Registering a divorce in the civil registry in the Netherlands

Has a judge has agreed to your divorce (echtscheiding)? Then you and your partner will be sent a copy of the final order (echtscheidingsbeschikking). When does your divorce become final? Once you have registered the final order in the municipality’s civil registry (burgerlijke stand van de gemeente).

You can register the final order in the Register of Births, Deaths, Marriages and Civil Partnerships (burgerlijke stand van de gemeente). Do this at the municipality where you were married. This must be done within 6 months of the court ruling. When you have done this you are legally divorced.

This is how it works for you

Your (future) place of residence falls under:

Municipality of Drechterland

Here is some information from your municipality.

Registering a divorce in the civil registry in the Netherlands

Where you register your divorce depends on your situation.

If you got divorced in the Netherlands

Did you get married and divorced in the Netherlands? Then your lawyer will send the divorce decree to the civil registrar to the municipality.

After the judge approves the divorce you make an appointment. Call for an appointment to +31228 352 352.

If you got divorced outside of the Netherlands

Did you get divorced outside of the Netherlands and you live in the Netherlands? Then you must have your divorce registered in the Basisregistratie Personen – BRP (Personal Records Database). You do this at the municipality in which you are registered.

The following documents are required at the appointment:

a written request for registration
proof (order) of the court's ruling.
Waiver of appeal, this means that you will not appeal against the judge's decision.
Your valid ID.

There is no fee for registering your divorce with the municipality.

Once the municipality has received the documents, it will register the divorce within 3 business days. The divorce becomes official as soon as the municipality has received all of the required documents.