Denmark Marriage FAQ: Documents, Costs and Timelines

Not for the two of you: Familieretshuset does not ask for the partners' own birth certificates. Each partner needs:

• a valid passport (EU/EEA citizens can use their national ID card instead);
• if you have had the same address for at least 6 months: a registration certificate for each of you that shows this shared address.

A civil-status certificate or a certificate of residence is not needed for the application. Familieretshuset may ask for one later while processing your case; we then tell you exactly what to get.

• if married before: the final divorce decree or the death certificate of the former spouse, for every earlier marriage.

A partner from outside the EU/EEA and Switzerland adds proof of lawful stay and, if you have no children together, proof of your relationship. Some documents also need an apostille, depending on the country that issued them (see below). Our free checklist shows the exact list for your situation.

The full list is in documents you need to get married in Denmark.

Add the birth certificate of each child you have together. If one of you is from outside the EU/EEA and Switzerland, these birth certificates replace the proof of your relationship. Children's birth certificates, divorce decrees and death certificates do not need to be recent. A birth certificate issued abroad follows the apostille rule of the country that issued it, and one that is not in Danish, English or German needs a translation.

Documents in Danish, English or German are accepted without translation. Any other document needs a translation by an authorised translator into one of these three languages, and the apostille itself must be translated too; for legalised documents, all stamps as well. For German ⇄ Russian, our certified translation service costs €50 per document.

It depends on the country that issued each document, not on your citizenship. Familieretshuset's rule:

• EU/EEA countries and Switzerland: no apostille.
• USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Turkey, the UK and most other European countries: typically no apostille or legalisation.
• Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Kosovo, Russia, Tajikistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan: apostille required.
• Every other country in the Hague Apostille Convention (for example India, China, Brazil or the Philippines): apostille required.
• Countries outside the Convention (for example Iran, Iraq, the UAE or Egypt): legalisation through the embassy instead.

The passport never needs an apostille. We check every document for you before we submit the application.

Only documents issued abroad can need one. A document issued by a German authority, such as a German registration certificate, never needs an apostille, whatever your partner's nationality. Documents from your partner's home country, such as a divorce decree or a child's birth certificate, follow the rule of that country: a Russian, Ukrainian or Indian document needs an apostille, while a US, British or Turkish document usually does not.

The apostille is always issued in the country that issued the document, by the authority that country has designated. A Danish or German office cannot issue it for a foreign document. It is usually a stamp or an attached page on the original document. Processing times and fees differ from country to country, so start early. Countries outside the Hague Convention use a legalisation chain that ends at their embassy instead.

About 5 working days from the day Familieretshuset has your complete application: that is the Danish Agency of Family Law's general target for applications with no missing information, not a guarantee; cases needing more information take longer. Once approved, we reserve your ceremony date. This is a separate step after the approval and depends on the dates your town hall has available.

How long approval takes, what the authority checks and what can slow it down is explained in Familieretshuset processing time.

It depends on the town hall: the date is booked only after Familieretshuset has approved your application, and each town hall has its own calendar. Copenhagen states waits of up to four months for a City Hall date. Aabenraa releases appointments 60 days in advance and, as of September 2026, says its free appointments are about two months ahead. Tønder marries couples from abroad on Tuesdays and Thursdays; how soon depends on the dates it has released. Free dates change every day, so no one can guarantee a particular date. The approval is valid for 4 months (shorter if a passport, visa or residence permit expires earlier), and the wedding must take place within that period.

Town by town: Copenhagen, Aabenraa and Tønder.

It depends on the town hall: Copenhagen and Aabenraa hold ceremonies in English, German or Danish; Tønder marries couples from abroad in German or English.

Yes. Danish law requires two witnesses at the ceremony. With the Comfort Package we provide both witnesses, and they are included in the price. You can also bring your own witnesses, for example friends or relatives: they must be adults (18 or older) and bring valid photo ID.

Bring the same passports or national ID cards that you submitted with the application: the town halls ask for exactly the travel documents that were sent to Familieretshuset. Your approval (Prøvelsesattest) is sent to you digitally; a printed copy does no harm. If you bring your own witnesses, they need valid photo ID; otherwise our witnesses are there. The civil ceremony itself takes about 10–15 minutes, and you receive your Danish marriage certificate the same day, in five languages (Danish, English, German, French and Spanish).

A Danish marriage certificate is valid under Danish law and, once apostilled, can be authenticated for use in the member states of the Hague Apostille Convention. Authentication is not the same as automatic recognition of every legal effect — whether the marriage is recognised, and what rights it unlocks, depends on the laws of your home country. If you need the apostille, our optional Apostille Service (€100) takes care of it.

More on the apostille in our guide to the apostille on a Danish marriage certificate.

In general, yes: all three usually recognise a marriage that was valid in Denmark, under the conditions below.

• Germany: a marriage validly concluded in Denmark is effective in Germany without further registration (Art. 11 EGBGB). German citizens can have it recorded in the German marriage register (Nachbeurkundung, § 34 PStG), but this is voluntary. Within the EU the Danish certificate needs no apostille.
• United Kingdom: according to GOV.UK, a marriage abroad is recognised in the UK if it was lawful in the country where it took place and would be allowed under UK law.
• USA: US immigration authorities (USCIS) generally judge a marriage by the law of the place where it was performed, so a marriage valid in Denmark is usually accepted as valid. For use in the US the certificate usually needs an apostille.

For any other country, check recognition with its authorities before the wedding.

Details: marrying in Denmark from Germany and Denmark vs the UK after Brexit.

Only if you will use the certificate outside the EU; within the EU it is generally not needed. This is a different apostille from the one on your own documents. Your Danish marriage certificate is issued in five languages: Danish, English, German, French and Spanish.

• Within the EU, civil-status documents such as the marriage certificate need no apostille (EU Regulation 2016/1191). Some offices still ask for one, so check with your registry office first.
• To use the certificate outside the EU, for example in a non-EU partner's home country, you usually need an apostille from the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs; countries outside the Hague Convention require legalisation instead.

Our optional Apostille Service costs €100. The ministry states a processing time of about 5–7 working days for documents sent by post.

The Comfort Package costs €799.00 all-in. The price includes the Danish authority fee, which we pay on your behalf, so there is no separate Danish fee for you to pay. It covers:

• a personalised checklist and the review of your documents;
• the application to Familieretshuset and all communication with the authority;
• booking of the ceremony date in Copenhagen, Aabenraa or Tønder;
• two legal witnesses at the ceremony;
• the 24/7 AI assistant (chat or call) and the Wedding Guide App.

Optional extras: the Apostille Service for your Danish marriage certificate (€100, mainly needed for use outside the EU) and certified translation German ⇄ Russian (€50 per document). You pay at the end of the document upload, before we submit your application. Travel, accommodation and the fees for your own documents at home (for example a divorce decree or an apostille) are not included.

The full budget is in what a wedding in Denmark costs.

Yes, and it depends on how far your application has progressed. If you cancel within 14 days of payment and before we have submitted your application to Familieretshuset, you receive a full refund minus a €99 handling fee. If you cancel later (after these 14 days, or after the application has been submitted) and before your ceremony date has been confirmed in writing by the municipality, you receive 50% back. Once the ceremony date is confirmed, the fee is non-refundable, because it already includes the Danish authority fee paid on your behalf. Refunds go back to your original payment method within 14 days. Cancellations are sent by email to contact@denmarkweddingservices.com.