Free Kern County Marriage Records Lookup & License Search

Access free Kern County marriage records to perform a genealogy search on someone’s family or to learn more about a friend, family member, or potential future partner.

These records may be needed for important business or legal purposes or just desired out of curiosity. Whatever your reason for seeking marital records in Kern County, the California Public Records Act makes this information publicly available.

Each county has its own methods of allowing people to look up and request marriage records. Understanding which marriage records are available and how to track them down is extremely helpful when searching; this resource provides everything you need to know to view and acquire marriage records in Kern County, California.

This resource was written by Attorney Robert Bailey Jr, who holds a Juris Doctorate from Widener University School of Law.

How To Acquire Kern County Marriage Records on Anyone

If a citizen is trying to figure out where to locate marital records, they can do so through the Kern County Assessor-Recorder.¹

Interested parties can request a certified or informational copy directly through their office.

To request a certified copy, you must be either listed on the marriage record or a qualified family member (e.g., spouse, domestic partner, child, sibling, grandparent, grandchild). A certified copy can also be provided to law enforcement or other types of government officials for official business or a person authorized to represent a person listed on the marriage certificate or their estate.

An informational copy that is not used for official business or legal reasons is less restrictive and can be requested by anyone through the same process as outlined below.

While certain marriage licenses are available to the public, a couple can choose at the time of applying for a license to make it confidential. When this occurs, a marriage record is even further limited to the two married parties or through a court order.

A citizen can request nuptial information by completing the Application for Certified Copy of Marriage Record (for a confidential marriage record, you can use their Application for Certified Confidential Marriage Record Form).^{2, 3}

The marriage record request will cost you $17.00, and that fee and completed application should be sent to the address below:

Kent County Recorder’s Office
1655 Chester Ave.
Bakersfield, California 933301

You can also order in person by going to the same location. They are open for business Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM. For additional questions about obtaining a marriage record, you can call them at 661-868-6400 or by emailing [email protected].

A citizen looking to request a marriage record from home can order through an approved third-party online vendor, VitalChek. When using this service, there are additional fees for shipping and processing.

Sometimes, you may be afforded the opportunity to access or request a marriage record from a local city government. In certain cases, they explicitly identify marriage records, while others provide a general public records request. For example, the city of Delano in Kern County provides a public records request that can be submitted to the City Clerk.⁴

For questions on the availability of marriage records, you can contact them by phone at 661-720-2228. They are available Monday through Friday, from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. You can also choose to talk to someone in person at the address below:

Delano City Clerk
1015 11th Ave. City Hall, 1st Fl. 
Delano, California 93215

If you are looking for older archived marriage records, the next section will discuss how you can find them and submit a request.

How Do You Access Historical Marital Records for Genealogical Purposes in Kern County California?

A citizen often has the need to access archived marriage records in Kern County. This is most often seen when someone is engaged in performing a genealogy search to learn more about their family roots.

To access these archived marriage records, a person can make a request with the Kern County Assessor-Recorder. They are the sole custodian of all marriage records in the county, and the county does not maintain a separate archives office for older records.

To request an archived marriage record, you can follow the process outlined in the previous section. For additional questions about archived marriage records, you can contact the Kern County Assessor Recorder’s Office by phone at 661-868-6400 or by sending them an email to [email protected].⁵

If you are still in need of archived marriage records, you can consider looking in other places such as public libraries, historical societies and religious institutions. These documents may be found in newspapers and various types of marriage indexes and records.

When looking through archived records, it’s important to know that while common law marriage once existed in California, it has been abolished since 1895. However, California does recognize common law marriages that were already established in a state where it is legal.

In addition, California does recognize domestic partnerships, which are registered through the Secretary of State.

Lastly, you can also search for Kern County marriage information through the California State Archives.⁶ For additional information on this statewide option, a person can review their Frequently Asked Questions.

How Do You Look Up California Marriage Records Outside of Kern County?

You now have the tools and resources necessary to access all available Kern County records of marriage. However, you may have a need to view marriage records from some other counties in California.

One option is to go to the local government agency responsible for maintaining these records if you know the county that issued the marriage license. However, this may be a cumbersome process.

Your quickest and broadest option is to make a request with the California Department of Public Health Vital Records Office.⁷ They have marriage records available from 1905 to the present, with the exception of a few years (2000 to 2007 and 2023). A citizen can still reach out to the county recorder where the marriage license was issued for records from these years.

The California Department of Public Health’s Vital Records Office provides both a certified informational and a certified copy. The informational copy can be requested by any citizen. The Certified Copy (which can be used for various business or legal reasons) is restricted to a small group of people outlined below:

• Individuals listed on the marriage records
• Family members, including the registrant’s spouse, parents, legal guardian, domestic partner, grandparent, grandchild, sibling and child
• Law enforcement or other government agency for the purpose of conducting official business
• A party authorized through a court order
• An individual authorized by statute or court order to act on behalf of the registrant or their estate

To request either of these copies, a person can submit an Application for Certified Copy of Marriage Record by mail to the address below:⁸

California Department of Public Health
Vital Records Office – MS 5103
P.O. Box 997410
Sacramento, California 95899

The cost of a marriage certificate is $17.00. Additional fees may apply if you choose to use an online option.

For additional questions, you can contact the Vital Records Office by phone at 916-445-2684 or by email at [email protected].¹⁰

Here are the third-party online options that have been approved by the Vital Records Office:

• VitalChek
• State Vital Records
• Vital Records Online

How To Request a Kern County California Marriage License

If you are considering exchanging vows with your significant other, then it is important to know the steps for requesting a marriage license in Kern County. Interested and qualifying parties can obtain a marriage license directly through the Kern County Clerk.¹¹

As discussed earlier, parties can either request a public or confidential marriage license. The fee for a public license is $101, and a confidential license is more expensive at $123.00. Regardless of which type of license you request, you have 90 days to get married before the license expires.

To be eligible for a marriage license, both parties must be present in person when they make their request. In addition, both parties must be at least 18 years old (or meet additional consent requirements) and present a valid and unexpired government-issued photo identification. Also, the process can be expedited if a birth certificate is also provided.

If either party was divorced in the last 90 days, a copy of the final divorce decree must be shown when applying for a marriage license.

An eligible couple can complete a Kern County Marriage License Application and show up together at the address below:¹²

Kern County Administrative Building
1115 Truxtun Ave., 1st Fl.
Bakersfield, California 93301

There is no option to make an appointment, however, a couple can walk in any time from 8:30 AM to 3:00 PM, Monday through Friday. If you did not complete the application in advance, you can do so on one of the Kern County Clerk’s public computers.

Note: If you are a minor and want to request a marriage license, call the Kern County Family Court Services at 661.868.5393 for additional information.

If you have any additional questions about applying for a marriage license, visit the Kern County Clerk at the above address or give them a call at 661.868.3588. They are available to answer your questions from 8:30 AM to 3:00 PM, Monday through Friday.

Use the information provided in this article to better understand the marriage license process and the types of records available to the general public. With the tools and resources outlined above, you’re now prepared to conduct a search of Kern County marriage records.