Applying to get married in the Netherlands

Are you planning to get married? If you intend to get married, you must notify the municipality of this at least 2 weeks and not more than 1 year before the wedding.

There are certain requirements for marriage that everyone must meet:

you must be at least 18 years of age;
you cannot marry someone who is already married or in a civil partnership;
you cannot be related to one other, e.g. grandparent, grandchild, parent, child or sibling.

Are you getting married to a non-Dutch citizen in the Netherlands? Then different conditions apply.

If you intend to marry someone of the same sex, you can get married in the Netherlands in the presence of the civil registrar. This is called a civil marriage, and you are only legally married once you have had a civil ceremony. In addition, it is possible to have a religious ceremony in some churches, but not all churches allow it. Check first with the church where you want to have the ceremony. A church wedding can only take place after the civil ceremony.

If you are getting married outside the Netherlands and are not yet 18 years old, your marriage will only be recognised in the Netherlands once both spouses have reached 18 years of age.

This is how it works for you

Your (future) place of residence falls under:

Municipality of Gouda

Here is some information from your municipality.

Municipality of Gouda: Applying to get married

When you register your marriage, you make a number of choices, which you communicate to the municipality. These choices relate to the ceremony and the venue. The costs depend on your wishes and the possibilities of the municipality of Gouda.

Ceremony

The ceremony is the official part of your marriage. You can choose from:

marriage free of charge;
simple ceremony;
elaborate ceremony.

If you choose an elaborate ceremony, you can choose who leads the ceremony. You can choose from:

wedding registrar from the municipality;
family member or acquaintance.

If you choose a wedding registrar from the municipality, a registrar from the municipality of Gouda will contact you a few weeks before the planned date to introduce themselves and find out more about you and your partner.

Do you want a family member or an someone you know to conduct the ceremony? If so, you must contact the municipality yourself by calling phone number +31 182 58 84 44 or sending an e-mail to gemeente@gouda.nl.

Wedding venue

You can get married at various locations in the municipality of Gouda. You can choose from:

a wedding venue of the municipality of Gouda;
a wedding venue of your own choice.

If you want to get married at a wedding venue of your choice, contact the municipality by calling phone number +31 182 58 84 44 or sending an e-mail to gemeente@gouda.nl.

Registering an intended marriage

You register your intended marriage with the municipality in which you wish to marry. Provide the details of yourself, your partner and your witnesses. This can be done up to 2 weeks before the ceremony date. In order to do so, please call the municipality at phone number +31 182 58 84 44 or send an e-mail to gemeente@gouda.nl.

If neither you nor your partner live in the Netherlands, you must give notice of your marriage in the municipality of Den Haag (The Hague). You can find more information on how to register a marriage for Dutch citizens living outside the Netherlands at the netherlandsworldwide.nl website.

Registering a marriage is free of charge. However, there are other costs to take account of. For more information about the costs, contact the municipality at phone number +31 182 58 84 44 or send an e-mail to gemeente@gouda.nl.