and no residency requirement — searched across the whole of Family Code Division 3, which contains neither phrase. If a party cannot physically appear, § 426 lets the clerk issue to the officiant on a sworn affidavit with the absent signature notarized.
Check the county website for the Clerk, Recorder, Assessor & Elections's office address and hours.
This page shows the best information we have for Santa Barbara County. Fees and hours may vary — call ahead to confirm before visiting.
Getting married somewhere else in California? See the California marriage license guide for statewide requirements and fees.