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Cal. Family Code § 300 (2026)

✓ current as of May 2026
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(a)Marriage is a personal relation arising out of a civil contract between two persons, to which the consent of the parties capable of making that contract is necessary. Consent alone does not constitute marriage. Consent must be followed by the issuance of a license and solemnization as authorized by this division, except as provided by Section 425 and Part 4 (commencing with Section 500).

(b)For purposes of this part, the document issued by the county clerk is a marriage license until it is registered with the county recorder, at which time the license becomes a marriage certificate.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 26 cases (3 in the last 5 years), 1997–2025 · leading case: Lockyer v. City & Cnty. of San Francisco, 95 P.3d 459 (Cal. 2004).
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People v. Amesquita CA5 (Cal. Ct. App. 2025). “4 The probation report describes Hernandez as Rubio’s “common-law wife.”
Marriage of V.S. & V.K. (Cal. Ct. App. 2023). “For example, a valid marriage in California requires that the parties obtain a license (Fam. Code, § 300, subd. (a)), whereas there is no such requirement under the Act.”
Bovaird v. Bovaird (Ariz. Ct. App. 2022). “2005); Cal. Fam. Code §§ 300 (a), 308; Nev. Rev.”
Jack Pidgeon & Larry Hicks v. Mayor Sylvester Turner & City of Houston, 538 S.W.3d 73 (2017). “Code § 9-11-109 (1997); Cal. Fam. Code § 300 (1992); Colo. Rev. Stat.”
Schuett v. FedEx Corp., 119 F. Supp. 3d 1155 (N.D. Cal. 2016). “Generally, the statutory requirements for a valid marriage under California law are the consent of the parties, see Cal. Fam. Code §§ 300 , et seq.; the issuance of a license, see Cal.”
Eustice v. Eustice, 242 Cal. App. 4th 1291 (Cal. Ct. App. 2015). “) 4 “Effective January 1, 1994, Family Code section 300 et seq. superseded the Family Law Act without substantive change.”
Latta v. Otter, 779 F.3d 902 (2015). “See also Cal. Fam.Code § 300 (permitting same-sex marriage); Conn.”
Martinez v. Ilem (Ariz. Ct. App. 2015). · cites it 2× “ILEM Decision of the Court (“the officiant”) must solemnize the marriage and, before solemnizing, the officiant must ensure the couple has obtained a marriage license; fourth, the officiant must authenticate the marriage by signing the certificate of registry and arrange for at…”
Wiles v. Pratt CA4/3 (Cal. Ct. App. 2013). “Indeed, many statutes so require: Family Code section 300, subdivision (a): “Marriage is a personal relation arising out of a civil contract between a man and a woman, to which the consent of the parties capable of making that contract is necessary.”
Perry v. Brown, 671 F.3d 1052 (9th Cir. 2012). · cites it 2× “See Cal. Fam. Code § 300 (a). Following the enactment of the Defense of Marriage Act of 1996, Pub.”
Kristin Perry v. Edmund G. Brown, Jr. (9th Cir. 2012). “See Cal. Fam. Code § 300 (a). Following the enactment of the Defense of Marriage Act of 1996, Pub.”
Cantarella v. Cantarella, 191 Cal. App. 4th 916 (Cal. Ct. App. 2011). · cites it 2× “Effective January 1, 1994, Family Code section 300 et seq. superseded the Family Law Act without substantive change.”
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