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
Here is some information from your municipality.
Report 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? Then your lawyer will send the divorce decree to the civil registrar in the municipality where you got married. The registrar will then register your divorce.
Your lawyer must send the documents to:
Do you live in a municipality other than the one in which you got married? Then the registrar will inform your municipality of residence.
Name change
If you are (or have been) married, you can indicate under which name you wish to be addressed by the government by means of a 'request for designation of name use'. Read more information about the possibilities of name change.
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.
To notify the divorce you need:
- a written request for registration in the register of civil status
- proof (order) of the court's decision
- the deeds of resignation, this means that you do not appeal against the judge's decision
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.
Questions about this topic?
Contact the Municipality of Oldenzaal