Sample Marriage Certificate - English

Termination of prior marriages

Applicants who have been previously married must obtain evidence of the termination of EACH prior marriage. Evidence must be in the form of original documents issued by a competent authority, or certified copies bearing the appropriate seal or stamp of the issuing authority.

Acceptable evidence is a:

• FINAL divorce decree
• Death certificate, or
• Annulment

Your marriage record may not be obtainable or it may not have sufficient information. Some reasons are listed below.

• Your marriage was never officially recorded.
• Your marriage records have been destroyed.
• The appropriate government authority will not issue one.

Please obtain a certified statement from the appropriate government authority stating the reason your marriage record is not available. With the certified statement you must submit an affidavit executed by either the parents of the applicant, if living, or other close relatives older than the applicant, all of whom must have personal knowledge of the marriage. The affidavit should set forth the relationship between the deponent and the applicant, how well the deponent knows the applicant, how the deponent comes to know about the facts to which he or she is swearing, date and place of applicant's marriage, and any other related facts. Note: An affidavit must be executed before an official authorized to take oaths or affirmations (such as First Class Magistrate in India). Information regarding the procedures for obtaining birth certificates is usually available from the embassy or consulate of the country concerned.

Sample - No availability certificate - marriage

Marriage
Marriages must be registered under the Hindu Marriage Act of 1955 if the persons concerned were married under Hindu, Buddhist, Jains or Sikh rites. The Registrar of Marriages will issue a certificate which the consulate will accept as primary evidence of marriage.

If the marriage was performed prior to 1955, two sworn affidavits, giving the names, dates and places of birth of both the bride and groom, together with the date and place of marriage and the names of both parents of both the parties, are acceptable. The affidavits must be executed before a First Class Magistrate by one of the parents of each party, or if the parents are deceased, by the nearest relative of each party who was present at the wedding.

Certificates issued by the appropriate authorities or recognized organizations are acceptable if they are legally valid in India.

For Muslim marriages, please submit a registration certificate from the government appointed Chief Kazi.

Divorce
Divorce between Hindus, Christians, and Parsis must be documented by a court order. Divorce between Muslims must be documented by a certificate from the Kazi or the head of the Jammat.

If the marriage certificate is not in English, it can either be translated by a professional translator or it can even be translated by anyone who is fluent in both the languages (other than the beneficiary for whom it is being prepared).

It must be translated word for word and it should say at the end,

I, <translator name>, certify that I am fluent (conversant) in the English and <native language name> languages, and that the above/attached document is an accurate translation of the document entitled <document title>.

Signature:                                                           
Date:               Typed Name
                        Address

You can alternatively attach a separate affidavit for the translated document.