Have you decided to get married in a religious ceremony (church or concordat wedding)? If you want your marriage to be recognised by Polish law, you must apply to the civil registry office for a certificate of no impediment which confirms there are no objections to the proposed marriage. Below you will find information on how to proceed.

Below you will find general information only – ask the head of the civil registry office for further details.

Who can enter

Since a religious marriage affects the person’s marital status (you will be married under Polish law), the requirements are the same as for a marriage by a civil ceremony. Two people can get married by a religious ceremony if they are:

• of legal age,
• not already married,
• not related by consanguinity in the direct line and you are not siblings (e.g. father and daughter or brother and sister cannot get married),
• not related by affinity in the direct line (e.g. marriage between daughter-in-law and father-in-law is forbidden),
• not related by adoption (adopter and adoptee).

A woman who is over the age of 16, but not yet 18 years of age can enter into marriage with the court's permission.

Two people who are related by affinity can only enter into marriage with the court's permission.

A person who suffers from mental illness or is mentally retarded may enter into marriage subject to the court's permission.

Fully incapacitated persons cannot enter into marriage.

What you need to do

Go to any civil registry office.

Before visiting the civil registry office, prepare:

• your identity documents (ID cards or passports) – for presentation,
• proof of payment of stamp duty – you can pay at the cash desk in the office or by transfer to the office's account. The duty is PLN 84.
• where necessary – the court’s permission to get married,
• if you do not have Polish vital records (and you are a Polish citizen), prepare:
  • a foreign document which is equivalent to a Polish birth certificate,
  • if you were previously married, prepare a foreign document which is equivalent to a Polish marriage certificate together with proof of dissolution or annulment of the marriage, or with a document proving that the marriage is non-existent.

If either bride or groom is a foreign national:

• the person who is a foreign national must submit a document proving that they are entitled to enter into marriage under the law of the country of origin (the document stating that the person concerned is entitled to get married in accordance with applicable laws). If obtaining such a document is extremely difficult, i.e. there are very significant difficulties which would be faced by the person concerned in obtaining the document (e.g. there is war in the country of origin), the court may waive the obligation to submit the document. The court will then determine whether the person concerned can enter into marriage. In such a situation, you must have a relevant court decision. A person who is a foreign national must submit a relevant application to a competent court having jurisdiction over their place of residence,
• if, based on the submitted documents, the head of the civil registry office will not be able to obtain data that must be entered in the marriage certificate (i.e. personal and marital status data), they may request the applicant (foreign national) to submit:
  • certified copy of their birth certificate,
  • and if the person was previously married:
    • certified copy of the marriage certificate stating that the person is no longer married (i.e. with a note that the marriage was dissolved, annulled or declared non-existent) 
    • or
    • certified copy of the marriage certificate along with proof of dissolution or annulment of the marriage, or with a document proving that the marriage is non-existent,
• all documents drawn up in a foreign language must be officially translated by a sworn translator or the Polish consul,
• if at least one of you is unable to communicate with the head of the civil registry office, e.g. does not speak Polish, you must provide an interpreter or a certified translator.

If you are not sure about which documents to submit, ask the head of the civil registry office. They will assess your situation and tell you what to do.

During your visit to the civil registry office:

• submit a statement which confirms there are no objections to a proposed marriage – an official from the registry office will prepare such a statement for you to sign,
• submit a statement regarding your surname after marriage and the surname of your children. After the marriage procedure, you can:
  • keep your current surname,
  • add your spouse's surname to your surname. The resulting surname may only have two parts (surnames) joined with a hyphen (double-barrelled surname), e.g. Nowak-Kowalska,
  • choose one of your names to be your common name.

If you do not submit a statement regarding your preferred surname – your current surnames will automatically used.

If you intend to take different surnames after marriage, you must decide on what surname your children will take. You may decide that the child will be named after one of you or be given a surname which is a combination of your two surnames (the mother's surname with the father's surname added to it).

If you do not submit consensus statements on the surname of your children, they will be given a double-barrelled surname which is formed by joining your surnames with a hyphen (the mother's surname with the father's surname added to it).

The head of the civil registry office will issue you with a certificate of no impediment which confirms there are no objections to a proposed marriage. Submit the certificate to the officiating priest. The priest will tell you whether you must meet any additional conditions in order to get married.

The priest will officiate your ceremony at the agreed time and place.

Visit the civil registry office no earlier than 6 months before your planned wedding date (the certificate is valid for 6 months). To avoid unpleasant surprises, do not visit the office at the last minute.

When you will receive a certificate

The head of the civil registry office will issue you with a certificate of no impediment which confirms there are no objections to a proposed marriage – in most cases – during the same visit to the office. Remember that such a certificate is only valid for 6 months.

If the head of the civil registry office refuses to issue the certificate, you will be issued with a written refusal. In this case, you must – within 14 days after such refusal – apply to the competent court having jurisdiction over the civil registry office to issue a decision on whether the reasons given by the head of the civil registry justify their refusal. If the refusal by the head of civil registry office results from a court decision, you no longer are entitled to apply to the court for such a decision.

During the marriage ceremony

For the officiating priest to verify the personal data of the bride, the groom and their witnesses, the following must be submitted:

• your identity documents (e.g. ID cards or passports),
• identity documents of witnesses (e.g. identity cards or passports).

The priest will ask you and your witnesses to sign a certificate confirming that in his presence you have declared that you have entered into marriage.

After the marriage procedure

The priest is obliged to submit all necessary documents to the civil registry office within 5 days after the marriage procedure. The head of the civil registry office will register the marriage on the basis of these documents. Go to the civil registry office to collect a free abridged certified copy of your marriage certificate.

Legal basis

• Family and Guardianship Code Law Act of 25 February 1964 (codified text: Journal of Laws 2019, item 2086, as amended)
• Vital Records Law Act of 28 November 2014 (codified text: Journal of Laws 2018, item 2224, as amended)