Marriage certificate

The marriage certificate is the document issued by the Civil Registry Officer, which attests to the act of marriage and the date, time, and place it occurred (Art. 69 LRC).

Likewise, electronic marriage certificates with an electronic seal from the Directorate General of Registries and Notaries may be issued based on the data contained in the central database of individuals registered in the Civil Registries.

PROCESSING THE MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE

There are several types:

A) Positive Certificate:
- Extract: This is a summary of the information contained in the Civil Registry regarding the celebration of the marriage and the identity of the contracting parties. It can be of different types:
- Ordinary: This is issued in Castilian Spanish for those Autonomous Communities whose only official language is Castilian Spanish.
- International or multilingual: This is intended to take effect in countries that have ratified the Vienna Convention of 8 September 1976. This certificate is issued in the official language of all signatory countries to the said convention (Spain, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Netherlands, Portugal, Switzerland, Turkey, Serbia Montenegro).
- Bilingual: Whenever an extract certificate is requested in an Autonomous Community that has its own official language, it will be issued in Castilian Spanish and in the official language of the Autonomous Community where it is issued.
- Literal: This is a literal copy of the marriage registration, containing all data related to the celebration of the marriage, the identity of the contracting parties, as well as any marginal annotations that may have been made (matrimonial property regime, separation, annulment, or divorce…).
B) Negative Certificate: These certify that the marriage is not registered in that Civil Registry.
C) Certification with an electronic seal from the Directorate General of Registries and Notaries: This will serve to certify the data contained in the computerised and digitised registry entries in the central database that have been made from 1 January 1950 in Municipal Civil Registries or in the Central Civil Registry. Certifications cannot be issued by this procedure when entries were made before 1950 or were made in a delegated Civil Registry (justices of the peace) or in a Consular Civil Registry.

Who can request/submit it

1.- It can be requested by any citizen who requires it and has an interest, except for legally stipulated exceptions that prevent disclosure without special authorisation:

Of adoptive, non-marital or unknown filiation or circumstances that reveal such character, of the date of marriage recorded on the birth certificate, if the marriage was subsequent to the birth or had been celebrated within 180 days prior to the birth, and of the change of the surname Expósito or other similar or inconvenient surnames.
Of the grounds for annulment, separation or divorce of a marriage or for the deprivation or suspension of parental authority.
Of archived documents, regarding the points cited in the preceding paragraphs or dishonourable circumstances or those incorporated in a confidential file.
Of the abortion file.
Authorisation in these cases will be granted by the presiding Judge and only to those who justify a legitimate interest and a well-founded reason for requesting it. The certificate will state the name of the applicant, the purpose for which it is issued, and the express authorisation of the Officer. The Officer, in the Registry directly under their charge, will issue the certificate themselves.

2.- Certifications with an electronic seal from the Directorate General of Registries and Notaries can only be requested by the data subject who identifies themselves using an electronic DNI or other advanced electronic signature systems accepted by Public Administrations. These registry data will refer to digitised or computerised marriage entries that have been made from 1 January 1950.

Under no circumstances can information relating to the registry data of other individuals be obtained through this procedure.

How to request it

Via the current website, www.RegistroCivil.es:

Marriage certificate request

Or you can carry out the process directly at the corresponding Civil Registry, either in person, by postal mail, or electronically if the respective Civil Registry is computerised. You can find more information on the Ministry of Justice website (www.mjusticia.gob.es)

information

Where can I request a marriage certificate?

You can request a marriage certificate from the Civil Registry corresponding to the municipality where the marriage took place. Consult the full list of cities and access detailed information about marriage certificates in that municipality.