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Required Documents to Get Married in Denmark

Required Documents to Get Married in Denmark

Here at Getting Married in Denmark, we’ve created this comprehensive guide to the documents required to get married in Denmark. 

This will help you understand how the whole process works, and help you to avoid making any errors that could compromise your marriage application.

Documents you and your partner will need:

The only document required for everyone

Documents you and your partner might need:

If one or both partners is required a Visa to enter Denmark.

If one or both partners are from outside the EU/Schengen Area and live in an EU/Schengen country.

If one or both partners has been married before.

If you have any children together, then proof of this is required. 

If one or both partners are in military service, they will require a statement of permission to marry from their commanding officer or their Military Orders.

In most cases your birth certificate is not necessary.

In most cases a single status certificate is not necessary.

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For you who wish to understand the above requirements in depth

Below we will provide answers to many of the most commonly asked questions we receive from couples about the required documents to get married in Denmark, and offer some direction on where to go if you need further help or advice.

Yes, most definitely, people from all over the world have been coming to Denmark to marry since the 60’s and today around 20,000 foreign couples come to Denmark to marry every year.

Many of these couples are in multi-national relationships who choose to journey to Denmark for their special day to avoid cumbersome bureaucracy in their residing countries.

Some couples are just looking for somewhere for a discreet elopement and others have bigger celebrations planned in a different country.

Denmark welcomes people from all nations, and we think this is pretty awesome!

Yes, getting married in Denmark with a tourist Visa is absolutely possible.

You don’t need to be residing in Denmark to get married here. We know this is a requirement for many countries, but it’s not a requirement in Denmark.

You can get married in Denmark even though you’re not a Danish citizen or a resident.

It’s no problem if you have a Visa, permit, or use your visa free days. As long as you legally enter the country, you can get married in Denmark.

You can read more about the Visa types you can use to get married in Denmark further down in this article 

Once we have all the documents from the couple, we work very quickly to process your application and then we usually receive your approval within a week. 

Although we do advise our couples that it can sometimes take up to 4 weeks depending on how busy the Agency of Family Law is at that point, it can be much quicker than this.

This entirely depends on your circumstances, what documentation is required from you and exactly when and where you want to get married. It also depends, to a great extent, how quickly you are able to supply the required documentation to us in the required format.

When we receive your approval, we then need to book your appointment and the time this takes varies depending on the town hall. 

Some are quick at replying, whereas others take a week or so to get back to us.

If you’re in a rush, we would advise a town hall for you which is quick with their communication and also has plenty of availability.

It’s easier to get married in Denmark, simply because the bureaucracy is much lighter than many other countries.

You don’t need to jump through as many hoops or provide as much paperwork and so the whole process is much quicker.

Also, once you’re here in Denmark, it’s very comfortable and easy to navigate.

Denmark has a great infrastructure and is very welcoming to foreign visitors. Most Danes can speak English too.

The whole experience of Getting Married in Denmark is just lovely from start to finish, especially with our support!

No. 1 What Documents Do You Need to Get Married in Denmark?

Let’s start with the basics for getting married in Denmark.

Requirements can vary depending on where you come from, where you live, your civil status and whether or not you have children, but as a general rule, all couples will need to supply the following documents for both partners:

  • A valid passport or EU ID card
  • A signed Declaration of Truth (we provide this for you to sign)
  • A signed Power of Attorney (we provide this for you to sign)

Depending on your personal situation, you might also need one or more of the following documents to meet the requirements to get married in Denmark:

  • A Visa 
  • A residence permit
  • A final divorce decree, divorce certificate or death certificate if one or both partners has been married before
  • Original birth certificate of your child(ren), if you have any children with your partner
  • Permission to marry from your Commanding Officer OR your Military Orders if one or both partners are in military service

  • Proof of your shared address if you live together

  • A signed Declaration under section 11b of the Danish Marriage Act on spousal reunification if one or both partners live in Denmark or one of them is Danish

Additional factors to consider regarding the documents required to get married in Denmark

As you can see from the above list, the required documents to get married in Denmark are not as extensive or challenging as those for many other countries!

However, as is the case with anything involving legal paperwork, there are a number of additional considerations you need to take into account too.

You may also need to provide translations of your original documents, undertake legalisation of certain documents, and consider the validity period of your ‘Prøvelsesattest’ or ‘Certificate of Marital Status’, that is; the approval period issued, during which you are allowed to get married in Denmark.

We’ll cover all of this in Part 5.

No. 2 The documents everyone needs

In this section we will explain in detail about these required documents. Here we go.

A valid passport

If you want to enter or remain in Denmark and get married here, both you and your partner will need a valid passport, or – if you are from an EU/Schengen country (Ireland excepted) – an EU ID card.

As part of the documents requirements to get married in Denmark, your passports must:

  • Have at least two blank Visa/stamp pages left in them
  • Have been issued within the last ten years
  • Be valid for at least three months beyond the length of your stay in Denmark*

*If your passport has less than four months of time remaining before it expires, then the length of the Certificate of Marital Status (Prøvelsesattest), i.e. the period you will be given to marry in Denmark, will be limited in time based on this.

A signed Declaration of Truth (GMiD will provide a copy for you to sign)

The Declaration of Truth is a legal document that you and your partner need to sign, and it is a standard PDF form supplied by the Danish Agency of Family Law, or AFL for short.

We at GMiD will provide this form and help you with completing and signing it.

Signing the Declaration of Truth means making a legally binding statement that all of the information you supply within your marriage application is true and correct, and that your supporting documents are real.

Being honest about this to the best of your ability is really important, because it is a criminal offence to lie or use fake documents, which might result in a monetary fine or even prison time.

A signed Power of Attorney (GMiD will provide a copy for you to sign)

A signed Power of Attorney document approves us here at GMiD to help you with your marriage application, and to speak and act on your behalf and with your permission.

We require this document to enable us to submit your marriage application, stay up to date with the status of your application, and contact and handle interactions with the Danish Agency of Family Law on your behalf.

No. 3 Do You Need a Visa to Get Married in Denmark?

What type of Visa do you need to get married in Denmark?

There are lots of different answers to this, and some visitors don’t need a Visa at all!

But you may need a valid Visa to get married in Denmark.

If you do need a Visa, there are a number of different options.

We’ll cover the different Visa types that can be used to get married in Denmark, along with information on exemptions, and answer some other common questions about Danish Visa requirements within this section.

 

Getting married in Denmark on a Schengen C Visa

Is it possible to get married in Denmark on a C Visa also known as a tourist Visa that is valid within the Schengen Area?

Yes, as long as the Visa is valid on the date of your wedding, you have not exceeded the duration of your permitted stay, and it does not explicitly exclude travelling to Denmark.

Getting married in Denmark on a Schengen D Visa

Is it possible to get married in Denmark on a D Visa issued by one of the Schengen States?

Again yes, as long as the Visa is valid on the date of your wedding, you meet the 90/180 rule and  and it does not explicitly exclude travelling to Denmark.

 

Getting married in Denmark if you’re Visa-exempt

Not everyone who comes to Denmark is subject to Danish Visa requirements; 

Visitors from some countries don’t need a Visa to come to Denmark at all, and these people are known as Visa-exempt in Denmark.

Is it possible to get married in Denmark if you’re Visa exempt? Yes, as long as you haven’t overstayed your permitted time in the Schengen Area.

For most visitors who are Visa exempt in Denmark, you are permitted to stay for no longer than 90 days in any 180-day period, although this is variable depending on where you come from.

You can check yourself using the above link, whether you need a Visa or whether you are exempted and can instead use your 90 Visa-free days as a tourist.

What you need to know about entry and exit stamps and getting married in Denmark

The stamps in your Passport are important, as they prove that you haven’t overstayed your permitted time in the Schengen Area – or to show that you have! 

You will have to show all of the stamps in your passport (and if relevant, also your Schengen Visa or residence permit issued by one of the Schengen countries) to prove that you haven’t exceeded your permitted stay. There may be instances where you also need to show a previous passport and/or permit?

What if I’ve got an overstay mark on my Passport?

Is it possible to get married in Denmark if you’ve overstayed your permitted time and this is marked in your passport and/or Visa? Well, this might well be a problem.

Overstaying your permitted visit, even if this was in the past, can greatly compromise your chances of having an application to get married in Denmark approved.

This doesn’t mean that it is impossible, but it will definitely make things harder, and may result in your application being refused.

In a nutshell, you will need to show that the overstay was either justified or settled with having paid a fine.

Either way, this needs to be handled very carefully to give you the best chances of being able to go ahead with your wedding.

No. 4 Other Documents You May Need to Meet the Requirements

Some couples will need to provide additional documents to get married in Denmark. 

Requirements can vary, and we can offer help and advice for your own personal circumstances.

Here’s some guidance on the additional documents required to get married in Denmark you may be asked to provide.

A residence permit

A residence permit or residency permit is a document that allows you to stay in a country other than your home country for longer than you would be allowed to as short-term visitor.

A residence permit might allow you to reside in the country that grants it indefinitely; or it might have a fixed end date.

This might be a residence permit for Denmark itself, or for a different EU/Schengen country; from which residents are also allowed to enter Denmark.

For instance, if you have a residence permit from another EU country, this could serve as one of your required documents to get married in Denmark, even though the residence permit isn’t for Denmark itself.

A final divorce decree, divorce certificate or death certificate

If either you or your partner have ever been married before, that previous marriage must be legally over before you can get married in Denmark.

This means you’ll need to supply either a final divorce decree (or divorce certificate) or a death certificate to prove that the prior marriage has finished and that you’re free to marry again.

Getting this right is really important, and being unable to provide a final divorce decree, (or divorce certificate) or death certificate can stop you from getting married entirely! 

We’ve handled and resolved a wide range of issues with death and divorce certificates from all over the world, and we’ll help you to get things right the first time.

Who needs a divorce decree or death certificate to get married in Denmark?

If you and/or your partner had a previous legal marriage

  • If you or your partner have been legally married before – in any country – you will need to provide a final divorce decree or death certificate, proving by law that the marriage has been dissolved by divorce or death.
  • If you or your partner have been married and divorced or widowed more than once, you only need to provide the divorce papers or death certificate of the most recent marriage, not those for the prior marriage(s) too.

If you and/or your partner were involved in a registered partnership

  • If you or your partner have previously been in a registered partnership with someone else, you will need to provide a dissolution decree or certificate or death certificate for the registered partnership in order to get married in Denmark.

  • If you and your partner are currently in a registered partnership with each other, the bad news is that you have to formally dissolve the union each other and get the paperwork to prove this before you can get married in Denmark!

 

It isn’t possible to convert or “upgrade” your existing civil union to a legal marriage in Denmark instead

If you and/or your partner previously had a religious, but not legal, marriage​

  • If you or your partner were previously married to someone else in a union recognised by your religion but not by the law, you don’t need to provide a death or divorce certificate to get married in Denmark.
  • If you and your partner are married to each other under a union recognised by your religion but not by the law, the good news is that you don’t have to divorce from that union to marry each other under Danish law!

Understanding the technical terms for a former marriage​

As mentioned earlier on, getting the divorce papers or a death certificate is really important for getting married in Denmark without problems.

However, the three most common methods of splitting up with a former husband or wife are often taken to mean the same thing, when in law, they’re viewed very differently.

Here’s a simple explanation for each of them:

Divorce:

A divorce is a legally recognised and completely final end to a marriage between two romantic partners.

Once a divorce has been issued and the divorce has become final (or absolute), both former partners are free to marry again.

Annulment:

Annulments are uncommon; legally, an annulment means voiding a marriage or declaring it invalid, as if the marriage never really happened in the first place.

Annulments are also recognised in law, and may be issued in place of a divorce in exceptional circumstances, such as if one of the partners was already legally married to someone else, or misrepresented themselves in order to marry; for instance, to try to get citizenship benefits.

If you were married and received a legal annulment, then you are free to marry again.

Separation:

A separation is not the same as a divorce or annulment, because during a separation, the two partners in the union are still legally married to each other, and so, are not free to marry again.

A separation may be part of the process of attaining a divorce, and may be permanent or temporary; but if you and your former partner are only separated but not divorced, or your marriage is not annulled, you are not free to marry again at this point.

What is a death certificate?

A death certificate is a document that is produced by the authorities after a person’s death. It is to prove that the law recognises this person has died.

If you are legally married to the person at the time of their death, then the death certificate acts as proof that you are no longer legally married, and are free to remarry again, when the time is right. 

Note: The death certificate must list the other partner as the then spouse or husband. Some death certificates do not list this information, in which case, on top of the death certificate, a copy of the marriage certificate of the previous marriage is also required. 

Does a death certificate or divorce certificate need to be verified or certified before submission?

If you do need to provide a death certificate or divorce certificate as part of the requirements to get married in Denmark, you may need to have the certificate legalised first.

We’ll talk about what this means in more detail later on.

However, if the divorce certificate or death certificate was issued in the USA, Canada, Australia, or an EU member country, it is all ready to use as it is.

If you are in the military, you may need permission to marry from your commanding officer

If you, your partner, or both are in the military and stationed in a Schengen country, you will need to either provide permission from your Commanding Officer or your Military Orders before you can get married in Denmark!

If you are a civilian, working for the military in a Schengen country, then in this instance you will need to provide your SOFA stamp. 

These are required to show legal stay within the Schengen, without the need for a Visa or residence permit. 

An original birth certificate

birth certificate is a formal document that verifies and documents the birth of a child, and this is one document that even adults need to produce to prove their identity or place and date of birth occasionally.

That said, most people don’t need to supply their own birth certificate to get married in Denmark.

However, if you have children together, you will need to supply the birth certificate for your child or children as one of the required documents to get married in Denmark.

If the birth certificate does not list the father, then additional information to proof the fatherhood, such as paternity recognition, a DNA test etc. can be accepted.

A “Single Status” Certificate

The Danish Agency of Family Law doesn’t usually ask for a Single Status Certificate before they’ll let you get married in Denmark. However, they can sometimes ask for a Single Status Certificate, if this is necessary, in combination with your divorce papers to show that the divorce has become final.

A Single Status Certificate or is known by various different names depending on the country issuing it; in Denmark, it’s called a “Civilstandsattest” (Single Status Certificate); in the UK it is a Certificate of No Impediment, and in Germany, it is called a Ledigkeitsbescheinigung.

The certificate itself confirms to the relevant Danish authorities that the holder meets all of the requirements to be able to legally marry, and it remains valid for four months from the date of issue.

The certificate needs to show your name, date and place of birth, current address, citizenship, and of course, marital status!

Declaration under section 11b of the Danish Marriage Act on awareness of the rules on spousal reunification set out in the Danish Aliens Act

Finally, we’ve left the most complicated-sounding document you may need to get married in Denmark until last! That said, this document isn’t quite as complicated as it sounds.

It’s just a declaration you need to read and sign, agreeing that you know the rules Denmark has in place surrounding family reunification. This is known as an 11b declaration.

If only you or your partner (but not both of you) are a permanent resident or legal citizen of Denmark and the other partner is not an EU citizen either, you will need to make this statement; but otherwise, this document isn’t required.

No. 5 Other considerations

So, now you’ve got all of the documents you need; you can just post them off with your application, right? Wrong!

You’re almost there, but there are a few other considerations you need to bear in mind too, to ensure your application goes smoothly and you’re permitted to get married in Denmark without any problems.

These are:

  • Translation of your documents.
  • Legalisation of your documents.
  • The format that your documents are presented in.
  • The validity period for your Certificate of Marital Status.

 

Additional requests can sometimes also be made in some cases where permits are linked to family members of EU Citizens, or if there are entry/ exit stamps missing from your passport, etc…

Translation of the documents required to get married in Denmark

Unfortunately, you can’t necessarily just submit your documents in their original language; you might need to have them professionally translated first, depending on what language was used to begin with.

The Danish Government accepts documents written in the following languages:

  • Danish
  • English
  • German
  • Nordic Languages

 

So if your documents are in one of these languages, the need to get them translated won’t apply to you.

However, if your documents are in any other language, you will need to get them professionally translated into one of these three languages before they can be submitted.

In the meantime, any time-sensitive documents that have a fixed validity period might be running out of time, and so this is something you will want to avoid.

Getting Married in Denmark is very familiar with meeting the requirements when it comes to translation of documents.

Legalisation of documents

Legalisation of documents – known in some countries as authentication or notarisation – is the process of certifying and verifying that an important document is legal and genuine, so that it can be properly recognised and used for its intended purpose.

Some documents required to get married in Denmark that were issued by another country may have to be legalised before they can be submitted in support of your marriage application.

One of the most common – and yet, easy to avoid – reasons for applications to get married in Denmark being delayed or rejected is because of missing legalisations.

What documents required to get married in Denmark need to be legalised?

Generally, it is death certificates, final divorce decrees and divorce certificates that need to be legalised, although this does depend on where they were originally issued.

Sometimes, the Danish Agency of Family Law will request that other documents be legalised too, but this is less common.

Apostille Legalisations for people from Hague Convention countries

If the country where your document was issued is a Hague Convention Country, you might be asked for an Apostille Legalisation.

This is basically a universal legalisation certificate that can be used across all Hague Convention countries to verify a document’s validity, without the need for additional legalisation procedures.

Legalisations for people from non-Hague Convention countries

If the country that issued your documents is not a Hague Convention country, you need to go through a slightly different process to get your documents legalised as part of your application to get married in Denmark.

Exactly what is required for this can vary, but Getting Married in Denmark is once more fully experienced in the legalisation of documents from all over the world, and can guide you through the process from start to finish.

The format your documents are presented in

The chances are that most or all of your documents are in paper format, and you could be forgiven for thinking that the Danish Agency of Family Law would demand to receive them in this original format; however, this is not the case!

All of the documents required to get married in Denmark need to be submitted digitally, either in PDF or image format. You cannot post off or hand in paper documents as part of your application.

This is another common stumbling block for many people who aren’t familiar with the exact requirements to get married in Denmark, and one that can cause long delays in processing your application.

All of our services are fully inclusive of organising your documents into the correct format to meet the requirements of the Danish Agency of Family Law.

Time-sensitive document: The Prøvelsesattest, or Certificate of Marital Status

The Certificate of Marital Status – or Prøvelsesattest, as the Danish Agency of Family Law calls it – is not the same thing as a Single Status Certificate, and this is very important to remember, to ensure that you don’t confuse the two!

In order to ensure we don’t generate any confusion ourselves, in this section we’ll use the Danish name of Prøvelsesattest for the document in question, just to be safe.

The Prøvelsesattest or Prøvelsesattesten is a document issued by the Danish Agency of Family Law once you and your partner have received approval of your wedding application to get married in Denmark.

Prøvelsesattesten is valid for a maximum of four months after it is issued, and once it has been issued, it is sent directly to the town hall that you have chosen to get married in.

After those four months (or shorter in some cases), the certificate expires, and you will not be able to get married in Denmark. You cannot extend the original certificate past the four-month period either; you would need to make a brand-new application (and pay the application fee all over again) to get a new one.

No. 6 Where to Go for Help With Getting Married in Denmark

If you’ve taken the time to read about the documents required to get married in Denmark and the other considerations you need to think about too, it is understandable that you might be feeling a little daunted by it all!

However, the requirements to get married in Denmark are much more relaxed than they are in most other countries, and Denmark remains one of the fastest and easiest places for international and multinational couples to get legally married without problems.

Getting Married in Denmark can help with this; just check out our reviews and testimonials from other couples!

Trying to get married in other countries if you or your partner aren’t citizens there can be hugely confusing, and can rarely be achieved without the support of costly attorneys.

Such lawyers generally charge a high premium and often take a very long time – all of which is billable – getting you to the end goal, if they manage it at all.

One of the main reasons why Denmark is such a popular destination for international and multinational couples to get married is because cost-effective and easy-to-access services like ours here at Getting Married in Denmark are available to assist with the whole process.

Ultimately, we can actually save you money by making sure you get things right the first time, and don’t suffer from the financial (and emotional) impact of avoidable delays or application rejections.

We are not lawyers with penthouse offices and expensive suits; we are simply committed, highly experienced professionals with a proven track record of over 5,500 successful marriage applications made with our support and guidance.

Our goal is to provide excellent customer service with a personal touch, and to ensure that your plans to get married in Denmark go ahead without stress, delays, or any other avoidable problems.

If you have any questions about the documents required to get married in Denmark or if you’re ready to begin your application assisted by experienced professionals, contact Getting Married in Denmark now to get started today.

Get started with our Free Service

This is for those couples who are considering getting married in Denmark and are looking for some helpful information on how to get started and how the process works:

  • You answer our 6 questions for us to understand you and your partner’s situation 
  • We will tell you if you and your partner are able to get married in Denmark
  • We provide you with a preliminary list of the required documents to get married in Denmark
  • We answer any questions, concerns or doubts about getting married in Denmark or our services