null Conclusion of a marriage

AK/3472/24  |  Zaktualizowano: 2024-08-26 08:56  |   |   |   | 

Polish translationUkrainian translation

Are you going to get married, want the ceremony to take place in a church or abroad? Check what you should do.

Before the Head of the Civil Registry Office

  • Come with your fiancée to the office where you intend to get married
  • Take the required documents with you (list below)
  • Don't forget your identity documents
  • Choose a date for a wedding
  • On site, you will complete assurances of the absence of impediments to the marriage and pay the stamp duty

Required Documents

  • Underage women attach a final court decision authorizing marriage.
  • Foreigners submit a document confirming the possibility of entering into marriage under their native law or a final court decision exempting a foreigner from the obligation to submit such a document.
  • If the marriage is to be concluded by a proxy, it is necessary to additionally attach:
  1. A final court decision authorizing marriage by proxy.
  2. Power of attorney to submit a declaration of entering into marriage, prepared in writing with a notarially certified signature.
  • For inspection: identity documents of the fiancées.
  • Proof of payment of due stamp duty.

Fees

PLN 84 - stamp duty for drawing up a marriage certificate.

Within 7 days, a certificate confirming the absence of circumstances excluding the conclusion of marriage will be issued.

Wedding halls

Civil Registry Office of the City of Warsaw has 11 wedding halls in the following districts: Śródmieście (2 halls in the Wedding Palace), Bielany, Praga Północ, Targówek, Ursus, Ursynów, Wawer, Wesoła, Wilanów, Wola - Wedding halls (opens in a new tab).

The place of the wedding outside the premises of Civil Registry Office is indicated by the bride and groom in an application to the Head of the Civil Registry Office submitted at any Civil Registry Office location.

Notes
Persons intending to enter into marriage are obliged to submit a written assurance of the absence of impediments to the marriage. The assurance may be submitted before any Head of the Civil Registry Office in the country, and abroad to a Polish consul. A foreigner who does not know Polish language shall submit the said assurance in the presence of an interpreter.

Marriage is concluded in accordance with the provisions of the Family and Guardianship Code.

On the day of the marriage, the fiancée and adult witnesses present identity documents. If at least one of the above the above-mentioned persons do not know Polish language, the marriage is concluded with the participation of an interpreter.

Wedding outside the office
Future spouses can get married outside the registry office. However, it should be taken into account, that it must be a place that guarantees the solemnity and importance of the ceremony and the safety of all participants. Future spouses will have to pay PLN 1,000 to organize such a ceremony.

Concluding a marriage before the Head of the Civil Registry Office (website available in Polish)

Before the priest – a religious marriage with civil and legal consequences

The wedding may be of a religious nature, i.e. be so-called church wedding.

A church wedding may have legal force - a concordat wedding - or it may have no legal effects.

If you want to enter into a marriage before a priest, i.e. a religious marriage with civil and legal effects, the so-called concordat wedding:

  • Come with your fiancée to the office (except in Praga-Południe – 274 Grochowska Street and Mokotów - 10 Falęcka Street).
  • Take the required documents with you (list below).
  • Do not forget your identity documents.
  • On site, you will complete assurances of the absence of impediments to the marriage and pay the stamp duty.

Required Documents

  • Underage women attach a final court decision authorizing marriage.
  • Foreigners shall submit: a document confirming the possibility of entering into marriage under native law or a final court decision exempting a foreigner from the obligation to submit such a document.
  • Proof of payment of due stamp duty.
  • For inspection: identity documents of the fiancées.

Fees

PLN 84 - stamp duty for drawing up a marriage certificate.

Within 7 days a certificate will be issued stating that there are no circumstances excluding the conclusion of marriage.

Notes

  • Persons intending to enter into marriage are obliged to submit a written assurance of the absence of impediments to the marriage. The assurance may be submitted to any head of the Civil Registry Office in the country, and abroad to a Polish consul. A foreigner who does not know Polish language shall submit the said assurance in the presence of a sworn translator.
  • Fiancées wishing for their religious marriage to have effect under Polish law must submit to a priest a certificate stating that there are no circumstances excluding the conclusion of marriage. The certificate is issued by the head of the registry office chosen by the engaged couple. Its validity period is 6 months. After the expiration, the certificate becomes invalid.
  • The certificate issued by the Head of the Registry Office, on the basis of which a marriage certificate is immediately prepared, is forwarded by the priest to the registry office before the expiration of 5 days from the marriage. When calculating the deadline, public holidays shall not be taken into account.

Entering into a religious marriage with civil law consequences (website available in Polish language)

Church wedding – what documents you will need at the church office

To order to draw up a marriage certificate and receive this sacrament, you should bring the following documents to the office 3 months before the planned wedding date:

  • A certificate from the Civil Registry Office confirming the lack of circumstances excluding marriage (necessary if the fiancées want the church wedding to also entail civil law consequences, the so-called concordat wedding) or a marriage certificate if a civil wedding was previously concluded.
  • Current (i.e. dated up to 3 months from the wedding date) baptismal certificates.
  • Personal identity cards.
  • Latest catechization certificates.
  • Confirmation certificates (may be together with a baptismal certificate).
  • Certificate of participation in pre-marital catechesis and meetings held at a family counseling center.

Church wedding (concordat) – proceedings in the parish

The place for handling pre-wedding matters is the parish of the fiancé's or fiancée's permanent or temporary residence.

  • Three months before the planned wedding date, the bride and groom report to the priest. They present the required documents. Widowers also present the church death certificates of their deceased spouse.
  • The priest interviews the fiancées and draws up a protocol on an official form. The purpose of the interview is to examine whether the fiancées are unmarried, whether there are no canonical impediments to the marriage between them and whether they wish to enter into marriage in accordance with the teachings of the Church. The wedding date is tentatively set and matters related to preparation for marriage are discussed
  • When concluding a marriage in the form of a "concordat" wedding, it is necessary to present a certificate from the Registry Office of the place of residence of one of the fiancées before the church wedding. The bride and groom may enter into a civil union before the church wedding; in this case they are to present a certificate from the Civil Registry Office to the priest.
  • The fiancées are required to participate in pre-marriage catechesis.
  • Before entering into marriage, announcements are made on two Sundays in the parishes where the bride and groom live. A request to make an announcement in another parish is made by the pastor who prepared the pre-wedding protocol.
  • Catholics who have not yet received the sacrament of confirmation should, if possible, enter into this sacrament before marriage.
  • The wedding usually takes place in the parish where the pre-wedding protocol was written. In justified cases, you can enter into a marriage in other parish churches, after obtaining the consent of your parish priest, known as a license. The licence is issued after completion of the pre-wedding catechism and visits to the family counselling centre, as well as after the announcement.

The marriage certificate is drawn up in the parish office where the wedding will take place. For this purpose, on the agreed date, the bride and groom come with two witnesses and present: a certificate from the Civil Registry Office for a "concordat" marriage (3 copies) or a certificate of a civil union already concluded and - if they marry outside their own parish - a license from the parish where the marriage took place. a pre-marital protocol, as well as, if they have not done so before, a certificate of completion of pre-marital catechization.

Witnesses present their identity cards.

Concluding a marriage abroad before a consul

If the marriage is to be concluded by Polish citizens abroad before a Polish consul, the preparatory steps to be taken include personal appearance before the consul, presentation of an identity document for inspection and submission of the following documents:

  • assurances,
  • a copy of the birth certificate, and in the case of being previously married, a copy of the marriage certificate with a note on its termination, annulment or declaration of non-existence, or a copy of the marriage certificate with a document confirming its termination or annulment or a document confirming the declaration of the non-existence of the marriage,
  • if required by the provisions of the Family and Guardianship Act – a court permit to enter into marriage,
  • if the marriage is to be concluded by a proxy - court permit to enter into marriage by proxy and power of attorney.

If the consul decides that the marriage can be concluded on the designated date and place, a marriage ceremony takes place, during which persons intending to marry submit declarations of marriage to the consul.

A marriage concluded before the consul is registered by the Head of the Registry Office competent for the capital city of Warsaw on the basis of protocol of submission of declarations of entering into marriage received from the consul.

Getting married abroad before the authority of a foreign country

If the marriage is to be concluded outside territory of Poland before an authority of a foreign country, one should apply to the head of the registry office or consul for a certificate stating that under the Polish law the marriage may be concluded.

Certificate stating that under Polish law a marriage may be concluded - this document may be issued to a Polish citizen and a foreigner whose capacity to enter into marriage is assessed under the Polish law.

When applying for the above-mentioned certificate to the Head of the civil Registry Office of your choice, an identity document is presented for inspection and the following is submitted:

  • assurance,
  • a document confirming the marital status of the future spouse,
  • proof of payment of the stamp duty of PLN 38,
  • if a Polish citizen does not have civil status records drawn up in Poland - also a foreign document confirming birth, and if he or she was previously married - also a document confirming marriage together with a document confirming the termination or annulment of the marriage or confirming the non-existence of the marriage.

A Polish citizen may submit an application to the consul for the issuance of the above-mentioned certificate. In this case, an identity document is presented for inspection and submitted:

  • assurance,
  • a copy of the birth certificate, and in the case of being previously married, a copy of the marriage certificate with a note on its termination, annulment or declaration of non-existence, or a copy of the marriage certificate with a document confirming its termination or annulment or a document confirming the declaration of the non-existence of the marriage
  • a document confirming the marital status of the future spouse.

A certificate stating that under Polish law a marriage may be concluded is valid for a period of 6 months from the date of its drawing up.

See also:

Download: