South Africa - How To Apply for a Marriage Certificate

Advertisement

Procedure

Apply In-Person:

1. To apply for a Marriage Certificate in person, the applicant has to visit any nearest office of the Department of Home Affairs.
2. Please click on the following link for the address and contact information of the Department of Home Affairs Offices: Link Click on the province name which is applicable to you and you will get the details according to that.
3. Visit the nearest DHA office and obtain the application form to apply for a Marriage Certificate (Form BI-130) from the concerned department.
4. Please fill the application form with required information of the husband and wife and also fill in the particulars of the applicant appropriately.
5. If you want an unabridged certificate, you will be required to state the purpose for which it is required, at the top of the application form. After that, you have to specify the type of certificate you want.
6. Once you have completed filling the application form, the applicant has to attest it with date.
7. Make sure that you have all the documents listed in the “Required documents” section of this page.
8. Now, submit the completed application form at the Department of Home Affairs office for further verification and validation processes and pay the prescribed fees.
9. After all the necessary processes, the concerned authority will issue the requested copy of Marriage certificate.
10. Further, the applicant will be notified about the issuance of the certificate.

Advertisement

Required Documents

• Completed BI-130 form
• Attested copies of the couple’s Identification document
• Handwritten Marriage certificate issued on the day of wedding (if requested)

Office Locations & Contacts

Department of Home Affairs - Head Office
Physical Address : Hallmark Building,
230 Johannes Ramokhoase,
Pretoria,
Gauteng,
0001,
South Africa.
Postal Adress : Private Bag X114,
Pretoria,
0001,
Phone: 012 406 2500
Email: [email protected]
Website ,Link 2

Department Of Home Affairs Offices

Eligibility

• The marriage should have been entered into legally, satisfying all the constraints set by the Department of Home Affairs.
• The marriage should have been conducted in the presence of an authorised marriage officer and he should have registered the marriage.

Fees

First issue of an abridged Death or Marriage Certificate – Free of charge
Issuing of an Unabridged Marriage Certificate – R75.00
Issuing of an abridged computer printed or handwritten marriage certificate – R20.00

Validity

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

Documents to Use

Application form (BI-130): Link

Sample Documents

Please attach sample completed documents that would help other people.

Processing Time

An abridged certificate will be issued on the same day that it’s applied for. An application for an unabridged certificate takes approximately 6 to 8 weeks to process.

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

• If you are overseas and you want to apply for a marriage certificate, you can apply at any South African embassy or consulate.
• A marriage must be conducted in the presence of at least two witnesses in a church or another building used for religious services or in a public office or private house (with open doors). In the case of serious illness or injuries, the marriage may take place in a hospital or any concerned facility.
• Before legally confirming a marriage in South Africa, couples must attend a Home Affairs marriage interview. If you miss the interview, officials will not register the marriage certificate. As a result, they will nullify the marriage.
• Marriage ceremonies must have a licensed marriage officer. Examples of this include a religious minister, magistrate, or a Home Affairs marriage officer.
• If you plan to marry in a garden or on a beach, you may need to repeat the legal aspect of the service. The same applies to marrying in a restaurant or other building not defined by the act.
• However, as long as your marriage is solemnised by a competent Marriage Officer, the courts are not readily inclined to declare a marriage invalid simply because it was held in the wrong place.

Required Information

• Particulars of the applicant
• Identity number of the applicant
• Particulars of the prospective spouse
• Identity number of the prospective spouse

Need for the Document

A marriage certificate is an official document that is issued by a governmental authority that shows the couple listed have a legal recognized relationship.

Information which might help

• You will automatically receive an abridged certificate once the Department of Home Affairs is notified by your marriage officer.
• If you (or your spouse) are not South African, the unabridged certificate will be required to register the marriage in your home country.
• The unabridged certificate (also known as a full marriage certificate) contains more detailed information that's sometimes required by government and financial institutions.

Other uses of the Document/Certificate

• An abridged certificate contains both your personal details (such as full name and ID number) as well as the date of the marriage.
• An unabridged certificate is the official certificate that is required should you ever plan to travel extensively, emigrate or obtain a foreign passport.
• Your unabridged marriage certificate is usable in most circumstances both locally and internationally and is generally a better document to have.

External Links

Place some external links which might help.

Others

More information which might help people.