Legal Question in Family Law in California

It's not clear what you want to do if you want to get divorced. You do not have to have a copy of the marriage certificate to file for divorce, unless Ohio law requires it.

In California, a marriage license must be issued, and the parties must have their marriage solemnized and authenticated. The license is supposed to be returned by the person solemnizing the marriage, which creates the marriage certificate. But failure of a third party to return it does not invalidate the marriage.

If you need to the certificate to prove you were married, and have the license, you can have it filed now. Family Code section 425 provides also that where you don't have a certificate, you and your husband can purchase a "license and Certificate of Declaration of Marriage." That is supposed to be purchased form the county clerk in the county where the parties resided one year or more fromt he date of the marriage. The license and certificate are returned to the county where the license was issued.

If either party denies the marriage or refuses to join in a declaration of marriage (Fam. Code, sect. 425), the other may bring an action pursuant to Health & Safety Code section 103450 to have the marriage determined and declared. "If either party to a marriage denies the marriage, or refuses to join in a declaration of the marriage, the other party may proceed, by action pursuant to Section 103450 of the Health and Safety Code, to have the validity of the marriage determined and declared." (Fam. Code, sect. 309.)