If you have gotten married and need a new marriage certificate or a transcript from the marriage registry, you can request these from the registry office. To do so, please contact the registry office in the district where you were married.

The marriage certificate serves as proof of your marriage to your spouse. It includes the first and last names as of the date of marriage and prior to that, the spouses’ maiden names at the time of marriage, the place and date of birth of the spouses, the place and date of the marriage, and, if applicable, a subsequent record of the dissolution of the marriage by divorce or death, or the annulment of the marriage by court order.

You can obtain the marriage certificate in the following formats:

• Marriage certificate
• Multilingual marriage certificate, colloquially also known as an international marriage certificate
• Certified printout from the marriage registry

A certified extract from the marriage registry contains all the data that the civil registry office has recorded in connection with your marriage.

If the civil status data of the spouses changes—for example, due to a name change, divorce, or annulment of the marriage by court order—the marriage record is updated with subsequent entries. Upon request, an updated marriage certificate can then be issued to you.

Marriage certificates contain personal information, so their issuance is subject to data protection restrictions: 

• You are eligible to apply under the following conditions:
  • You are at least 16 years old.
  • You are the spouse to whom the certificate refers.
  • You are the parent of one of the spouses.
  • You are a child of the spouses.
• Close relatives, such as siblings or grandchildren, as well as persons with no family relationship, may only apply for a certificate if they can demonstrate a legal interest, for example through a letter from the probate court.
• If the marriage was solemnized abroad, you must first have it registered in Germany at the registry office.

To apply for a marriage certificate, you will need:

• your ID card or passport (a copy if applying in writing; if applying online, you must authenticate yourself electronically using an ID card with an online ID function),
• if applying or picking up the document through a representative: a written power of attorney from the authorized person, and the representative’s ID card or passport,
• for other persons, including close relatives such as aunts and uncles, proof of their legal interest, such as a letter from the probate court, a court judgment, or an enforceable title.

There may be a fee for issuing a marriage certificate. Please contact the relevant registry office.

The issuance of a marriage certificate or a certified copy of the registry costs 15.00 euros; the second and each additional copy requested and produced in the same process costs 7.50 euros.

• In person: Card payments (Giro, credit card, Visa, Mastercard, etc.), mobile payments;
  cash payments are not accepted!
• For online applications: PayPal, Mastercard, Visa, Giropay, Paydirekt
• For applications by mail and fax: Invoice