One Month to get a Marriage License?

This varies county by county - google "LA County Marriage License" (or whichever county you're getting married in) to find the clerk's website to find this information. For example, where we're getting married, the license is good for 6 months (after a 48-hour waiting period) and only 1 person needs to apply, so you could possibly get it without him present! I'd also recommend calling the clerk's office in case you need to make an appointment - I remember seeing someone on here having to make an appointment pretty far in advance.

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Thanks a bunch for the input

I know some of the bigger cities in CA were doing online appointments for marriage licenses at one point because of Covid. You should check if that’s still a thing.
Marriage licenses in CA are valid for 90 days usually (double check LA County but we got married in another CA county and that’s how it was) so maybe if you can do an online appointment it would work?
Otherwise for us, we got the marriage license on the day we went to get it in person. The only thing is we had to make an appointment and I’d think that might be harder to get in a big county like yours. See how long in advance you can make an appointment and make one right as he gets back!

It depends on where you live. In West Virginia (where I live) the marriage license is good for 60 days and is issued immediately so a month is plenty of time.

I just did a quick Google search and it appears the current procedure is to get it virtually, but there are multiple steps in order to do so. Here is the link I found: https://lavote.net/home/county-clerk/marriage-licenses-ceremonies/apply-for-a-marriage-license/apply

It'll be a bit different depending on where you are, so definitely check with the county website and see what it says. In my county (San Luis Obispo, CA) you can apply for the license online but both people need to go in person (with an appointment) to get the license so they can verify your ID and all that good stuff. The license is good for 90 days and issued when you go there in person. We got ours exactly 1 month before our wedding, but then went back 1.5 weeks later to fix a small mistake (groom's mother's maiden name spelled incorrectly, oi...) A month will likely be plenty of time, but since you're in a larger county it would be a good idea to check if you need to both be there in person and if you need an appointment and how long the license is good for.

View Quoted Comment Ah, how funny. We’re getting married in SLO!

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Oh, that's awesome! Another thing to check (which I just thought about) is any restrictions for obtaining the license in the first place. In CA, you can get the license from any county but don't have to get married in that same county. You just have to get married in CA and file the license in the county you received it. But for SLO (and probably other counties), at least one person has a be a resident of SLO county for them to issue the marriage license to you.

What's your venue? I've worked a ton of weddings in the area, so I'm super curious!

It depends on your city and state and you will have to call your local courthouse or license bureau for info. In many states and counties you have 30 days to use your marriage license, but since it varies you better be sure.

In New Hampshire your marriage license is valid the second you get it and good for 90 days. Most states have a waiting period after you get your license of 24 hours to a few days, and the length of time the license is good for can vary from 30 days to 6 months (some states may even be a full year). It's best to research the rules wherever you are getting married. I'm sure LA County or the jurisdiction you are getting married in has information available online; and if not a quick call to City Hall should point you in the right direction. It's probably best to call anyway to see if they have any specific rules due to Covid.

I know our town stopped issuing marriage licenses entirely early during the pandemic and we had to make an appointment in a neighboring town to get our license instead. During non-Covid times you could just walk in to City Hall and get one the same day, no appointment needed.