Marriage Certificate

You will need a Marriage Certificate Apostilled or Legalized for some of the following:

• Applying for dual citizenship
• Claiming an inheritance
• Interest in ownership of a property
• Moving to a foreign country for work or school
• Death of spouse
• Purchasing property
• Divorce
• Planning to retire in a foreign country
• And more

A Marriage Certificate is a Vital Document. When a couple gets married they obtain a Marriage License prerequisite to receiving a Marriage Certificate in the mail. This Marriage Certificate contains vital information regarding both individuals uniting in holy matrimony, such as:

• The names of both individuals
• The date of the marriage ceremony
• The location of the marriage ceremony
• The country of origin of both individuals (some states) or even the parents (some states)
• The witnesses

There are also some mandatory compliances regarding Marriage Licenses:

• Both individuals must appear together and in person
• A Marriage License is prepared at the same time as the application, the couple must wait 24 hours before marrying -- without a required Judicial Waiver
• Previously married individuals will need to list their previous marriages on the application. Including the name of the former spouse, divorce particulars, the date of the divorce, and the location where the divorce document was issued.
• Any divorce, dissolution, or annulment must be finalized

A Certified Copy of a Marriage Certificate can only be issued once you are married. Furthermore, a Certified Copy of a Marriage Certificate is the only Marriage Certificate that be Apostilled or Legalized for foreign use. In addition, the Certified Copy of the Marriage Certificate usually has to be a recently issued document. The Apostille confirms that the signature of the official who certified the certificate is official.

Before a Marriage Certificate can be Apostilled, you must mail to our office for processing, a valid (recent) Certified Copy issued by the County and State levels of government. Marriage Certificates can only be Apostilled by the State who issued the certificate. In other words, the Secretary of State does not have the authority to Apostille a Marriage Certificate that was issued from another State.

However, not every Marriage Certificate qualifies as a Certified Copy that can be Apostilled by the Secretary of State. For instance, some states have established time limits on how old a Certified Copy can be. Most States can Apostille a Marriage Certificate that is older than 5 years but in some states the Marriage Certificate cannot be older than 12 months. Some countries like Kuwait, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia will request to see your marriage.

Therefore, we highly recommend that you
• Utilize Vitalchek to obtain your Vital Documents, such as Marriage Certificate nationwide. Vitalchek has a quick turnaround in providing Certified Copies of Vital Documents. They are accurate and they are dependable. Vitalchek is simple, fast and secure method of ordering your family's most important documents from the privacy of your home or office, 24-hours a day, 7 days a week. You can even ask Vitalchek to send the Certified Copy to us, so we can begin processing your Apostille.
• Scan and upload a colored copy of your documents to us, either via our website, email or fax. This will allow us to review your documents before you mail the originals to us to be Apostilled.

If by chance, the State does not accept your Marriage Certificate we will contact you with the State's instructions.

Once the Certified English Marriage Certificate is properly received you can mail it to us to be Apostilled. We can also provide Certified Translation Services into the language required by the Country of Designation.

Here at Ezra Notary and Apostille.

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