Spain - Register a Marriage

Advertisement

Procedure

Any marriage, regardless of whether the marriage takes place in a religious or civil service, must be registered within one week of the event with the Civil Registry (Registro Civil). This is the registration of marriage (Inscripción de Matrimonio). Failure to register will mean the marriage will not be recognised.

HOW TO APPLY

1. Visit Civil Register where the marriage was celebrated or the Central Civil Registry Office if the marriage was celebrated abroad with all the required documents
2. Request for the application form i.e. Data Declaration Sheet (Hoja declaratory de datos) Service fill it correctly and submit it with the required documents to the attending officer
3. The officer will then verify your document and process them and registry your marriage with the Civil Registry (Registro Civil).

Advertisement

Required Documents

Religious marriage:

• Presentation of the ecclesiastical certification expressing the circumstances required by law.
• NOTE: To register Islamic, Jewish or Federation of Evangelical Religious Entities of Spain marriages in the Civil Register, the latter two cases require prior processing of the preliminary procedure that determines matrimonial capacity; this is also advisable in the first case.
• Following the completion of this procedure, the wedding must be held within a maximum of 6 months from the date on which the certification was issued.

Civil marriage:

• Marriage celebrated before the Head of Civil Registry or Justice of the Peace: the act of celebration of civil marriage is the inscription itself to be signed by the Head of Civil Registry, the two spouses, two witnesses and the Secretary.
• Marriage celebrated before the Mayor or his delegate Councilor: the marriage will be forwarded to the Civil Registry where the marriage took place, being the Civil Registry who performs the registration.
• Marriage celebrated before a judicial Secretary: shall be recorded in the minutes, which will be held before a notary public shall state in writing. You must be signed in addition to that to which he is held by the parties and two witnesses. It extended the record or authorized the deed is delivered to each of the parties supporting copy of the marriage and sent by the authorizing, on the same day and by electronic means, testimony or electronic authorized copy of the document to the Civil Registry for registration, prequalification of the Head of Civil Registry.

Marriages celebrated abroad when at least one of the spouses has Spanish citizenship or obtains it after the wedding:
Religious marriage registration:

• Presentation of the ecclesiastical certification expressing the circumstances required by law.
• Literal birth certificate of the Spanish citizen or naturalized citizen issued by the Spanish Civil Registry Office.
• Birth certificate of the foreign spouse.
• National Identification Card of the naturalized Spanish citizen.
• Certification of the interested parties domicile in Spain.
• Data declaration form.

Civil marriage registration:

• Marriage certificate issued by the foreign local Civil Registry Office.
• Literal birth certificate of the Spanish citizen or naturalized citizen issued by the Spanish Civil Registry Office.
• Birth certificate of the foreign spouse.
• National Identification Card of the naturalized Spanish citizen.
• Certification of the interested parties domicile in Spain.
• Data declaration form.

Office Locations & Contacts

Civil Registry Offices
Embassy and Consulate World Wide

Consular Services

The Consular Offices of most Embassies are able to help their nationals with much of the documentation required in the preparation of a wedding in Spain.

• The Australian Embassy on getting married in Spain
• The of New Zealand page on marriage in Spain:getting married in Spain
• The US Embassy in Barcelona has a page on marriage in Spain: Marriage formalities
• The Embassy has information on married abroad

Eligibility

• A marriage is legally effective from the moment it takes place, but it requires registration in the Civil Register for full recognition.

• If marrying in a religious ceremony, the parties should register the marriage within one week of the ceremony. For those marrying in a Town Hall, the presiding official will register the marriage. For those marrying in a court house, the procedure itself is the registration. A marriage certificate certifying the date, time, place of the marriage and details of the married couple will be issued by the Civil Registry.

Fees

Explain the fees structure which is required for obtaining the certificate/document.

Validity

Explain the time until which the certificate/document is valid.
e.g. Birth Certificate Valid Forever

Documents to Use

Please attach documents that can be used by people. e.g. links

Sample Documents

Please attach sample completed documents that would help other people.

Processing Time

Please explain processing time taken in obtaining the document/certificate.

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.g In the following url "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0US7oR_t3M" Video ID is "Y0US7oR_t3M". 
	

Instructions

• Individuals wishing to be married must first certify, in a file processed in accordance with the legislation for the Civil Register, that they meet the requirements established by law.
• If either of the partners is affected by mental deficiencies or anomalies, a doctor must issue an expert opinion regarding their ability to give consent.
• Once final approval for the marriage has been issued, the wedding shall take place as soon as the needs of the service so allow.

Required Information

• Date of marriage
• Full names, marital status (single or widowed) and places of birth for both the bride and groom
• Full names and places of birth for the parents of the bride and groom

Need for the Document

• Registration certifies the marriage and the date, time and location at which it took place. It is the means of proving that the marriage took place, and it is the certification that gives legitimacy to the married marital status.

Information which might help

If marrying in a religious ceremony, the parties should register the marriage within one week of the ceremony. For those marrying in a Town Hall, the presiding official will register the marriage. For those marrying in a court house, the procedure itself is the registration. A marriage certificate certifying the date, time, place of the marriage and details of themarried couple will be issued by the Civil Registry.

Note: Spanish nationals who marry outside of Spain must register their marriage in Spain.

Other uses of the Document/Certificate

• To obtain an official marriage certificate, the marriage must be registered with the local Civil Registry. Therefore, it is important to confirm that the officiator of the marriage is licensed to marry and to establish the arrangements for civil registration. The officiator may obtain the marriage certificate on your behalf.

External Links

Service
Satellite Portal personales/inscripcion-matrimonio?param1=1 Inscription
Embassy.

Others

The capacity to enter into marriage depends on the personal circumstances of each individual. Of special interest are the following cases:

• Age: individuals must be independent; that is, over the age of 16, living independently from their parents.
• A person may only be married to one person; being married to two people at the same time is not allowed.
• Relationship: persons who are direct relatives, by blood or adoption, may not marry each other.
• Criminal impediment: individuals who have been convicted as the author or accomplice in the unlawful death of the spouse of either party may not marry each other.
• Marriage between people with mental deficiencies: if the authority deems that either of the parties is affected by mental deficiencies or anomalies, the Civil Register Doctor or substitute shall be required to issue a medical opinion declaring that the interested parties are fit to give their consent.
• Removal of impediments: this is the possibility of eliminating all impediments to performing the marriage for any reason.