First look over this website with the latest from DHA
Marriage Licenses
Generally this is no longer required in South Africa. If you are from a country that does require a marriage license (eg. Sweden), please obtain this prior to your wedding.
Abridged Marriage Certificates
To start the process, you must first register an intention to marry with the Department of Home Affairs and apply for a marriage certificate. Couples must apply for a Department of Home Affairs marriage certificate at least three months prior to the wedding date.
Home affairs marriage forms are available on request. Submit the forms along with the relevant supporting documentation:
Identification documents, such as a South African ID card
Both passports, if one partner is not South African
A complete BI-31 form, which declares that you may legally marry
Minors under the age of 18 must present written consent from both parents, and/or Form DHA-32. For boys under the age of 18 and girls under the age of 15, consent from the Minister of Home Affairs is also necessary.
Official divorce decree, stamped by the court, if one partner has previously been married
Death certificate, if one partner has been widowed
Abridged marriage certificates are free of charge for first-time applicants; subsequent copies may require a small fee, such as R75 for unabridged marriage certificates.
This contains both your personal details (such as full name and ID number) as well as the date of the marriage. You’ll automatically receive an abridged certificate once the Department of Home Affairs is notified by your marriage officer.
It is your legal, valid, official marriage certificate. (This certificate is only really valid and recognized in South Africa).
How to apply - fill in application form BI-130, which is available at any Home Affairs office, and pay the required fee.
Where to apply - If you’re in South Africa, you can apply for a copy of your marriage certificate at any Home Affairs office, and if you’re overseas you can apply at any South African embassy or consulate.
What you need
Complete the BI-130 form
Get certified copies made of you and your spouse’s IDs (this can be done at your local police station or any other Commissioner of Oaths)
Submit the form at any Department of Home Affairs office
Pay the required processing fee
Costs - the first issue of an abridged marriage certificate is free.
For your convenience, it's best to apply for your unabridged marriage certificate from the Department of Home Affairs as soon as possible thereafter.
Marriage register
The marriage register which you sign on the day of your wedding is completed in triplicate (with three copies).
Two witnesses and the marriage officer must sign the marriage register after the solemnisation of a marriage. Then the marriage officer must issue the parties with a handwritten marriage certificate (BI-27) free of charge.
The marriage officer must then submit the marriage register to the nearest office of the Home Affairs Offices, where the marriage details will be recorded in the National Population Register (NPR) within a week of your wedding.
Home Affairs will stamp and sign the marriage register and the second copy will be mailed to you as proof of registration. In many countries this is sufficient to prove your SA marriage
Unabridged Marriage Certificate
(Also known as a full marriage certificate) contains more detailed information that's sometimes required by government and financial institutions. This is the official certificate that's required should you ever plan to travel extensively, emigrate or obtain a foreign passport.
If you (or your spouse) aren’t South African, the unabridged certificate will be required to register the marriage in your home country. Your unabridged marriage certificate is usable in most circumstances both locally and internationally and is generally a better document to have.
Unabridged marriage certificates, which receive an apostille at the Cape Town High Court, let you to register your marriage in your country of residence.
Some countries require that you produce an Unabridged Marriage Certificate issued by SA Home Affairs.
As of 1 December 2016 Marriage Officers can no longer apply for this on your behalf, a couple have to apply for their Unabridged Marriage Certificate in person at any Home Affairs Offices. At this stage the process takes between 8 and 10 weeks to produce the certificate, so it is vital that if you are leaving the country you give someone permission in writing to collect this on your behalf when it is processed.
Alternatively you can apply for your Unabridged Marriage Certificate at a SA Embassy or Consulate in your own country.
Any additional abridged copies or unabridged copies of the marriage certificate can be requested by:
Completing Form BI-130 in black ink and submitting it to the nearest office of the Home Affairs Offices or to the nearest South African embassy, mission or consulate abroad
Paying the prescribed fee
The first issue of an abridged marriage certificate is free, and a re-issue is R75.00
In addition to abridged or unabridged copies of a marriage certificate, you may also request the following documents after completing Form BI-130 and paying the prescribed fees:
A vault copy of the register
An abridged marriage certificate that is either computer printed or handwritten
Please phone a Home Affairs office to confirm the fee before you go.
