Get a Marriage License in Tuolumne County, CA
Here's what to expect at the County Clerk — fees, what to bring, and where to go.
A civil ceremony at the office is a separate $42.50.
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.
Call or check the county website for the County Clerk's office address and hours.
This page shows the best information we have for Tuolumne 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.