Los Angeles County residents will soon face higher costs for marriage licenses following a unanimous vote by the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday. The fee for a standard marriage license will increase from $91 to $176, while a confidential marriage license will rise from $85 to $220. The changes will take effect in 30 days.
Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk Dean Logan explained in a letter to the board that the fee hike is necessary to cover cost-of-living adjustments for county employees since 2009, the last time the marriage license fee was increased. Additionally, the increase accounts for operational enhancements and mandated changes, such as the inclusion of same-sex marriages in 2013.
Other related fees will also see an increase. The cost of a civil wedding ceremony at the L.A. County Clerk’s Office in Norwalk will rise from $35 to $44, and the ceremony witness fee will increase from $20 to $26.
Logan noted that the current fees no longer reflect the actual costs of providing these services and do not account for inflationary factors or mandated minimum wage increases. A survey of marriage fees in other counties showed that the average fee for a marriage license is $100, with San Diego County having the highest current license cost at $129.
The fee increases are expected to boost the Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk’s annual revenue by approximately $5.1 million. The new fees will bring Los Angeles County’s costs closer to those of neighboring counties, where marriage license fees range from $61 in Orange County to $129 in San Diego County.
Recent Comments