 If there is no place for a change of name to be recorded, the name is changed as requested on government documents with proof of marriage.In California, under Section 501 of the state's Family Code, a county clerk is authorised to issue a confidential marriage licence and subsequently grant a confidential marriage certificate; Section 511 of the same Code states that the records of marriages registered under this provision are not open to public inspection, except by an order of the court.This practice originated in 1878, and was originally intended for those persons in a common-law relationship who presented themselves as married and wanted to make such marriage official.