German marriage certificates and registering a marriage

Marriage certificate and registration
A marriage that took place in the United States is valid in Germany without being registered. Registering it is how you get a German marriage certificate, which is a different thing.

People come to this for two opposite reasons: some want a German certificate for a marriage that happened here, and others want a certificate for a marriage that happened in Germany decades ago. The two go in different directions.

A marriage in the US, registered in Germany

Registration is voluntary. The marriage is already recognised in German law if it was validly concluded here.

What registration produces is a German marriage certificate, which German authorities ask for in pension, inheritance and name matters.

The application goes through the mission for your state and is decided by a registry office in Germany. The fee is charged by that office, not by the consulate.

Which office for your marriage certificate?

A certificate for a marriage that happened in Germany

That comes from the Standesamt where the marriage was recorded. No consulate holds these records.

Ask for the international multilingual version if the certificate is for use in the United States, because it avoids a certified translation.

If the town is now outside Germany, the record may sit with the Standesamt I in Berlin, which holds many transferred registers.

Getting married in Germany

A marriage in Germany is concluded at a Standesamt, and a religious ceremony has no civil effect on its own.

The registry office will ask for a certificate of no impediment, and US states do not issue those, so there is a substitute procedure for Americans. Start with the Standesamt where you plan to marry.

Documents from the US side will usually need an apostille from the issuing state, which is a step to begin early.

Which office for which case

Your case Where it goes
Married in the US, want a German certificate Register through your German mission
Married in Germany, want a copy The Standesamt of the town where it was recorded
Married in a town now outside Germany Often Standesamt I in Berlin
Planning to marry in Germany The Standesamt where the wedding will take place
Changing your name after marriage A name declaration, which is a separate procedure

Which case applies to you

We married in Chicago and live here
You do not need to register it for the marriage to be valid in Germany. Register it if you want a German certificate, which pension and inheritance matters tend to require.
My parents married in Munich in 1962
The Standesamt in Munich holds the record. Write to them directly and ask for the international version.
Spoiler title
That is a name declaration rather than part of the marriage registration, and it has its own fee and its own appointment.
We want to marry in Germany next summer
Begin with the Standesamt there, and begin now: the document list for Americans takes months to assemble, mostly because of apostilles.
 Your American marriage is already valid in Germany. Registration buys you the certificate, not the validity. 
What to have ready
  • The US marriage certificate, certified copy
  • Both spouses’ birth certificates
  • Both passports or ID cards
  • Divorce decrees or death certificates from any earlier marriage
  • Apostilles on the US documents, where the German office asks for them
All procedures
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