You do not need to apply again. Familieretshuset can forward your approval (prøvelsesattest) to another municipality that has a date. It stays valid for four months from issue; the change does not extend that period.
Why you can't get a date
Familieretshuset sends the approval to the municipality (Danish: kommune) named in your application. Whether that municipality still has a date within the four months often only becomes clear afterwards. The most common reasons:
- Popular town halls are booked for months. Copenhagen states a wait of up to four months, and 40 % of its slots are set aside for couples where at least one partner is resident in Copenhagen.
- Most municipalities only give out a fixed date once the approval has reached them. Before that, you usually cannot book anything.
- Some municipalities marry couples who are not resident in Denmark only on certain days: Tønder on Tuesdays and Thursdays, Sønderborg and Haderslev only on Fridays.
- Some slots are only available with your own witnesses, for example in Tønder in the afternoon, in Aabenraa on Fridays, and on Saturdays in several municipalities.
The problem is well known: in May 2025 Familieretshuset wrote that it receives a high number of requests to change the municipality on cases where the approval has already been issued, and it recommends checking which municipalities have available dates before applying.
Your four options
1. Wait for a cancellation in your municipality
In popular municipalities, dates sometimes become free again at short notice, for example when another couple cancels. You cannot plan on it: nobody knows in advance whether or when it will happen. And the longer you wait, the less of your four months is left for a plan B. So set yourselves a deadline for how long you will wait.
2. Change municipality: the usual route
If your municipality has no date in your time frame, Familieretshuset can forward your approval to another municipality. You do not need a new application for this, and the municipality itself cannot pass the approval on. How quickly the change happens is up to Familieretshuset; there is no fixed deadline, and for our most recent requests the confirmation came after one or two working days. The new municipality then gives out the date under its own rules.
The order matters: first find a municipality that really has a date in your time frame, then change. Otherwise you face the same problem in the new municipality.
3. Copenhagen: a registrar at a place of your choice
If your approval is with the Municipality of Copenhagen, there is the “Book a registrar” service in addition to the City Hall slots: for DKK 2,732 a registrar comes to a place and at a time of your choice within the Municipality of Copenhagen, such as a garden, a restaurant or a boat, but not City Hall. You bring two witnesses of your own, and the ceremony is in Danish or English. You can only ask once you are approved, and the date is at least one month after your request. Whether your preferred date works is up to the municipality.
Other municipalities also hold ceremonies at special places, often with your own witnesses and for their extra costs. Which of them offer this to couples from abroad is covered in our guide Special places to get married in Denmark.
4. If the approval expires: a new application
Once the approval has expired, you can neither use it nor have it forwarded. Then the only way is a new application to Familieretshuset, with all documents and the fee of DKK 2,100 (about €281) again, which is not refunded. Familieretshuset usually decides complete applications within 5 working days; which documents you need is shown in our guide Documents for your wedding in Denmark.
What to check before choosing a new municipality
Before you change, clarify these questions:
- On which days does the municipality marry couples who are not resident in Denmark?
- Does it provide the two witnesses, or do you bring your own?
- Is the ceremony held in English or German? Otherwise you need an interpreter.
- How far ahead does it give out dates, and does that still fit into your four months?
- Do you have to register in person the day before, or is there a ferry? Then plan an overnight stay.
These are the rules for couples who are not resident in Denmark in six municipalities, according to the municipalities and our exchange with them (as of October 2026):
| Municipality | Wedding days | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Tønder | Tue + Thu | dates released exactly 60 days ahead; municipal witnesses only in the mornings (9:30–12:00); ceremony in German or English |
| Aabenraa | Mon–Fri | dates released exactly 60 days ahead; municipal witnesses Monday to Thursday, your own on Fridays; English, German or Danish |
| Sønderborg | Fridays only, 8:30–14:00 | in Gråsten or Nordborg; in-person registration the day before; witnesses provided by the municipality |
| Haderslev | Fri, 10:00–12:00 | registration the day before; witnesses provided by the municipality; Danish, German or English |
| Ærø | by arrangement | a date within 10 weeks after the approval (according to the municipality's Danish page); request by email; travel by ferry |
| Copenhagen | Mon–Sat | wait of up to 4 months; at City Hall the city always provides two witnesses; Danish, English or German |
All the details are in our guides to Tønder, Aabenraa, Sønderborg, Haderslev and Ærø and on our page Getting married in Copenhagen. Who provides the witnesses where is compared in our guide Witnesses in Denmark, and the wait times in our wait time comparison 2026. Municipalities sometimes change wedding days and rules at short notice.
How Danish Wedding helps
We take care of the change as a change of municipality at a fixed price of €149.99, even if you applied yourselves; the Complete package includes one change. You send us the case number from your approval letter and your preferred time frame, and you sign the power of attorney by hand. We ask municipalities with free dates, request Familieretshuset to forward your approval and agree the date with the new municipality.
We are in regular contact with many municipalities and ask on your behalf. We have no access to their calendars or booking systems; what we tell you is our latest information, and what counts is what the municipality confirms. Want to know how things look first? Then ask us for our current status.
Sources, as of October 2026
The information comes from the official pages of Familieretshuset and the municipalities:
- Familieretshuset: Ansøg om prøvelsesattest and Sagsbehandlingstider (Danish), Apply for a Certificate of Marital Status and notice of 15 May 2025 (English)
- Copenhagen: City Hall Wedding and Book a registrar (English), committee meeting of 20 February 2026 (Danish)
- Tønder: Marriage, Aabenraa: Marriage Registry Office, Sønderborg: Marriage, Haderslev: Marriage (all English) and Vielse og ægteskab (Danish), Ærø: Ægteskab, Vielse (Danish)
As of October 2026. Municipalities sometimes change wedding days and rules at short notice. Familieretshuset decides on the change, and the municipality on the date.
