Home » Blog » Tips and Guides » Definitive Guide to San Francisco City Hall Weddings and Elopements
(UPDATED OCTOBER 2023)
As San Francisco City Hall wedding photographers, we’ve become very familiar with San Francisco City Hall weddings and Elopements. But when we got married, we were so clueless that we assumed the officiant would bring the marriage license. Despite having thrown a big party we realized that we weren’t even married. So we decided to elope, but we had such a hard time finding good easy to understand information on how to get married at San Francisco City Hall that we ended just flying to Vegasbecause that seemed easier.
What we didn’t know at the time is that SF City Hall weddings are affordable, fun, and the building is stunning with lots of opportunities for beautiful photos. As wedding photographers we have become super familiar with the process and we hope this guide will make planning your City Hall elopement super easy and stress free.
Where do I go?
When you check in for your license or ceremony, or to make an appointment, you’ll go directly to the County Clerk’s office in San Francisco City Hall, Room 168. 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, San Francisco, CA, 94102. The Phone number is (415) 554-4950.
We suggest using the polk street entrance and when you are facing the grand staircase, the County Clerk’s office is located in the far right corner of the building.
What does it cost?
Monday – Friday: You can expect to pay $120 for The marriage license and $103 for the civil ceremony, or you can rent the fourth floor or the Mayor’s Balcony for aprivate ceremony, and those start at $1,000 for one hour.
Saturdays: City Hall offers atwo hour package that starts at$5,000, but it’s only available on Saturday morning, 9:00am-12:00pm.
Evenings & Weekends: You can reserve various spaces in city hall for extended periods of time during the evening or the weekends from $10,000-$30,000 (depening on your guest count). Go here for the full rental rates.
Do I need an Appointment?
100% yes, they do not accept walk-ins. You’ll need to make two appointments, one for the license and one for the ceremony. If you do both on the same day, you should make the license appointment about an hour before the ceremony. You can make reservations up to ninety days in advance, so if you’re set on a date/time you should make an appointment as soon as possible.
How do I make an Appointment?
You, or a third party, can go directly to the County Clerk’s Office Monday through Friday 8:00am to 4:00pm, or you can just schedule and pay for an appointment through the online reservation system:https://sfgov.org/countyclerk/marriage-license-and-civilcommitment-ceremony-online-reservations
What times can I get married?
Appointments are available for ceremonies 9am through 3:30pm Monday-Friday. City Hall highly recommends you check for ceremony availability before you make your marriage license reservation, in case you’re planning on doing both on the same day. We usually suggest booking in the afternoon so that we can catch the sunset, or at least some of that evening light, for your portraits.
How many people can I bring?
For civil ceremonies the rule is six people, but we’ve seen people push it a little and nobody is really counting. If you have more than six, you should consider reserving one of the private one hour wedding spots, located on the fourth floor (60 person capacity) and the Mayor’s Balcony (40 person capacity).
What do I need for a Marriage License?
Both parties must be at least age 18 and unmarried with a valid legal photo identification card (ie. passport, driver’s license, military ID). If you’re under 18 then you are only eligible for a public marriage license and will need written consent of at least one parent (or legal guardian) and written permission from a San Francisco Juvenile Court Judge.
When do I get my Marriage Certificate?
You’ll received a novelty marriage certificate but it’s essentially worthless and you just need to wait for it to arrive in the mail, expedited service for copies is not available.You should expect to wait6-12 weeksto receive your certificate, so make sure to file your request for certified copies at the time of your marriage.
Who officiates the marriage?
City hall staffs a number of amazing officiants who all work there on a volunteer basis and officiate the civil ceremonies. In our experience they are all wonderful and each bring their own unique touch to the ceremonies.
If you’re having a private ceremony or you’d just like a friend to officiate your wedding, the County Clerk can deputize anyoneover 18. You can just walk-in Monday through Thursday, 8:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. The Fee is $143.00 and it onlytakes about 30 minutes.
Do I need a witness?
It depends on the type of marriage license you get. With aPublic Marriage License the record of marriageis made available to the public andyou’ll need at least one witness at the ceremony. We are happy to be your witness if need be, it’s been done before.
With aConfidential Marriage License, no witness is required, and the marriage record is only available to the parties on the marriage license.Applicants for a confidential marriage license must be living together but no proof is required, and as far as we can tell it’s more of a formality that nobody enforces.
Where do they do the Ceremony?
Civil ceremonies are held in the Rotunda at the top of the main staircase, while Private ceremonies are held on the fourth floor and the Mayor’s Balcony. Occasionally, on slow days, we’ve seen officiants take a couple up to the fourth floor. No harm in asking, it seems to be completely up to them.
If you have a small group and you really want to avoid the rotunda, consider bringing your own officiant and then you can do the ceremony pretty much anywhere you want.
Pro Tip: If you know someone who works at City Hall or have some connections with someone in local government, you might be able to get yourself access to the secret rooftop balcony for your wedding ceremony.
Is there parking?
There are a couple parking options at City Hall. There is a parking lot located underneath the plaza called the Civic Center Plaza Garage, 355 McAllister Street (at Polk), (415) 863-1537.
If that lot is full, you can look for public parking around that plaza or head to thePerforming Arts Garage at 360 Grove Street (at Gough), (415) 252-8238.
Can I contact someone there?
For Monday-Friday license and ceremony issues you can contact the County Clerk’s office,the phone number is (415) 554-4950
For Private events you can contact the City Hall Events Office, the phone number is (415) 554-6079.
Additional contacts:
- Abby Bauss, Senior Events Coordinator, Rental contact for: EveningEvents, Weekend Events, Galas and Corporate Celebrations.abby.bauss@sfgov.org
- Kelly Kuang, Events Coordinator, Rental contact for: EveningWeddings, Weekend Weddings,Two-hour Weddingsand Civic Events. kelly.kuang@sfgov.org
- Mariebelle Hansen, Events Coordinator, Rental contact for:One-hour Weddings.mariebelle.hansen@sfgov.org
