The later certification of a marriage contracted abroad is a voluntary application procedure and subject to a fee. You are not obliged to have your foreign marriage re-certified at a registry office in Germany. You are also considered to be married in Germany once you have been entered in the civil register.
However, it may make sense to submit an application for a later certification if you got married in a country with an uncertain document system or where it is difficult to obtain a new marriage certificate (in the event of loss).
After completion of the procedure, which can take several months, you will receive German marriage certificates.
Please use the application form for later certification of a marriage contracted abroad, which you will find at the bottom of this page. Fill it in, sign it and send the application together with all the necessary original documents (you only need a copy of your German identity card) by post to the local registry office. Alternatively, you can also drop your documents into our in-house letterbox.
Please note:
Without exception, the registry office of your place of residence is responsible for the later certification of your marriage contracted abroad. To submit an application to our Registry Office, it is therefore necessary for at least one of the applicants to have their main or secondary residence in the Steglitz-Zehlendorf District of Berlin. If neither applicant has a place of residence in Germany, the last place of residence in Germany is relevant. Later certification is also only possible if one of the applicants has German citizenship or is a recognized refugee.
Further information is available here.
The following documents must be submitted as part of the later certification:
Both applicants have German citizenship:
- Identity card or passport
- In the case of restricted access to information:
extended registration certificate with details of marital status no older than 14 days
- Certified printout from the register of births no older than 6 months (no birth certificate, no multilingual extract from the register).
- Marriage certificate of your marriage contracted abroad with an official German translation (apostilled or legalized by the German diplomatic mission abroad in the respective country, if applicable).
Additionally, if you have already been married or partnered in Germany:
- Certified printout from the marriage or civil partnership register no older than 6 months with a notice of dissolution.
If the place of the respective birth or previous marriage is located in the current District of Steglitz-Zehlendorf, a certified register printout is not required. In this case, a simple certificate is sufficient (a copy is also possible).
One of the applicants is not a German citizen or has a civil status in another country:
In this case, a detailed consultation regarding the documents to be submitted is necessary. Please use our contact form for your enquiry. (Please note: The form is in German.)
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