Marriage license info scrutinized?

Yes, they will most definitely be looking at this information. They request your parents’ names at birth (and oftentimes place of their births) for 2 reasons - to ensure the couple getting married are not related by blood, and also as a verification system to check your identity. Say, for instance, your name is John Smith. There are probably hundreds, if not thousands, of John Smiths in California. So they would use your parents’ names as a system of checks to ensure they are choosing the correct John Smith in their system.

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Thank you, Cece. I guess if they know who we are, then it just happens. I have to hope and assume there are privacy laws that prevent them from telling the world about it.

But I do have question this description of a system they check. There is no way they have a system that lists every single person in the country (or world really).

And the second reason I question this checking a system theory is because they issue these licenses in an hour at the county building. AND some officiants even have the ability to issue your license right before your wedding ceremony.

So I doubt the "system". But I guess we just have to get over the worry of them putting dots together when they see all the details of our form and blabbing to...people. Again, maybe they have to keep this stuff private since it's their job (and we're doing the confidential marriage).

Thanks again, Cece.

Girl what? They do not care about your personal business. Who would they blab to ? they don't know you. They process marriage licenses all the time they do not have time to put the "dots together"...

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The media.

They read the details and verify your identity because they have to make sure you’re not already married. They likely don’t care who you are or who you’re related too, especially if they are in a county where they come across other well-known people a lot.

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Cracking up lol. Who do you think yall are ? This sounds crazy. Maybe just call and ask before you go..

If you've been through the hell we've been through, you wouldn't be cracking up.

Sarah--thank you, you're right.

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Maybe not but again call before you go. Unless you are a celebrity or something to that extent the media most likely would not care so they would have no reason to disclose whatever information you are not disclosing for "privacy reasons".

License clerks in LA (and NYC and many other cities) process information for famous and wealthy people every day. I promise that if you have to ask this question on an Internet forum and not a trusted PR/media relations adviser, you are not important enough for a clerk to care who you are and talk to “the media” about your impending marriage.