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 Maastricht

Here is some information from your municipality.

Registering a divorce

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? In most cases, your lawyer will send the divorce decree to the municipality where you got married. The municipality will register your divorce if all conditions are met.

Do you live in a municipality other than the one in which you got married? After registering the divorce, your home municipality will be notified.

If you got divorced outside of the Netherlands

Did you get divorced abroad and live in the Netherlands? If so, you will have to register your foreign divorce in the Basisregistratie Personen – BRP (Personal Records Database). You can do this at the municipality where you are registered.

There is no fee for registering your divorce with the municipality. Do you need proof of your divorce? If so, you pay a fee for an official copy of or excerpt from the divorce decree. For more information contact the municipality.

Once the municipality has received the documents, it will register the divorce as soon as possible. The divorce becomes official as soon as the municipality registers it in the civil registry.