Apply for a marriage certificate

You can apply for the issuance of a marriage certificate in person or in writing.

Apply for a marriage certificate in person:

• An appointment may be required for a personal application.
• You will need to present your identity card or passport.
• You pay the fee directly when applying at the registry office.
• In addition to yourself, a person you trust may also order and pick up the certificate for you. In addition to a written power of attorney, you will present your identity card or passport (original or copy) and your own identity card or passport.

Apply in writing for a marriage certificate:

Send an informal letter to the competent registry office with the request to issue you with a marriage certificate.

Your letter should contain the following information:

• Surname, first name
• Your registration address
• Place and date of marriage and, where applicable, establishment of the partnership
• if known: registry office and certification number
• the reason for the application
• if applicable, further evidence, for example of legal interest

Attach a copy of your identity card or passport to the letter.

You will then receive a fee notice and the marriage certificate.

Registry office in whose area the marriage was contracted.

If the marriage was contracted abroad and re-certified in Germany, the registry office issues the marriage certificate to the re-certification.

Marriage certificates contain personal data, so their issuance is subject to data protection restrictions.

You are entitled to apply under the following conditions:

• You are at least 16 years old.
• You are the spouse to whom the document relates.
• They are the parents of the spouses.
• They are children of the spouses.
• Other persons, including close relatives such as aunts and uncles, only receive a certificate if they can credibly demonstrate a legal interest, for example by writing from the probate court.

If the marriage was contracted abroad, a domestic birth certificate can only be issued if the marriage has previously been certified in Germany. The subsequent notarisation is subject to certain conditions. If necessary, inform yourself at the registry office.

To apply for a marriage certificate, you need:

• your identity card or passport (if you apply in writing, a copy, you must authenticate yourself electronically online with the new identity card),
• in the case of application or collection by a representative: written power of attorney of the authorised person, their identity card or passport and the identity card or passport of the representative,
• for other persons, including close relatives such as aunts and uncles, proof of their legal interest, such as a letter from the probate court, a court judgment or an enforceable title.

The 80-year deadline for the registry office to keep the marriage register must not have expired.

Depending on the individual case

Online procedure possible

Written form required

Personal appearance required for oral application

Application for a judicial decision

Lower Saxony Ministry of the Interior and Sport

The text was automatically translated based on the German content.