New Law Allows Marriage Applicants to Choose Names

 

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                  
January 6, 2009                                                     CONTACT:    Marcia Ventura (562) 462-2726 or                                                                                                            Eileen Shea      (562) 462-2648

                                               

NEW LAW ALLOWS MARRIAGE LICENSE APPLICANTS TO CHOOSE NAME(S)

Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk (RR/CC) Dean Logan announced today that the Name Equality Act of 2007 (AB 102, Chapter 567, Statutes of 2007) went into effect on January 1, 2009.  The new law provides that California marriage license applicants have the right to indicate the last name(s) that will appear on their marriage license.  Under the new law the first names of the parties may not be changed.

At the time of applying for a marriage license individuals may provide the new name(s) on the marriage license application.  They may choose one of the following middle or last name options that will appear on their marriage license and marriage certificate:

• Current last name of the other spouse;

• Last name of either spouse given at birth;

• A name combining into a single last name, all or a segment of the current last name, or last name of either spouse given at birth;

• A hyphenated combination of last names.

 

Once the marriage takes place, amendments to add or change the new last name(s) cannot be made.

A certified copy of the marriage certificate containing the new name(s), or retaining the former name(s), shall constitute proof that the use of the new name(s) is legal.

Prior to applying for a marriage license, it is recommended that parties contact any local, state, federal or private agency regarding their requirements for acceptable documents to have name changes on their records after marriage.

Parties who have questions regarding whether or not to list a new name(s) on the marriage license application or how the Name Equality Act of 2007 might affect them, should consult an attorney before applying for a marriage license.  The County Clerk may not answer questions of a legal nature nor advise individuals about how to complete the marriage license application as it relates to entry of a new name(s) or retention of a former name(s).

Persons requiring multilingual assistance in Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, Tagalog/Filipino or Vietnamese regarding information in this press release, can call (800) 481-8683.

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