Apply for subsequent certification of a marriage

The following steps are required when applying in person on site:

• At least one of the spouses who is a German citizen must appear in person at the registry office and bring all the necessary documents.
• The registrar checks whether the notarisation by a German registry office is possible.
• If all requirements are met, the entry can be made in the marriage register.
• If required, the registry office will issue a marriage certificate once the entry in the register has been made.

Subsequent notarisation is possible in the following cases:

• You got married abroad and one of you has German citizenship or is stateless, a homeless foreign national or a foreign refugee.
• You got married in Germany and neither of you had German citizenship at the time of the marriage. The marriage was performed by an authorised person of a government of the country to which one of you belongs.
• The date of application is decisive for the possession of German citizenship.
• The marriage must be legally valid and must not contradict German law.
• Eligible applicants are:
  • The spouses
  • If both spouses are deceased, their parents and children
     

• Foreign marriage certificate, if necessary with certification by the competent foreign authority (apostille) or legalisation by the German diplomatic mission abroad
• Valid identity card, passport or travel document
• Certified copies of the birth registers from the registry offices of the places of birth
• If the spouses were born in Germany
• Birth certificates with certification by the competent foreign authority (apostille) or legalisation by the German diplomatic mission abroad
  • If the spouses were born abroad
• Translations of all documents in foreign languages by sworn translators in Germany
• Naturalisation certificate or citizenship card, if applicable
• Proof of the establishment and dissolution of all civil partnerships
  • Only required if one spouse has already established a registered civil partnership
• Notarised copy from the marriage register of the last previous marriage(s) with annotation of dissolution
  • Only required if one spouse has been married before. Alternatively or in the case of previous marriages abroad: Proof of the conclusion and dissolution of all previous marriages, e.g. marriage certificates, death certificates, all divorce decrees - complete and with a note from the court stating when the judgement became legally binding ("final judgement").
• If necessary, recognition of the foreign divorce by the President of the Higher Regional Court
  • Only required if one spouse has already been married.
• Further documents
  • Further documents may be required in individual cases.

• § Section 34 of the Civil Status Act (PStG)
• General Administrative Regulation on the Civil Status Act (PStG-VwV)

• Contradiction
• Application for a court decision
   

If the marriage took place abroad, you can apply to the registry office in your home town for the marriage to be subsequently notarised in the German marriage register.

• Apply for subsequent certification of a marriage
• German citizenship is required for the application. Stateless persons, homeless foreigners and foreign refugees with habitual residence in Germany can also apply for subsequent certification.
• The date of application is decisive for the possession of German citizenship.
• The subsequent certification can be requested by the spouses. If both are deceased, their parents or children can also submit the application.
• Subsequent certification of marriages concluded in Germany is also possible if neither of the spouses had German citizenship at the time of the marriage and the marriage took place before an authorised person of a government to which one of the spouses belongs.
• The registry office of the place of residence, the last place of residence or the usual place of residence is responsible.
• If there has never been a residence in Germany or the habitual residence is not in Germany, the registry office I in Berlin is responsible