As of October 2026, Familieretshuset (AFL) usually decides complete applications within 5 working days. Your wedding date is set mainly by the municipality, and there the situation changes daily: Tønder and Aabenraa release dates exactly 60 days ahead, and they are usually taken within one or two days; Copenhagen states a wait of up to 4 months.
Where dates are still free right now, we find out for our couples directly from the municipalities we are often in touch with.
The bottleneck has shifted
You often read "3–6 weeks" for the AFL review. As of October 2026 that is no longer accurate: the Danish family law authority often decides complete applications within a few working days, usually within 5. The 3–6 weeks now apply rather to the whole route from complete documents to the ceremony, including the municipality's date, and even then only if you are flexible about the municipality.
The catch: if the AFL requests additional documents, your case joins a separate queue. As of 18 October 2026, applications received in August 2026 are being processed there, a backlog of roughly 2 months. A complete application takes days, a flawed one months. And because the review itself is now so fast, the real bottleneck has moved to the end of the chain: the ceremony appointment at the municipality. That is exactly where Denmark's registry offices differ massively.
So invest the time upfront in clean documents; which ones your case needs is shown by our free eligibility check.
Wait times compared: eight municipalities at a glance
The table shows the rules for couples without Danish residence, according to the municipalities' official pages and our exchange with them (as of October 2026). The rules alone show how different the situation is:
| Municipality | Days | Wait time |
|---|---|---|
| Tønder | Tue + Thu | dates released exactly 60 days ahead, usually taken within 1–2 days. Booking only online via the link in the approval letter |
| Ærø | by arrangement | a date within 10 weeks (according to the municipality's Danish page, October 2026); contact by email |
| Copenhagen | Mon–Sat | up to 4 months according to the municipality; 40 % of 2026 slots reserved for couples living in Copenhagen |
| Helsingør | Tue, Thu, Fri, Sat | foreign couples only at 10:40 and 11:00 |
| Frederiksberg | Thu 11:00 | ceremonies in English or German only on Thursdays at 11:00 |
| Odense | Mon–Sat | 2 months' processing time for couples without Danish residence, according to the municipality |
| Sønderborg | Fridays only | the municipality names the next free Friday on its website; personal registration the day before |
| Aabenraa | Mon–Fri | dates released exactly 60 days ahead; beach weddings only with your own witnesses |
Municipalities adjust capacity, ceremony days and rules at short notice, so check the current situation right before applying. More registry offices near the border, such as Haderslev, are compared in our overview of the border registry offices.
Tønder: the well-established route
Tønder has been the standard recommendation for international couples for years: the registry office is used to foreign couples and holds ceremonies on two fixed days per week, Tuesdays from 9:30 to 12 and 13 to 14, and Thursdays from 9:30 to 12 and 13 to 15. The municipality provides the two witnesses free of charge, but only in the mornings (9:30–12). For an afternoon slot you bring your own witnesses, whose names and addresses must reach the municipality at least one week before the wedding.
Ceremonies take place at the registry office opposite the town hall (Jomfrustien 8, first floor, no lift), and there are no additional fees. The registry office is closed in calendar weeks 30 and 31 (summer break) and from 24 December 2026 to 3 January 2027.
Booking is done exclusively via the municipality's online system; you receive the link together with the AFL approval letter, and dates cannot be booked by email or phone. The calendar releases new ceremony days exactly 60 days ahead, and they are usually taken within one or two days, so for Tønder plan on a good two months from the approval. All the details are in our guide to the Tønder registry office and on our page Getting married in Tønder.
Ærø: romantic, but with lead time
The island of Ærø is one of the most romantic options, but it is also correspondingly popular with international couples. The municipality offers a date within 10 weeks (according to its Danish page, October 2026). There is no online booking system: you write to the municipality by email, and after the approval it confirms your date. If you plan for the ferry trip and an overnight stay, you are rewarded with a very special setting, more in our Ærø guide and in our article Getting married on Ærø.
Copenhagen: in demand, with a fluctuating calendar
Copenhagen's registry office is one of the most sought-after in the country; the municipality states a wait of up to 4 months. But the calendar fluctuates a lot: sometimes the first free date for couples not living in Copenhagen is months away, sometimes slots open up again at short notice. On top of that, 40 % of the 2026 slots are reserved for couples where at least one partner lives in Copenhagen.
Couples from abroad receive a link to the booking system after the AFL approval and also choose the ceremony language there (Danish, English or German). Anyone without a Danish CPR number must appear in person at City Hall at the earliest 5 working days and at the latest the day before the wedding, with a passport or ID card and, if applicable, a visa or residence card. Registering no earlier than 4 months ahead, with a reply via Digital Post, only applies to couples who live in Denmark. Whether the wait is worth it for you is broken down in our Copenhagen vs. Tønder comparison; everything about the capital is on our page Getting married in Copenhagen.
Sønderborg and Aabenraa: two special cases
Sønderborg shows how quickly the situation can turn: foreign couples are now only married on Fridays between 8:30 and 14:00, in Gråsten (Det Gamle Rådhus) or Nordborg (Nørherredhus), and must register in person the day before (Thursday, 9–17) at Borgerservice, so you need at least one overnight stay. The municipality names the next free date for foreign couples on its own page; in October 2026 it was about three months away, which effectively rules Sønderborg out for short-notice plans. Everything else is in our guide Getting married in Sønderborg.
Aabenraa marries foreign couples Monday to Friday, not on Saturdays. Monday to Thursday the municipality provides the witnesses free of charge; on Fridays you bring your own. Dates are always released exactly 60 days ahead and are taken quickly. The registry office is closed from 23 December 2026 to 3 January 2027. As a special feature, Aabenraa offers beach weddings, but only for couples who bring their own witnesses. How the booking window works is explained in our guide Getting married in Aabenraa.
Why some municipalities are restricting international weddings
The background to the bottlenecks: many international couples want to marry in Denmark, but the ceremonies themselves are performed by the municipalities, and they receive no dedicated state funding for it. Some municipalities are therefore restricting international weddings: Sønderborg now only marries foreign couples on Fridays, Helsingør only at 10:40 and 11:00, and Frederiksberg holds ceremonies in English or German only on Thursdays at 11:00 (as of October 2026). For you, this means: choosing your municipality in 2026 is a strategic decision, not just a matter of taste.
How to plan in the right order
Choose the municipality first
Check the current wait time of your preferred municipality before booking flights or accommodation. Familieretshuset advises the same: pick a municipality with free dates before you apply, because the approval goes to the municipality named in your application.
Complete your documents
Passports, for previous marriages the divorce decree or death certificate, for joint children their birth certificates, plus apostille and certified translation depending on your case; for visa-exempt partners from outside the EU, since 10 April 2026 also the EES calculator printout and flight tickets. Familieretshuset asks for a certificate of marital status from your country of residence only in individual cases; unmarried applicants confirm their marital status with their signature. Completeness decides between days and months.
Submit the AFL application
You pay the fee of DKK 2,100 (about €281) in the online application by card or digital wallet; processing only starts after payment is received, and the fee is not refunded. If you apply yourselves, the second partner's part must be submitted within 14 days of the start. With a complete application, the decision usually arrives within 5 working days.
Book your slot immediately
In Tønder and Aabenraa the booking link comes with the approval, and new days are released there exactly 60 days ahead; in Copenhagen the link follows afterwards, and Ærø gives out dates by email. The 4-month clock starts when the prøvelsesattest is issued.
Plan your trip
1–2 days on site are usually enough; in Sønderborg, add the in-person registration the day before, and in Copenhagen, for couples without a CPR number, the appointment at City Hall at the earliest 5 working days and at the latest the day before.
Bottom line: if you want to get married in Denmark quickly in 2026, the time is no longer saved at the AFL, a couple with complete documents usually gets through the review in days, but by choosing the municipality wisely. Tønder and Aabenraa require quick booking within the 60-day window, Ærø states up to 10 weeks of lead time, in Copenhagen it pays to check the calendar, and Sønderborg is effectively off the table at short notice (as of 18 October 2026).
