Himachal Pradesh - Register Special Marriage

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Procedure

A marriage under the Special Marriage Act, 1954 allows people from two different religious backgrounds to come together in the bond of marriage.

Apply In-Person:

1. To register a marriage under the Special Marriage Act, 1954, the applicant has to visit the concerned Sub Divisional Magistrate office. The address and contact details can be found in the “Office Locations & Contacts” section or you may find it here:Link
2. The first step is to prepare a written notice, addressed to the marriage registrar, showing the intention of the parties to get married.
3. Then one needs to fill the application manually, preceded by both the party’s signature and required documents.
4. The notice and other supporting documents (as mentioned in the “Required Documents” section below) must be sent to the office of marriage registrar in whose district either of the party to the special marriage has resided for a minimum of 30 days before sending the notice.
5. The notice sent to the office of the marriage registrar will be published by the marriage officer by affixing it to a visible place in his office.

   Note: Section 7 of the Special Marriage Act states that any person who has an objection to the intended marriage can raise the objection within 30 days from the date of publication of notice by the marriage registrar. If the marriage registrar finds that the objection raised is correct then he will end the marriage procedure and will not proceed with the process. However, if he finds that the objection is unjustified then he will proceed with the registration procedure. If the objection is sustained by the marriage registrar then the parties can file an appeal with the district court against the order of marriage officer/registrar.

6. After the expiry of 30 days of notice, the Sub-Registrar will register the marriage with the Bridegroom and Bride signing a declaration form in the presence of three witnesses. Also, they should utter in any language known I take (a) to be my lawful husband (b) to be my lawful wife.

   Note: The parties may choose any other form like exchanging the Garlands or rings etc., apart from the above. However, according to this act, no religious ceremonies are a prerequisite for a marriage to be complete.

7. Now, the marriage is deemed to have been solemnized and the marriage officer will enter the particulars in the marriage certificate book and it will be signed by the parties to the marriage and Three Witnesses.
8. After the above procedure is over and a fee of Rs.150 is paid, the parties will be issued an extract of the marriage register.
   

Apply Online

1. To register Special marriage certificate online, you may visit the website:Link and comply with the following procedure:
2. Click on “Login to Apply”.
3. Login using your credentials if you are a registered user. If not, select “Guest/New User” option and fill in the required details.
4. Then enter the captcha and click on the “Submit” button.
5. In the next page, click on the “New Application” Icon.
6. The “Application for Marriage Certificate” will open.
7. Follow the page prompts and fill in all the required details.
8. There will be a total of eight sections to fill-in.
9. Click on the “Next” button after completing each section. Or you may choose to click on the “Save” button and revisit the form on a later date.
10. Once you’ve filled in all the details, you need to attach the documents mentioned in the “Required Documents” section of this page in jpg/jpeg or Pdf format and click on the “Submit” button.
11. You will be re-directed to the payment page.
12. Make the payment online using credit or debit card.
13. Once the payment is successful, you will receive a SMS alert on your mobile phone denoting successful registration and an application number for future reference.
14. This completes the online registration process.
15. You can track the status of your application using this link: Track Application or you may also track through SMS by sending: HP EDIST <Application Number> to 166 or 51969.
    
    

Apply through Centres:

1. To apply through centres, the applicant has to visit the respective “CSC” centre. Please tap on the following link to locate the centre according to the respective district: link.
2. Make sure to have the documents that are listed under the “Required Documents” section of this page.
3. An application form can be obtained through the kiosk operator upon visiting the centre.
4. It is advised to take the documents in original to the kiosk for scanning purposes.
5. The operator will process the application online.
6. On successful submission, the applicant will receive an application number as acknowledgement.
7. Pay the fee as given in the “Fees” section of this page and collect the receipt.
8. After the application form is processed, an enquiry officer will make a thorough verification regarding the documents submitted along with the form.
9. Collect the acknowledgment slip after submitting the form.
10. The applicant will get the license in a stipulated period of time.

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Required Documents

FOR SPECIAL MARRIAGE REGISTRATION
Husband & Wife need

• Application form duly signed by both bride and groom
• Receipt of fees paid along with the application form
• Aadhaar or Aadhaar Applied Receipt
• Passport / Voter ID / Driving License
• Xth Pass Certificate / Birth Certificate
• Marriage Card
• Marriage Photograph
• 6 by 6 Passport size photograph

2 Witness both having

• PAN Card
• Passport / Voter ID / Driving License

Other requirements

• Death Certificate in case of Widower.
• Divorce Decree in case of Divorcee.
• NOC from Embassy for Foreign National.
  

Office Locations & Contacts

Office of the Commissioner& Inspector General of Registration and Stamps,
29, Shimla Bypass,
SDA Complex,
Kasumpti,
Shimla, Himachal Pradesh - 171009
Contact Link
And Link

Eligibility

• Both the intending parties must be citizens of India.
• For foreign nationals to get married under the Special Marriage Act, 1954 they have to live in India for at least 30 days and must have residence proof. In case they do not have Indian residence proof, they can get the same from the local police station in whose jurisdiction they are living. Furthermore, a no objection certificate (NOC) is also required from the embassy of the foreign national’s country in India.
• Neither of the parties must be having a living spouse at the time of marriage. In the case where either or both of the parties were involved in an earlier marriage, the earlier marriage must be legally dissolved before applying under this Act.
• The intending parties must comply with the age limit given under this Act. The female should at least be of 18 years at the time of applying for marriage and the male must have completed the age of 21.
• The eligibility criteria for special marriages have certain exceptions. However, marriage is prohibited between the prohibited degrees of relationship.

Note: If the marriage has to be done in the state of Jammu & Kashmir, it is mandatory that both the parties to the marriage must be Indian citizens, which means foreign nationals cannot get married in the state of Jammu & Kashmir.

Fees

• The fee is Rs 150/- in case of Special Marriage Act.
• The fees have to be deposited with the cashier of the District and the receipt attached with the application form.
  

Validity

The marriage certificate is valid until/unless it is legally declared as null and void through the annulment procedure.

Documents to Use

• Notice Form Link
  
• Declaration and Certificate of Marriage: Link to the Special Marriage Act – Please refer pages 22 to 25 for the forms.
  

Sample Documents

Please attach sample completed documents that would help other people.

Processing Time

• As per the rules, the applicant should get the marriage certificate within three working days. However, in reality, it may take up anything between ten to fifteen days.
• In the case of the Special Marriage, the entire process may take up to 60 days.
  

Related Videos

Videos explaining the procedure or to fill the applications.
Attach videos using the following tag <&video type='website'>video ID|width|height<&/video&> from external websites.
Please remove the '&' inside the tags during implementation.
Website = allocine, blip, dailymotion, facebook, gametrailers, googlevideo, html5, metacafe, myspace, revver,
sevenload, viddler, vimeo, youku, youtube
width = 560, height = 340, Video ID = Can be obtained from the URL of webpage where the video is displayed.
e.gIn the following url 'http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0US7oR_t3M' Video ID is 'Y0US7oR_t3M'.

Instructions

• In case the marriage officer refuses to solemnize the proposed marriage between the two parties, then within thirty days of the proposed marriage, either party can appeal to the District Court – inside the local limits of whose jurisdiction the marriage officer has his office.
• The decision of the District Court, regarding the solemnization of the proposed marriage, will be final and binding.
  

Required Information

• Full Name of Parties
• Religion
• Caste
• Date of Birth
• Age at Solemnization of the Marriage
• Date of solemnization of Marriage
• Rank or Profession
• Permanent Place of Residence
• Country
• Place with Names of Mandal and District at which marriage was solemnized
• Marriage Type
• Marriage Venue
• SRO Office
• Time Slot
• Witness1 Details
• Witness2 Details
• Witness3 Details
• Relationship
• Father (Name in Full)
• Mother (Name in Full)
• No of Certificate Copies
• Whether Bride or Bridegroom is a divorcee
  

Need for the Document

• It is important to register any marriage that happens in India.
• The special marriage certificate is the proof of a valid marriage of the parties with the signatures of parties and witnesses.
  

Information which might help

The parties to the marriage should not be related to each other under the prohibited degrees of marriage. Which are as follows-

• If one of them is the lineal ascendant of the other,
• One was the husband or wife of lineal ascendant or descendant of the other,
• If one of them was the wife of the brother or the father’s or mother’s brother or the grandfather’s or grandmother’s brother of the other,
• Or if they are brother and sister, aunt and nephew, uncle and niece, or children of brother and sister or two brothers or two sisters.
  

A marriage falling within the above categories will be considered void.

Other uses of the Document/Certificate

• If you are applying for a passport or opening a bank account post the wedding, a Marriage Certificate is required and comes in handy.
• It is extremely helpful in obtaining visas for both, the husband and wife.
• As foreign embassies in India as well as countries outside India, do not recognize traditional marriages, the Marriage Certificate is mandatory for the couple travelling abroad on a spouse visa.
• Make the process of claiming life insurance returns or bank deposits in case of demise of the Insurer or depositor without any nominee easier.
  

External Links

Link

Others

The Special Marriage Act, 1954 lays down the procedure for both solemnization and registration of marriage, where either of the husband or wife or both are not Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, or Sikhs.