How to legalize a marriage in 2025

Legal

International weddings are no longer a rarity – more and more couples are choosing to get married abroad. For some, it’s related to relocating or holding different citizenships; for others, it’s simply a matter of convenience or choosing a beautiful destination. But once the ceremony is over, a natural question arises: Will this marriage be recognized in our home country?

For a foreign marriage certificate to be legally valid back home – meaning it can be used in government institutions, for document processing, changing your last name, or applying for a visa – it usually needs to be legalized. Without this step, even the most official-looking marriage certificate may be legally useless.

What is marriage legalization, and when is it required?

Legalization is the process that allows your marriage certificate, issued in one country, to gain legal validity in another.

Even if your marriage has been officially registered, without legalization, the certificate may not be accepted by government authorities abroad.

Depending on the country where you intend to use the certificate, the legalization process may involve several steps: an apostille, certified translation, notarization, or consular authentication. Each of these steps is required to verify the authenticity and legal status of your marriage certificate.

Experts from Kate&Co Weddings, a wedding agency that assists international couples with marriage registration and document legalization in Georgia, point out that many newlyweds are unaware of the importance of legalizing their marriage after the official registration. Without this step, their union may not be recognized in their country of residence.

Legalization is typically required if you:

  • are applying for a visa or residence permit based on your marriage;
  • plan to legally change your last name; 
  • are handling inheritance or tax-related documents;
  • need to confirm your marital status when registering the birth of a child;
  • are involved in any legal proceedings where proof of marriage is necessary.

Without this procedure, a foreign marriage certificate is often not accepted, which can lead to rejections of important documents and create unnecessary complications.

What types of marriage legalization exist?

When it comes to recognizing a marriage registered abroad, there are two main types of document legalization most commonly used:

Apostille

This is a simplified international method of certifying the authenticity of a document, valid between countries that are parties to the 1961 Hague Convention. Currently, more than 120 countries are members of the convention, including the United States, the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic, France, Georgia, Canada, Germany, and many others.

  • If both your country and the country where the marriage was registered have signed the convention, you simply obtain an apostille on your marriage certificate.
  • An apostille certifies that the document is genuine and issued by an official authority, and eliminates the need for additional consular legalization.
  • For example, if you were married in Georgia (a Hague Convention member) and live in another member country, this is the fastest and easiest method.

Consular legalization

If one or both countries are not members of the Hague Convention, traditional consular legalization is required – this involves certifying the document through the embassy or consulate of the country where the document will be used. Non-member countries include the UAE, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, China, India, and others.

This process is longer and more complex. It typically includes several steps: document verification, translation, notarization, and consular certification.

Consular legalization is used when either the country of marriage registration or the country of residence is not a party to the Hague Convention.

Steps to legalize a marriage certificate:

  1. Obtain the original marriage certificate from the civil registry office in the country where the marriage took place.
  2. Apostille the document (if applicable, based on Hague Convention membership).
  3. Translate the certificate into the official language of the country where it will be used.
  4. Notarize the translation.
  5. Obtain consular certification (if required).
  6. Submit the legalized document to the appropriate government authorities in your country.

Experts at Kate&Co Weddings strongly recommend checking the specific requirements of your country in advance to avoid mistakes and delays in the legalization process.