2005 California Family Code Sections 300-310 PART 1. VALIDITY OF MARRIAGE

300.  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.  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).
301.  An unmarried male of the age of 18 years or older, and an
unmarried female of the age of 18 years or older, and not otherwise
disqualified, are capable of consenting to and consummating marriage.
302.  An unmarried male or female under the age of 18 years is
capable of consenting to and consummating marriage if each of the
following documents is filed with the county clerk issuing the
marriage license:
   (a) The written consent of the parents of each underage person, or
of one of the parents or the guardian of each underage person.
   (b) A court order granting permission to the underage person to
marry, obtained on the showing the court requires.
303.  If it appears to the satisfaction of the court by application
of a minor that the minor requires a written consent to marry and
that the minor has no parent or has no parent capable of consenting,
the court may make an order consenting to the issuance of a marriage
license and granting permission to the minor to marry.  The order
shall be filed with the county clerk at the time the license is
issued.
304.  As part of the court order granting permission to marry under
Section 302 or 303, the court shall require the parties to the
prospective marriage of a minor to participate in premarital
counseling concerning social, economic, and personal responsibilities
incident to marriage, if the court considers the counseling to be
necessary.  The parties shall not be required, without their consent,
to confer with counselors provided by religious organizations of any
denomination.  In determining whether to order the parties to
participate in the premarital counseling, the court shall consider,
among other factors, the ability of the parties to pay for the
counseling.  The court may impose a reasonable fee to cover the cost
of any premarital counseling provided by the county.  The fees shall
be used exclusively to cover the cost of the counseling services
authorized by this section.
305.  Consent to and solemnization of marriage may be proved under
the same general rules of evidence as facts are proved in other
cases.
306.  Except as provided in Section 307, a marriage shall be
licensed, solemnized, and authenticated, and the certificate of
registry of marriage shall be returned as provided in this part.
Noncompliance with this part by a nonparty to the marriage does not
invalidate the marriage.
307.  This division, so far as it relates to the solemnizing of
marriage, is not applicable to members of a particular religious
society or denomination not having clergy for the purpose of
solemnizing marriage or entering the marriage relation, if all of the
following requirements are met:
   (a) The parties to the marriage make, sign, and endorse on or
attach to the license a statement, in the form prescribed by the
State Department of Health Services, showing all of the following:
   (1) The fact, time, and place of entering into the marriage.
   (2) The signatures and places of residence of two witnesses to the
ceremony.
   (3) The religious society or denomination of the parties to the
marriage, and that the marriage was entered into in accordance with
the rules and customs of that religious society or denomination.  The
statement of the parties to the marriage that the marriage was
entered into in accordance with the rules and customs of the
religious society or denomination is conclusively presumed to be
true.
   (b) The License and Certificate of Declaration of Marriage,
endorsed pursuant to subdivision (a), is returned to the county
recorder of the county in which the license was issued within 30 days
after the ceremony.
308.  A marriage contracted outside this state that would be valid
by the laws of the jurisdiction in which the marriage was contracted
is valid in this state.
308.5.  Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or
recognized in California.
309.  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, to have the validity of the marriage determined
and declared.
310.  Marriage is dissolved only by one of the following:
   (a) The death of one of the parties.
   (b) A judgment of dissolution of marriage.
   (c) A judgment of nullity of marriage.