Lerdo County Jail
Marriage Coordinator
Once I receive this request. I will contact you..
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If you are looking for wedding ministers to perform a wedding ceremony in Kern County, give Wedding Officiant Zeke a call. My staff and myself are non-denominational wedding ministers and we can officiate your wedding any day of the week.
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Is it your desire to marry your "Love" and he or she is an
inmate at Lerdo County Jail?
If your answer is "Yes", then I can help you with the process
of getting you married to the one you "Love"!
Getting married at the Kern County Lerdo Facility, takes several steps and we can help you with the process. The total fee starts at $300 to $1,000 to assisting you in filling out the Wedding Application, Notary Service, assisting you in Receiving Your Wedding License From The County Clerk’s and Conducting Your Wedding Ceremony At Lerdo. Majority of the time it’s $300 and it is rare but it does happen we will charge $1,000. Here are the steps involved in having a ceremony at the Kern County Lerdo Pretrial Facility.
There is a separate fee paid by you of $101.00 to get your Marriage License from the County Clerks Office. Cash or Credit Card must be paid to the Kern County Clerks Office.
A jailhouse notary and wedding process can easily take up to a total of 6 hours to complete: traveling and meeting with you and filling out the “Inability to Appear Affidavit and Marriage License Application” paperwork and travel to Lerdo (waiting for inmate to show up) and travel to my wedding officiant. Waiting in line at the County Clerks Recorders Office with the bride or groom to take an oath and get the Wedding License and travel back to Lerdo Jail and perform the ceremony. The Notary Public can NOT be the same person to officiate the ceremony.
A Notary Public with security clearance can visit the prisoner during the same hours as the attorneys. Only the Notary Public is allowed to enter Lerdo County Jail at any time to conduct the notary service.
The applicant (Bride or Groom) and Wedding Officiant must appear together at the Kern County Clerk-Recorder Office (1115 Truxtun Ave.,1st Floor, Bakersfield) to obtain the marriage license. Your wedding officiant, the person “solemnizing the ceremony” (that’s us) MUST ACCOMPANY YOU. Bring with you an Original Government Issued ID - required (no exceptions), along with proof that the person is currently incarcerated – “Notice of Incarcerated Individual” letter (G- 900 Attachment B).
Here are the steps that you must take when your "Love" is unable to appear because of their incarceration:
Lerdo County Jail Marriage Information
Do you have an active Restraining Order on him or does he have an active Restraining Order on you to stay away from him?
You can not get married until the Restraining Order is removed by the courts.
Now if there is no active Restraing Order in place, then read the information below -
Full payment for services must be paid up front:
All paperwork must be done prior to performing the wedding and you will need approval from the county jail administrators.
*** First; You will need to fill out the Request for Services that I provide to you via text.
*** Second; After I receive your request for services, I'll start on your Wedding Application.
We do not supply witnesses to your wedding. You must bring with you a witness (Friend or Family Member) for the wedding ceremony. Your witness(es) will still need to be cleared by Lerdo County Jail Staff before they are allowed inside to attend the wedding ceremony.
If you live locally in Bakersfield. If you want, we can get together and together we will fill out the "Inability to Appear Affidavit and Marriage License Application" packet that is required by the Kern County Clerks office. The "Inability to Appear Affidavit" packet must be Notarized by a Notary Public. Don't worry about that. I'm a Notary Public and you hired me and that is what I'll do for you. I will then travel to Lerdo County Jail and visit your fiancée/fiancé and get their signature and finish notarizing the "Inability to Appear Affidavit" packet. You will not need to attend when I go to Lerdo County Jail. I will do the running around for you and all you do is relax and wait for my call or text.
*** Third; After advising you that I completed the notary services of the Wedding Application. You personally will need to call Lerdo County Jail (Facility where your fiancé/fiancée is being held) and request to speak to the Deputy in charge of Marriage Coordination. Once you have them on the phone, advise them that you are requesting a "Notice of Incarcerated Individual” (G- 900 Attachment B)" letter because you are wanting to get married to your fiancé/fiancée. Advice staff that you hired my notarty services and I did get his signature on the Affidavit of Inability to Appear.
In the past I did receive a call from Lerdo to confirm that I did do and did complete the Wedding Application process. This is so they can start your letter "Notice of Incarcerated Individual"
If you are connected to a telephone message machine, leave the following information:
Leave a message that you are requesting a letter “Notice of Incarcerated Individual”, because you wanting to get married.
- Leave your First and Last name
- Your Fiancé or Fiancée name and Booking number
- Your phone number to call you back
- The name of your witness (will need information about your witness: info off their state issue ID)
You must leave the above information or the staff member will not return your call.
It will take anywhere up to 30 working days (Monday - Friday) to get your letter for ready for pick-up. Once your letter is ready for pickup. You must yourself pick up the letter and have your ID ready. Lerdo staff want to make sure that you are who you are.
RE-SCHEDULE FEES: If the Couple fails to show up or fails to inform the NOTARY PUBLIC at least 1 hour prior to our meeting at our confirmed appointment time and date. Couple will be considered a “No Show”. If Couple wishes to re-hire the NOTARY PUBLIC, there will be a re-schedule fee of $25.00 to be added to service fee.
You and the Wedding Officiant will arrange a time and day to meet at the County Clerks office (1115 Truxtun Ave.,1st Floor, Bakersfield). My Wedding Officiant will have and bring the notarize "Inability to Appear Affidavit" packet and you will need to bring with you, the "Notice of Incarceration" letter to the Kern County Clerks office and there you will be issued the marriage license.
The fee for the Regular Marriage License is $101.00 (This could change without notice). The Wedding Officiant will stand in for your fiancé/fiancée at this time.
You will need to contact the Lerdo Facility and arrange a date and time for the wedding ceremony to take place. You must let my Wedding Officiant know the time and date of your scheduled wedding time.
You and the Wedding Officiant will then return back to the Lerdo Facility at the time given to you, so my Wedding Officiant can conduct the wedding ceremony. You must bring with you a witness (Friend or Family Member) for the wedding ceremony.
After the ceremony, the Wedding Officiant will return your marriage license to the Hall of Records for you so it can be recorded.
After it is received and it is recorded, It will take about 10 working days for your marriage certificate to be avaiable for you to pick up or for you to have it mailed to you.
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Lerdo County Jail Wedding Scam Alert:
Are you planning a jail ceremony? Watch out for scam artists. If anyone claims they can perform your wedding ceremony over the phone, hang up!
In California, such ceremonies are not legal.
Similarly, if anyone wants to sell you a marriage license, they’re not being truthful. Marriage licenses must be obtained and purchased from the Kern County Clerks office.
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GETTING MARRIED IN A STATE PRISON
Yes, you can get married to an inmate in a California State Prison. However, if he is still in the Reception Center, that is nearly an impossible thing to do due to all sorts of technical reasons.
As soon as he makes it to any Mainline Facility, it is indeed possible. In nearly all the facilities the marriage request is made to the assigned Correctional Counselor 1, who is charged with the responsibility to coordinate matters from there on out.
If you meet the basic requirements to be married, then have the inmate request a marriage packet from his Correctional Counselor 1. You may need to get certified copies of several forms of identification to prove that you are of legal age to marry and are a United States citizen. This can be a driver’s license, a birth certificate, a social security card, a passport or any other form of government-issued identification. The prison may require you to have two or more of these items certified.
The marriage packet will include most of the paperwork needed to pursue the marriage (Marriage License Application and Bride’s Letter of Intent). The documents will need to be filled out by both you and your inmate. You will also be expected to pay a paperwork fee that should be included with the application. The marriage packet should also include the steps needed in order to pursue a marriage at that particular California prison. The Marriage License Application and Marriage License Fee will range between $100 to $200 (depends on County).
A majority of all State Prisons have their own ministers to conduct wedding ceremonies. But the few that don’t have their own ministers, it will be on you to find and hire a Wedding Officiant to conduct your wedding ceremony. Fee to hire your own Wedding Officiant can range from anywhere between $100 to $1,000 (varies on availability and travel). You must call and ask the Prison Wedding Coordinator if they have their own wedding minister or if you might have to hire your own.
If you have been Married in the Past:
If either party had been married in the past and the marriage has been terminated within 2 years from the desired day of your ceremony (license issuance), you must provide a certified copy of the documentation regarding termination of your previous marriage:
Dissolution of Marriage Judgement
Notice of Entry of Judgment
Annulment
Death Certificate if your former spouse passed away
Termination Order for State Registered Domestic Partnership.http://www.kernsheriff.com/misc/FormsApps/Documents/In%20Custody%20Marriage%20Information.pdfA nondenominational minister could be a wonderful choice for your union. Quite often, a nondenominational minister is well versed in different faiths, and recognizes the importance of a truly spiritual union. I am more open-minded to other beliefs, and be a valuable asset in planning your wedding. I will also perform same-sex marriages with the same enthusiasm as they would a heterosexual marriage.