Dates and information on marriage

You register for marriage at the registry office of the town where you live, because the registry office of your main place of residence is responsible. If you live at different addresses, you can choose at which registry office you want to register. If neither of you has your main or secondary residence in Beckum, the Beckum registry office is not responsible for registering the marriage. However, it is possible to get married in Beckum. However, you must register at the registry office of your place of residence.

As is generally known, it takes two to marry, so you should also come to the Beckum registry office as a couple with your
documents to register your marriage. For
justified exceptions, please talk to your registry office.
Due to the large number of regulations in civil status and the different individual life situations, it is unfortunately not possible to provide you with a comprehensive list of all the documents you need to submit.

The simplest way is to register,

• if both were born in Germany
• if both have German citizenship
• if both live in Germany

Then bring the following documents with you:

• Valid identity card or passport
• A certified copy of the birth register (you can get this from the registry office where you were born). If you were born in Beckum, you do not have to worry about this, because the Beckum registry office has your birth entry in the birth register and will of course make it available. 

You were already married?

• A certified copy of the marriage register of your last marriage or a marriage certificate with a note of dissolution (you can get this from the registry office in Germany where you were last married). If you have been divorced abroad, this divorce must also be recognised for the German legal sphere, so you may be asked to submit proof of this to
  . If the divorce has yet to be recognised, you must submit a certified copy of the marriage register or marriage certificate with a note of dissolution. If the recognition still has to take place, the foreign decision must first be recognised at
  Higher Regional Court Hamm.
  
  

You do not live in Beckum?

• You need a current extended registration certificate. This registration certificate, which shows your first and family names, marital status, place of residence, nationality and religious affiliation, is issued by the competent registration office of your main or secondary residence, in Beckum by the Bürgerbüro.
  
  

 Were you not born in the country?

• Please present your birth certificate with a current German translation. This may need to be apostilled or legalised.
  (At the competent authority where the certificate was issued.)

You were already married abroad?

• Please submit your marriage certificate and annulment of marriage with a current German translation. This may have to be provided with an apostille or legalisation. (At the competent authority where the certificate was issued).

Do you have a foreign nationality?

• Foreigners who wish to marry in Germany also need a certificate of marriageability and, if applicable, a certificate of unmarried status. In the certificate of marriageability
  the competent home authority confirms that there are no legal obstacles to marriage. If the certificate cannot be issued, you must apply for an
  exemption from the President of the Higher Regional Court. For this, you must submit all
  documents with the last 3 payslips. The exemption usually takes 4 - 6 weeks.
  
  If same-sex couples wish to marry and the home state does not provide for same-sex marriage, a certificate of marriageability does not have to be presented.
  
  A certificate of marriageability is only valid for six months.
  
  

If you are unsure about which documents to obtain, have a preliminary talk with your registry office to clarify everything and bring the correct documents with you to the registration.

• If one of the bride and groom has a foreign nationality and insofar
  foreign law has to be taken into account, a personal consultation at the registry office is required before registration.

• If you intend to marry abroad, we recommend that you contact the relevant registry office or the consular mission of the country concerned directly.
• The Beckum registry office, together with the Beckum citizens' registration office, offers a further citizen service to all bridal couples whose names have changed as a result of their marriage
  . If you would like to receive your new passport or identity card with your new name directly after you have said "I do" at the wedding, for example because you are going on your honeymoon directly after the wedding, please state your wish. You will receive a certificate showing your forthcoming marriage and future name and present it at the Citizens' Registration Office. However, the new identity card or passport can be applied for at the earliest 7 weeks before the day of the marriage and can be collected from
  Bürgerbüro after the marriage. However, the opening hours of the Bürgerbüro must be observed here. The prerequisite for this service regarding the issuing of passports or identity cards is German citizenship and that you are registered in Beckum with your main place of residence.
• If a German has married abroad, the marriage can be subsequently certified in the marriage register of the Beckum registry office on application. More detailed information on the possibility of subsequent certification of marriages abroad and the documents required for this can be obtained from the registry office.

• Since 01.10.2017, the law introducing the right to marry for persons of the same sex has come into force. This clears the way for marriage for all.
  Thus, same-sex couples can now also become spouses. Furthermore,
  already existing civil partnerships can be converted into marriage.

• It has no longer been possible to establish a civil partnership since 01.10.2017.
  Both for same-sex marriage and for the "conversion" of an existing civil partnership into a marriage, a registration must be made at the registry office.
  The respective registry office of the place of residence is responsible for the registration. It is already possible to register at the registry office in Beckum. A verified registration is valid for six months.

Please make an appointment for your visit so that longer waiting times can be avoided. Your questions can be clarified in a conversation.

• The following documents are required for the application to convert a civil partnership into a marriage:

- Identity card or passport,
- civil partnership certificate or copy from the civil partnership register,
- current extended certificate of registration if you do not live in Beckum.

• The requirements for registering a same-sex marriage are essentially the same as for opposite-sex marriages. You can find more information here.

Marriages are performed by the appointed registrars of the city of Beckum. The civil marriage ceremony usually lasts 20 to 25 minutes. This is roughly what your wedding ceremony looks like:
 

• Welcome and final formalities (such as introduction, presentation of the fiancées' and witnesses' identity cards, clarification of questions)
• Address
• Marriage formula - the "yes" word
• Time to change the ring
• Reading and signing of the required minutes and documents
• Handing over of the certificate and attestations, if desired handing over of the family record book
• Congratulations to the "newly married" couple and farewells

Feel free to express your wishes and requests for the design of an individual wedding ceremony when registering for the marriage. If you would like to have a central theme for your wedding ceremony, the Beckum registry office will be happy to help you.

Of course, you may take photographs of this important moment in your life and only film it to a reasonable extent in consultation with the registrars
. Please discuss all details with the registrars and take it to heart that you do not disturb the wedding ceremony.

The registry office is obliged to inform marrying couples about the right of representation of spouses
. In order to fulfil this duty, we have deposited an information sheet of the competent Federal Ministry here. We strongly recommend that you retrieve this leaflet here.