Getting married or registering a civil partnership abroad: Information based on your answers

Marriage in Spain

Before you start

Contact the civil registry office where you’re planning to get married to find out about local marriage laws, including what documents you and your partner will need.

One of you must live in Spain or be a Spanish national.

You might be able to form a civil partnership. Check the local rules with the British embassy.

Prove you’re free to get married

What you need varies across Spain.

If you’re getting married in Barcelona city and applying to the Central Civil Registry, you’ll need a marital status certificate.

If you’re getting married elsewhere, the civil registry office will ask for one or both of the following:

Show these example certificates to the civil registry where you’re getting married and ask them which you need.

If your partner is British they’ll need to make a separate application to the consulate with the same certificates. If they’re not British they’ll need equivalent documents from their local authorities.

Apply for all your certificates at least 3 months before you take your documents to the civil registry appointment. You need to present all your paperwork when you open the marriage application at the civil registry office.

The civil registry office will also ask you for proof of your address. This could be:

a utility bill or bank statement - if you don’t live in Spain
your registration certificate (‘padrón’) from the town hall (‘ayuntamiento’) - if you live in Spain

If you’ve lived in Spain for less than 2 years, you might also need to provide the ‘communication proof of address’.

Get a CNI (‘capacidad matrimonial’)

To get a CNI, make an appointment at your local register office to give notice of your marriage.

Contact your local register office to find out what you need to do if you live in Scotland, Northern Ireland, Isle of Man, Jersey or Guernsey.

You’ll need to bring certain documents with you to your appointment.

Your notice will be publicly displayed in the register office for 28 days. You can collect your CNI after this if nobody registers an objection.

It costs £35 to give notice and get a CNI.

You must download and fill in the CNI application pack to exchange your UK-issued CNI for one that’s valid in Spain. The pack contains a list of the documents you’ll need.

Send the form and documents by courier to the address in the application pack.

The consulate will issue your CNI and send it to you with your original documents by courier. You’ll usually get your CNI 30 working days after the consulate receives your form and documents.

Your new CNI will be valid for 6 months from when your original CNI was issued.

It costs £50 to exchange your CNI. You’ll need to pay in the local currency by card. Fill in the payment form in the pack.

Get a marital status certificate (‘certificado de estado civil/soltería’)

Download and fill in the marital status certificate application pack - it contains a list of the documents you’ll need. The certificate costs £50. You’ll need to pay in the local currency by card. Fill in the payment form in the pack.

You must sign the affirmation in the application pack in front of a local notary public in Spain. They’ll charge you a fee.

Send the form and documents by courier to the address in the application pack.

The consulate will send your certificate and original documents to you by courier. You’ll usually get your certificate 30 working days after the consulate receives your form and documents.

Get married

You can have a civil wedding or a religious wedding.

Religious ceremonies aren’t valid on their own. You’ll need to have a civil wedding as well.

Civil weddings

Take your certificates to the civil registry office where you’re planning to get married. The registrar will check your documents and set a date for your wedding.

Religious weddings

Take your certificates to the priest who’s going to marry you. The priest will check your documents and set a date for your wedding.

After your ceremony either you or the priest must register your marriage at the local civil registry office. You won’t be legally married until this has happened.

After you get married

Your marriage will be recognised in the UK if:

you follow the correct process according to the law in Spain
it would be allowed under UK law

It’s not possible to register your marriage in the UK.

If your partner isn’t a British citizen, they can apply for British citizenship once they’ve lived in the UK for 3 years.