If your partner is American, getting married in Denmark is usually straightforward: US documents need no apostille, and documents in English need no translation. Two things trip couples up: a US divorce decree that doesn't show it is final, and proof of legal stay since the EES started.
This guide is for couples where one of you lives in Germany, Austria or Switzerland and the other is a US citizen: whether they live in the USA, already live with you, or are stationed in Germany as a service member or civilian employee. The rules for every other nationality are on our page rules by country of origin. If you are weighing an online wedding through Utah instead of the trip to Denmark, our guide online wedding in Utah or Denmark compares the two.
Which documents does a partner from the USA need?
You apply online to Familieretshuset, the Danish Agency of Family Law. It checks whether you are free to marry and issues the prøvelsesattest, the Danish certificate of marital status. The fee is DKK 2,100 (about €281) and is not refunded. Depending on the situation, it needs these documents from the US partner:
| Document | When? | What matters |
|---|---|---|
| US passport | always | colour scans of every page, including covers and blank pages; issued within the last 10 years, valid at least 3 months beyond the stay, at least 2 blank pages |
| Proof of legal stay | always | printout of the EES calculator plus tickets; with a residence permit from a Schengen country, the permit is enough |
| Divorce decree | for every previous marriage | final decree with proof that it is final |
| Death certificate | if a former spouse has died | death certificate from the competent authority |
| Birth certificates | if you have children together | the children's birth certificates |
| Proof of address | if you live together outside Denmark | for example a German Meldebescheinigung, no older than 4 months |
As a rule, Familieretshuset does not ask for your own birth certificates, a certificate of no impediment or a certificate of single status. If you have never been married, you confirm that in the application with your signature, under criminal liability; the agency only asks for proof in individual cases. The full list for both partners is in our guide documents for your wedding in Denmark.
One detail US citizens often miss: the US passport card does not replace the passport. Familieretshuset only accepts an ID card instead of a passport from EU citizens.
Do US documents need an apostille or a translation?
No, as a rule they don't. In its documentation requirements Familieretshuset explicitly lists the USA among the countries whose documents normally need neither legalisation nor an apostille, together with Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Turkey. And because the agency accepts documents in Danish, English and German, an English-language US document needs no translation either.
What counts, though, is the country that issued a document, not your partner's nationality. If your partner was divorced in Mexico, the Dominican Republic or Germany, for example, that country's rules apply; our guide apostille for your wedding in Denmark explains them. If a document is not in English, for instance in Spanish, an authorised translator must translate it into Danish, English or German before you apply, including all stamps and endorsements. More in our guide certified translations.
US divorce decree: final or only interlocutory?
This is where most follow-up requests for US partners come from. Under the Danish administrative guidance on marriage cases, for a divorce granted outside the Nordic countries the agency needs three things: a copy of the divorce document, proof that it is final, and, where needed, a translation including all endorsements. The proof of finality (Danish: retskraftpåtegning) shows that the decision can no longer be appealed, or that the time to appeal has passed without an appeal.
In the USA, divorce law is a matter for the states, and some of them distinguish between an interim and a final decision:
- In Massachusetts, a "Judgment of Divorce Nisi" is entered first. The divorce only becomes final after a waiting period; until then, neither party may remarry.
- In California, the date the marriage ends is stated in the "Notice of Entry of Judgment" (form FL-190). The divorce is final once the court has filed that notice.
US immigration authorities say the same in the USCIS Policy Manual: interlocutory decrees and decrees nisi are not evidence that a marriage has ended as long as the waiting period or condition has not been met.
How to go about it:
- Order a certified copy of the final decree, with all pages, from the Clerk of Court of the court that granted the divorce.
- Check whether the decree itself shows that it is final. If not, ask the court for confirmation that the judgment is final; ask the clerk which certificate they issue for this.
- If there were several previous marriages, include the decree for each one.
- If the name on the decree differs from the current passport, for example because the decree restored a former name, include the document that shows the change, so that the agency can match the person with certainty.
One point hardly anyone thinks about: Denmark only recognises a foreign divorce if there was a connection to the country that granted it, as a rule because one of the spouses lived there or both were its nationals. The guidance gives the example of a Danish couple who got divorced on holiday in the USA; Denmark does not recognise that divorce. For Germany, a US divorce also needs recognition under § 107 FamFG unless both spouses were US citizens at the time, for example after a marriage to a German partner. How that works is explained in our guide divorced: a second wedding in Denmark.
Entry and stay: visa-free, but with EES proof
US citizens need no visa for Denmark and may stay up to 90 days within any 180-day period in the Schengen area. Since 10 April 2026 there are no more entry stamps: the Entry/Exit System (EES) records entries and exits digitally. For the application, your partner therefore proves legal stay like this (as of 3 November 2026):
- Not yet entered: a printout of the data page and the result page of the EES calculator for the planned stay.
- Entered or left after 10 April 2026: the same printout plus plane tickets or boarding passes.
- With a residence permit from a Schengen country, such as a German residence permit: the permit is enough. With it, your partner needs no visa for Denmark either, and time spent on the permit does not count towards the 90 days.
Plan so that the wedding day falls safely within the 90 permitted days. The prøvelsesattest is valid for four months from issue, or for less if a passport, visa or residence permit expires earlier. Our guide EES proof for your wedding explains the proof step by step; what is different for partners who need a visa is covered in our guide to the Schengen visa. The EU has announced a travel authorisation under the ETIAS system; check the official EU page shortly before you travel whether it already applies to your trip.
Stationed in Germany: service members and civilians with SOFA status
Many US citizens live in Germany as members of the forces, of the civilian component or as their dependants under the NATO Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA). The agreement exempts members of a force from the receiving state's passport and visa rules; they identify themselves with their military ID card and movement orders. That concerns the state where they are stationed and says nothing about how Familieretshuset assesses a private stay in Denmark.
Familieretshuset does not name a separate rule for SOFA status on its pages (as of 3 November 2026). It asks every applicant from outside the EU for a passport and proof of legal stay in Denmark. For the wedding trip, that means in practice:
- Submit your regular US tourist passport. A military ID does not replace it in the application.
- Expect to prove your stay like any visa-exempt US citizen, with the EES printout and your tickets. Before you apply, ask Familieretshuset whether it wants to see further documents in your case.
- What the service requires for leave, travel outside Germany and getting married is not governed by Denmark, and we do not advise on those rules.
After the wedding: is the marriage valid in the USA?
Right after the ceremony you receive two international marriage certificates in five languages, including English. For the USA, this means:
- You do not have to register the marriage with any US authority; US embassies say so themselves. Whether a state recognises a marriage concluded abroad depends on its own law; for questions, the US Embassy in Germany refers you to the Attorney General of your state.
- For immigration and visas, USCIS applies the "place of celebration rule": a marriage counts if it is valid where it was concluded and both of you were free to marry each other. That is why USCIS also checks whether earlier divorces were final.
- USCIS requires foreign-language documents to come with a complete English translation and a translator's certification. Because the Danish certificate also contains English, this is usually not needed.
- To change the name in a US passport, the marriage certificate serves as proof; which form applies depends on how old your passport is.
USCIS does not explicitly require an apostille for this. However, the US Embassy in Germany advises couples who marry in Germany to get the international certificate with an apostille so that it can be used in the USA later. The same reasoning applies to your Danish certificate: the apostille is issued by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, for DKK 250, in about 5 to 7 working days. How it works is explained in our guide apostille on the Danish marriage certificate; as an add-on, we take care of it for €149.99.
And in Germany, Austria or Switzerland?
In Germany, the Danish marriage is as a rule recognised without any procedure of its own; registering it in the German marriage register is optional. Austria requires registration in the Central Civil Status Register, and Switzerland a report through the competent Swiss representation. Details are in our guides on recognition in Germany and on changing your name after the wedding.
If your partner wants to move to Germany to live with you, being a US citizen brings two advantages: they may enter without a visa and apply for the residence permit in Germany within 90 days of entry (§ 41 AufenthV). And German law does not require nationals of these countries to prove German language skills before moving (§ 30 (1) sentence 3 no. 4 AufenthG). What else you need is explained in our guide family reunification after the wedding.
Typical pitfalls with a US partner
- Submitting an interlocutory decree or a decree nisi instead of the final one.
- Submitting an affidavit or a certificate of marital status instead of the divorce decree.
- A divorce granted in a state where neither spouse lived.
- The passport card instead of the passport, or a passport that expires too soon.
- A missing EES printout, or one that doesn't match the actual travel dates.
- A different name on the decree than in the passport, without a document showing the change.
Each of these gaps leads to a follow-up request, and then things slow down: Familieretshuset usually decides complete applications within 5 working days, but after a request for more documents it is currently working on applications from August 2026 (as of 3 November 2026). Which documents your case needs is shown by our free eligibility check; in the Complete package we check every document before it is submitted (all prices). More pitfalls for binational couples are summed up in our guide binational wedding in Denmark.
