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Getting married in Belgium

Marriage declaration checklist, step by step.

The official notice to your town hall that you want to marry, in the order you actually do it. The window opens at the earliest six months before the wedding and closes, by law, at the latest fourteen days before. Which documents you bring differs per situation and per town.

Fill it in. The link keeps the date, so you can forward this checklist. Nothing is stored.

In Ringske the declaration sits in the task list. The window moves with your wedding date.

  1. 01

    Note the legal window

    You file the declaration at the earliest six months and at the latest fourteen days before the planned wedding date. The wedding can take place at the earliest fourteen days after the declaration, and must take place within six months after those fourteen days have passed (article 165 of the Civil Code). Counted precisely, the declaration can therefore be filed up to six months and fourteen days before the wedding; Bruges and Leuven put it that way too. Keep to six months and you are fine everywhere.

  2. 02

    Ask whether your town wants it earlier

    Many towns ask for the declaration earlier than those fourteen days, because they need time to check the documents. Ghent asks for at least six weeks, Lommel thirty days. What your town asks, and what a ceremony costs there, is on that town's page.

    The declaration itself is free in many towns, as in Ghent. For the ceremony, an hour outside ordinary hours or a special room, some towns do charge a fee. That differs per town.

    What each city asks →
  3. 03

    Reserve the date separately

    Reserving a date and time at the town hall is not the declaration. It is often possible up to a year ahead, but it is not yet the declaration. Whether your town allows it, and from when, is on the town's page.

  4. 04

    Gather the documents for your situation

    The list differs per situation and per town. Ask your town for its exact list before you order anything from abroad. If you are registered in the population or foreigners register, you usually bring:

    • An identity document.
    • A copy of both birth certificates. If you were born in Belgium, or your birth certificate was transcribed here, the town hall requests that certificate itself.
    • Proof that you are not married, or that an earlier marriage was dissolved or annulled, if that is not in the register yet.
    • If one of you files the declaration alone, written proof that the other agrees.

    If you are not registered, you also bring proof of nationality, of being unmarried or of the dissolution or annulment of a previous marriage, and a certificate of main residence. Those documents must be legalised or carry an apostille and, where needed, translated by a sworn translator of a court in Belgium.

  5. 05

    If one of you is not Belgian, start earlier

    A Belgian partner must be an adult. For a partner who is not Belgian, the law of the country of that nationality applies. Documents from abroad, an apostille or a sworn translation can take weeks, so start earlier than the legal minimum.

    Getting married in Belgium as a foreigner →
  6. 06

    Choose witnesses, if you want them

    Witnesses are not required. By law you choose none up to four, for the two of you together, and they must be adults. Vlaanderen.be puts it as at most two per partner, and some towns count that way too: check before you pick three on one side. Their details go into the marriage certificate. If you choose witnesses, the town hall asks for their details, often a copy of their identity card.

  7. 07

    A marriage contract, only if you want one

    A marriage contract is optional. If you want one, you make it at a notary, always before the wedding. The notary registers it in the central register of marriage contracts. A certificate for the town hall is no longer required.

  8. 08

    File the declaration at the right town hall

    The two of you together, at the civil registry of the town where one of you lives, that is, where you are registered in the population, foreigners or waiting register. That is also where you get married. If one of you cannot come, the other can file with a power of attorney or written consent. Ask the town hall which form they want.

    More and more towns let you start the declaration online, on their website or through Mijn Burgerprofiel. Elsewhere you make an appointment at the counter. If you both live abroad, you can declare in the town of the last Belgian residence of one of you, of the residence of a blood relative up to the second degree (parents, grandparents, brothers or sisters, children, grandchildren), or of the Belgian birthplace of one of you.

  9. 09

    The civil wedding first, then the certificate

    Marrying under the law is the civil wedding, at the town hall or at another public place the town council designated for it. A religious wedding always comes after: under article 21 of the Constitution the civil wedding precedes the religious ceremony. Both on the same day is possible, as long as the civil one comes first.

    On the wedding day the registrar draws up the marriage certificate at once. Since 31 March 2019, civil-status certificates exist only digitally. You request a copy or an extract from the town hall, or online with your eID. If you need the certificate abroad, it usually first needs legalisation or an apostille, and sometimes a translation.

Questions

When does the marriage declaration window open?

Count on at the earliest six months before the planned wedding date. Precisely by law it is six months and fourteen days: the wedding must take place within six months after the fourteen-day waiting period (article 165 of the Civil Code). Earlier than that, the declaration is not possible.

What is the last legal day for the marriage declaration?

At the latest fourteen days before the wedding. Many towns ask earlier, Ghent for example at least six weeks ahead. Check what your town asks.

Which documents do you need for the marriage declaration?

That differs per situation and per town. If you are registered in Belgium, you bring an identity document. The town hall requests a birth certificate itself if you were born in Belgium or the certificate was transcribed here. If you are not registered, you also bring proof of nationality, of being unmarried and of your main residence.

What do you do if one of you is not Belgian?

A Belgian partner must be an adult. For a partner who is not Belgian, the law of the country of that nationality applies. Documents from abroad often take weeks, so start earlier than fourteen days. The guide to getting married in Belgium as a foreigner sets out the steps.

Is a reserved date the same as the marriage declaration?

No. Reserving a date and time is often possible up to a year ahead, but it is not yet the declaration. You file that in the window of six months to fourteen days before the wedding, or earlier if your town asks for that.

Sources

Checked on 14 November 2026. Your town's rules come first: the deadline and the ceremony are on each city's page, not in this checklist.

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Ringske works out the window for you.

Fill in your wedding date and the declaration sits in the task list, with the legal window alongside it, among the other tasks for a Belgian wedding. Planning is free.

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