5 quintessential documents required for registering a marriage
In 2006, the Supreme Court of India mandated registration of marriages. Marriages that are already solemnised can be registered under the Hindu Marriage Act. The Hindu Marriage Act is only applicable to brides and grooms who are both Hindus, Jains, Sikhs or Buddhists. For other religions and castes, the Special Marriage Act is applicable. If both the spouses are Muslim, they are registered under the Muslim Marriage Act with a Muslim advocate in charge. For registration of marriage, you should first contact the office of Sub Divisional Magistrate under whom the ceremony has taken place or the place of residence of either of the spouses for the last six months.
Two parties can only marry if they fulfil certain conditions. The parties should not have a valid marriage at the time of registration, they should not be related in any way, they should be of valid age and neither of them should be unsound of mind or suffering from any kind of mental disorder, which restricts their ability to consent in the marriage. But most importantly, valid documents should be provided at the time of registration. If you have more queries, marriage registration with MyAdvo can clear your doubts.
Documents required for registering a marriage
Application Form: This is the most important part of the registration process. An application form should be acquired and filled up by both the bride and groom and submitted to the marriage registrar. It should be submitted with pictures of the marriage ceremony and invitation card of the marriage ceremony.
Proof of Date of Birth: Both the bride and groom should provide some kind of documents to prove their date of birth. It can be birth certificates, ration card, voter card or any other document that states the date of birth. It is a necessary step, which helps the authority to check if the bride is 18 years or above in age and the groom is 21 years or above in age, which is the legal age for marriage.
Residence Proof: During the time of registration, both the parties need to produce a residence proof, which mentions the location where they stay. Documents like Ration card, Adhaar card, Voter ID, electricity bills that have the address written on them. The address proof determines under which Magistrate authority, the registration is to take place.
Residential Proof and PAN Card of Three Witnesses: Three witnesses are required to be present at the time of the registration. The witnesses also need valid residential proof and PAN Card to be present and provide their signatures.
Death Certificate or Divorcee Decree of the previous Spouse: This is applicable only for the people who have had previous marriages. In case of a divorcee, the divorce certificate should be produced and in case of a widow/widower, the death certificate of the previous spouse should be produced during the time of registration.
In the case of marriage between Indian national and foreign national, some other additional documents are required. The spouse who is a foreign national should provide Marital Status Certificate from the concerned embassy or Consulate of their country in India. They should also provide affirmation of the fact that they are not related in any way.
