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If you want to get married, you must register the marriage in advance.

You must register your intended marriage in person at the registry office in whose jurisdiction you have your place of residence or habitual abode.

To speed up the procedure, you can send the registry office both your preferred date for the marriage and the data required to check your eligibility for marriage by pre-registering.

The place where you register your marriage does not have to be the place where your marriage is to take place. In principle, you can get married at any registry office in Germany.

A civil marriage and a church wedding are independent of each other.

No witnesses need to be present at the marriage ceremony. However, if you wish, you can appoint 1 or 2 people as witnesses.

You can decide at the wedding or at a later date whether you wish to have a joint or separate surname.

When applying, you must submit

• if you have German citizenship and are entering into your first marriage:
  • valid identity card or passport
  • extended registration certificate (not older than 4 weeks)
• if your birth was certified in Germany:
  • current certified excerpt from the (electronic) register of births or current certified copy from the register of births (in paper form) from the registry office of the place of birth
• if your birth was certified abroad:
  • current birth certificate
• if you were already married or in a civil partnership, you will also need
  • Marriage certificate and final divorce decree or
  • Proof of the establishment and dissolution of the civil partnership or
• if you are a widow or widower
  • the marriage certificate or
  • proof of the establishment of the civil partnership and
  • the death certificate of the deceased
• If your divorce took place abroad, you should ask the registry office in advance whether a recognition procedure is required. Please bring the following with you
  • all marriage certificates
  • all legally binding divorce decrees (with facts and reasons for the decision)
• if you as the future spouses have children together or have custody of children from previous marriages, you will also need
  • Birth certificates of the children
• if one of the spouses is from abroad, the following are required
  • valid identity card, passport or other proof of identification
  • Proof of nationality, if this is not evident from the identity card or passport
  • extended registration certificate (not older than 4 weeks)
  • birth certificate
  • certificate of no impediment to marriage
  • foreign language documents

Please note:

For future spouses from countries where certificates of no impediment to marriage are issued, it is advisable to seek advice from the registry office about exemption from the obligation to present a certificate of no impediment to marriage. This is issued by the President of the competent Higher Regional Court. The registrar records the application and forwards it.

For foreign-language documents, the registry office generally requires complete translations into German, prepared by a translator publicly appointed and sworn in Germany. Foreign documents often also require certification by the competent foreign authority. In such a case, the registry office will draw your attention to this.

• Further documents:
• The registry office may request further documents, such as the naturalization certificate.

The following may register a marriage

• persons of full age

Further requirements:

• A marriage may not be entered into before the age of majority.
• Marriage between relatives in a direct line, for example parents and their children, and between siblings and half-siblings is not permitted. This also applies in principle if the relationship was established by adoption.
• Double marriages are not permitted in Germany. A previous marriage must have been dissolved by death, divorce or other legally binding court judgment before a new marriage can be entered into.

If a previous marriage was divorced abroad, the divorce must generally first be expressly recognized in Germany in order for it to take effect here. There are exceptions to this principle, particularly in most European Union (EU) countries. A previously established civil partnership must also be dissolved.

The costs vary depending on the federal state. Your local registry office will be happy to provide you with information.

• for processing the application: up to 4 weeks depending on the registry office and individual case

If, after completing the examination, the registrar determines that the requirements for marriage have been met, you can get married within 6 months. After that, the marriage must be registered again.

• Opposition
• Application for a court decision

• the place where the marriage is registered does not necessarily have to be the place where the marriage is to take place
• Marriage can take place at any registry office in Germany
• The following can register a marriage
  • persons of full age
• Information from: competent registry office
• Registration must be made in person at the registry office in whose jurisdiction one of the spouses (fiancées) has his or her residence (main or secondary residence) or habitual abode
• Responsible:
  • Registry office in whose jurisdiction one of the spouses (fiancées) has his or her residence (main or secondary residence) or habitual abode
  • in the case of residence or habitual abode abroad: the registry office that is to conduct the marriage