Notarization of a marriage abroad by a German registry office

Please call the registry office in advance for details of the procedures and documents required.

• Gather the necessary documents and visit the registry office.
• The registrar will check whether the registration can be carried out by a German registry office.
• If the requirements are met, the entry can be made in the marriage register.

If required, the registry office will issue you with a marriage certificate once the marriage has been entered in the register.

• if you are resident in Germany: the registry office of the place where you live or usually stay,
• if you live abroad: Registry Office I in Berlin.

Registry Office I in Berlin
Schönstedtstr. 5
13357 Berlin (Mitte)
Phone: + 49 30 90 269-5000
Fax: + 49 30 90 269-5245

Opening hours:
Mon closed
Tue 09:00 - 12:00
Wed closed
Thu 14:00 - 17:00
Fri closed

• if you are resident in Germany: the registry office of the place where you live or usually stay,
• if you live abroad: Registry Office I in Berlin.

Registry Office I in Berlin
Schönstedtstr. 5
13357 Berlin (Mitte)
Phone: + 49 30 90 269-5000
Fax: + 49 30 90 269-5245

Opening hours:
Mon closed
Tue 09:00 - 12:00
Wed closed
Thu 14:00 - 17:00
Fri closed

A marriage concluded abroad can only be entered in the German marriage register if it was legally valid. Furthermore, it must not contradict German law.

The subsequent certification of the marriage is possible for

• German nationals,
• stateless persons, homeless foreigners or foreign refugees with habitual residence in Germany.

Eligible applicants:

• each spouse,
• are both deceased:
  • their parents or
  • their children

• Marriage certificate (marriage certificate) of the marriage concluded abroad, if necessary with certification by the competent foreign authority (apostille) or legalization by the German diplomatic mission abroad,
• Valid identity card, passport or travel document,
• naturalization certificate, citizenship certificate, if applicable,
• Translations of all documents in foreign languages by sworn translators in Germany or multilingual forms

Other additional documents required:

if the spouses were born in Germany:

• the birth certificates.

If the spouses were born abroad:

• the birth certificates with certification by the competent foreign authority (apostille) or legalization by the German diplomatic mission abroad.

If one spouse has already been married:

• Certified copy from the marriage register of the last previous marriage with a note of dissolution,
• alternatively or in the case of previous marriages abroad: proof of the conclusion and dissolution of all previous marriages - for example marriage certificates, death certificates, all divorce decrees (complete and with a note from the court stating when the judgment became legally binding / "final judgment"),
• If applicable, recognition of the foreign divorce by the President of the Higher Regional Court.

If one spouse has already entered into a registered civil partnership:

• Proof of the establishment and dissolution of all civil partnerships.

The fee rates are subject to state regulations and may vary. The respective registry office can provide you with information on the amount of the fee.

• §§ 34 f. Civil Status Act (PStG)

Since January 1, 2009, certified copies from the family register are no longer issued - the registry office keeps the data from the family registers as marriage entries.

If you require proof, please request a marriage certificate.

If you got married abroad, you can apply to the registry office in your place of residence for the marriage to be subsequently recorded in the German marriage register.

07.06.2023