Documents to Get Married Abroad: The Full Checklist | Chelfrich Photography

I'm Casey, a wedding photographer based in Amsterdam. I didn't set out to become a paperwork expert. But every couple I talk to about marrying abroad, whether in the Netherlands, France, or anywhere else in Europe, asks some version of the same question: "What documents do we actually need?"

The honest answer is that it depends on the country. But the building blocks are almost always the same four things: an apostille, a certificate of no impediment, a legalised birth certificate, and a sworn translation. Once you understand what each one is, the country-specific rules stop feeling like a maze and start feeling like a checklist.

This page is the toolkit. It explains each document on its own, in plain terms, with links to the official government or treaty sources behind every claim. Maybe you're still weighing the bigger question: do you need a legal wedding at all? A symbolic ceremony plus a quiet legal signing at home might suit you better. If that's you, read Symbolic vs. Legal Wedding Abroad first. This page assumes you've already decided you need the legal paperwork, and it walks you through it.

• Apostille: a certificate that authenticates a public document (like a birth certificate) so it's recognized in another country, without a trip to an embassy.

• Certificate of no impediment (CNI): an official statement that nothing stops you from marrying, issued by your home country (or, if you're American, worked around with an affidavit).

• Legalised birth certificate: your birth certificate, authenticated so a foreign registrar will accept it as genuine.

• Sworn or certified translation: a translation of your documents done by a translator authorized to certify that it's accurate, usually into the local language of the country where you're marrying.

Every country pairs these four building blocks differently. The rest of this guide covers each one, then points you to the country pages that spell out the exact combination you'll need.

An apostille comes from the 1961 Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents, usually just called the Apostille Convention. Before it existed, getting a document accepted abroad meant a chain of authentications, often ending with a stamp from the foreign country's embassy. The apostille convention replaced that chain with a single certificate, issued by a designated authority in the document's home country (HCCH Apostille Section).

Marriage certificates, birth certificates, and death certificates are common examples of the civil documents couples apostille for a wedding abroad. Once your document has a valid apostille, any other country in the Convention has to accept it as authentic. No additional embassy visit required.

The Convention now has 130 contracting parties (HCCH Apostille Section), and every country in this guide series is one of them: the United States joined in 1981, the Netherlands in 1965, France in 1965, Italy in 1978, Greece in 1985, Spain in 1978, and Portugal in 1969 (HCCH Status Table). In practice, that means most Americans and Europeans marrying each other in Europe will use an apostille rather than old-style legalisation.

There's one useful shortcut inside the EU itself. If both the document and the country you're presenting it in are EU member states, you may not need an apostille at all. Since 2019, EU rules have changed the default here. Authorities in one member state generally have to accept a public document from another member state as authentic, apostille-free. That covers categories like birth and marriage certificates (Your Europe: Getting Public Documents Accepted). But the rule covers authenticity only. It doesn't decide whether the marriage itself will be legally recognized everywhere, so it doesn't replace checking the country-specific rules.

Who issues it: a designated competent authority in your document's home country. In the US, this is usually a state's Secretary of State office; in most European countries, it's the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or a regional court. How long it takes: this varies by issuing authority and season. Sometimes it's days, sometimes several weeks. Build in buffer time, and confirm the current turnaround with the office that will issue yours.

A certificate of no impediment is an official document confirming there's nothing (like an existing marriage) that would stop you from marrying. Most European countries, and most civil-law countries generally, require proof like this before they'll issue a marriage license to a foreigner.

Here's the part that trips up almost every American couple: the United States does not issue a certificate of no impediment. This isn't a paperwork gap, it's a structural fact. US marriage records are kept at the state and county level, not nationally. So there's no single federal office positioned to certify anyone's marital status. The US State Department's own consular guidance says it directly: "All civil law countries require proof of legal capacity to enter into a marriage contract in the form of certification by competent authority that no impediment exists to the marriage... No such document exists in the United States" (U.S. Department of State, 7 FAM 1450).

The workaround is an affidavit of eligibility to marry: a sworn statement, signed by you, saying you're legally free to marry. If the country where you're marrying will accept it, you can often sign this in front of a notary in the US before you travel. If not, the same State Department guidance explains you'll need to sign the affidavit at a US embassy or consulate in the country where you're getting married (7 FAM 1450). Either way, it's a normal, well-worn process. It just surprises people who assumed the US would have an equivalent to what most other countries issue.

If you're not American, your own country likely does issue a CNI. It goes by different names: a certificate of no marriage impediment, a certificate of celibacy, or a declaration of legal capacity to marry. You'll get it through your national registrar, foreign ministry, or your embassy abroad. The exact office and process depend on your nationality and where you live. That's exactly why the country-specific guides below spell out the local version of this step.

Your birth certificate proves who you are and where you were born, and most countries want to see one before they'll marry you. The catch is that a plain birth certificate, on its own, usually isn't enough for a foreign registrar to accept at face value. It typically needs to be authenticated. That's either the apostille described above, if both countries are Convention members, or the older chain-legalisation process, if one of them isn't.

In practice, for the countries covered in this guide series, that almost always means an apostille rather than full legalisation. The US, the Netherlands, France, Italy, Greece, Portugal, and Spain are all Apostille Convention members. So if you already understand the apostille section above, you understand this step too. Get an apostille attached to your birth certificate from the office in your home state or country, and it will travel with you.

One practical note. Many countries want a recently issued copy of your birth certificate, not the original from your birth. Some registrars won't accept a certificate older than a set number of months. Order a fresh certified copy before you start the apostille process, and check the exact age limit with the country you're marrying in.

If your documents aren't already in the local language of the country where you're marrying, you'll usually need a certified translation. Not just any translation: one done by a translator authorized to attest that it's accurate. The EU's own justice portal describes these professionals plainly: "court translators/interpreters" are "authorised to translate official documents (marriage certificates, school certificates, university diplomas, court submissions, judgments, etc.)" and can "affix an official stamp to their translations to certify the translation" (European e-Justice Portal).

Why the formality? A translation used in a legal process has to hold up to the same scrutiny as the original document. A casual or self-translated version, even an accurate one, generally won't be accepted. Each EU country maintains its own way of finding a certified translator. It's usually a national register kept by the justice ministry or the courts. That said, the e-Justice Portal notes these registers don't exist in every member state in the same form (European e-Justice Portal). The country guides below name the specific register for each destination.

One thing worth checking before you pay for a translation. If you're presenting a document within the EU, you may be able to request a multilingual standard form from the country that issued it, instead of translating it. Some receiving authorities will accept that form in place of a certified translation (Your Europe: Getting Public Documents Accepted). Some issuing offices charge a small administrative fee for it. But that's typically far less than a certified translation would cost, so it's worth asking about before you pay for one.

A rough order that works for most couples:

1. Order fresh copies of your birth certificate (and, if divorced or widowed, your divorce decree or spouse's death certificate).

2. Apostille the documents that need it, from the issuing state or country.

3. Sort out your CNI or affidavit of eligibility, timed so it's still valid on your wedding date; many countries only accept these documents if issued within a matter of months, so this is usually the last step before travel, not the first.

4. Get certified translations of anything not already in the local language, once you know exactly which documents the registrar wants.

The order matters because some documents expire quickly and others take weeks to produce. Starting the CNI process too early is a common, avoidable mistake.

Everything above is the general shape of the paperwork. The exact combination, which office issues what, how long each step is valid, and any extra local requirement, depends on the country. That's covered in depth in the destination guides:

• Getting Married in the Netherlands as a Foreigner

• Getting Married in France as a Foreigner

• Getting Married in Greece as a Foreigner

• Getting Married in Italy as a Foreigner

Do I need an apostille no matter which country I marry in? If both your home country and the country you're marrying in are Apostille Convention members, then yes, an apostille is the standard route. That covers the US and every European country in this series. Within the EU specifically, some document categories skip even that step. Check the relevant country guide for the exact rule that applies to you.

What if my country doesn't issue a certificate of no impediment? The US is the clearest example: it doesn't issue one nationally. The workaround is a sworn affidavit of eligibility to marry. You sign it either before a US notary, if the destination country accepts it that way, or at a US embassy or consulate abroad. If your own country also has no national CNI, ask your embassy in the country where you'll marry what alternative they offer.

How long does it take to gather all of this? It varies by country and by how quickly your local offices process apostilles and certificates. Give yourself at least a few months before your wedding date, and start with the documents that don't expire (like your birth certificate) before you request anything with a short validity window (like a CNI).

Do I need a certified translation if my documents are already in English? Only if English isn't accepted where you're marrying. Some countries accept English documents outright; others want everything in the local language regardless. The country-specific guides note where this matters.

Is an apostilled document the same as a legalised one? They accomplish the same goal, making a document usable abroad, but they're different processes. An apostille is the streamlined version available between Convention member countries. Legalisation is the older, longer chain-of-authentication process still used between countries where one isn't a Convention member. For this guide series, apostille is almost always the right path.

What happens if a document expires before the wedding? Some documents, especially a CNI or affidavit of eligibility, are only considered valid for a limited window. If yours runs out before your ceremony, you'll typically need to have it reissued. That's why it's smart to time this step close to your travel date rather than months in advance. The specific validity window is set by the country you're marrying in, so confirm it in that country's guide.

Paperwork is the unglamorous part of a wedding abroad. But getting it right early means your actual wedding day is free to be about the day itself, not a scramble for a missing stamp. I've spent twelve years photographing weddings, most of them across the US. Now I'm building out coverage across Amsterdam and the Netherlands, France, Italy, and the rest of Europe. If you're planning a legal or symbolic wedding here, you may want a photographer who already understands both the romantic side and the practical side of marrying abroad. I'd love to hear from you.

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• U.S. Department of State, Foreign Affairs Manual, 7 FAM 1450: Marriage of U.S. Citizens Abroad

• HCCH (Hague Conference on Private International Law), Apostille Section

• HCCH, 1961 Apostille Convention Status Table

• European Commission, Your Europe, Getting Public Documents Accepted in Another EU Country

• European e-Justice Portal, Legal Translators/Interpreters