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
Here is some information from your municipality.
Applying to get married in the Netherlands
Do you want to get married or enter into a registered partnership? You no longer need to declare your intent to marry. However, you must notify the municipality where you want to enter into the marriage or partnership. You can do this online. We will then contact you. In this information, we talk about marriage. The same conditions apply to a registered partnership.
Do you want a cohabitation agreement? You arrange this through a notary.
Reporting Your Marriage Online
Getting married or entering into a registered partnership is a special event in your life. You can completely fill in this special day as you wish. For the official part, you have to deal with the municipality. You report your marriage at least 6 weeks and at most 1 year before your wedding day.
To make a notification, you need the following:
- If you choose a marriage with a speech, you must first contact the marriage officiant of your choice before you report your marriage online. You must ask if the marriage officiant is available on your wedding day. Then you can make the notification.
- DigiD login details of you and your partner.
- Valid identity documents of you and your partner.
- Clear copies of the valid identity documents of your witnesses. You indicate who your witnesses are when you make your notification. Together you have at least 2 and at most 4 witnesses. They are older than 18 years and have a valid identity document.
- The desired date, time, and place of the ceremony.
- For a self-chosen location, you enter into an agreement with the location owner and the municipality. For this, you use the marriage location agreement (147.41 kB). This is not necessary when marrying in the town hall.
Marriage Officiants
If you opt for a ceremony with a speech, you can choose a marriage officiant yourself. You can choose a marriage officiant from the Noordoostpolder municipality or a marriage officiant from another municipality.
Before you report your marriage online, first contact the marriage officiant of your choice. You must ask yourself if the marriage officiant is available on your wedding day. Then you can make the notification.
Notification of marriage or partnership via DigiD
Costs
The costs depend on the location, the time, and the type of ceremony. You have the following options:
- Town hall with a maximum of 8 people.
- Town hall with more than 8 people (with or without speech).
- Self-chosen location. The wedding location you choose may charge you for the use of the location.
Free Marriage or Partnership
A free marriage or partnership always takes place on Tuesday at 9:00 or 9:30 am in one of the reading rooms of the town hall in Emmeloord.
- You can only get married or enter into a partnership for free if you or your partner live in the Noordoostpolder municipality.
- Tuesday at 9.00 am or 9.30 am.
- Maximum of 8 people (this includes the bridal couple, the witnesses, and children).
- There is no choice of marriage officiant.
- The ceremony lasts 10 minutes.
Registering an marriage
You register your intended marriage with the municipality in which you wish to enter the marriage. Provide the details of yourself, your partner and your witnesses. This can be done up to 2 weeks before the ceremony date. You can do it online or at the town hall.
You pay a fee for this service. For more information, contact the municipality Noordoostpolder.
Questions about this topic?
Contact the Municipality of Noordoostpolder
Visiting address
Harmen Visserplein 1
8302BW Emmeloord
| Monday | 08.30 - 12.00 13.00 - 16.30 18.00 - 20.00 |
| Tuesday | 08.30 - 12.00 13.00 - 16.30 |
| Wednesday | 08.30 - 12.00 13.00 - 16.30 |
| Thursday | 08.30 - 12.00 13.00 - 16.30 |
| Friday | 08.30 - 12.00 |
| Saturday | Closed |
| Sunday | Closed |