WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO LICENSES IN CALIFORNIA, THE CONFIDENTIAL AND THE PUBLIC?
Marriage Licenses Confidential License/Standard License (Public) I am authorized to issue the Confidential Marriage License for Los Angeles County as a Notary Public. This makes it very convenient for my couples as they do not have to stand in line at the County Recorder?s Office. However, I also issue licenses to couples I am not marrying. Please call my office for details on this process. In California we have two types of Licenses the Confidential and the Public. The Confidential was originally started for couples who had been living together and wanted to avoid the dreaded blood test. So starting around 1969 many couples avoided the blood test by taking out a Confidential License, stating that they had been living together. In 1970 California began to allow Notaries Public to issue the Confidential Licenses as a convenience to the public. You could still get the other license (with the blood test) if you went to a County office. However, in 1995 California did away with the Blood T
