In 2025, 32,624 couples married where at least one partner is resident in Denmark (Statistics Denmark), and in 2024 Familieretshuset received 23,404 applications for a marriage approval, 14 % more than in 2023, many of them from couples abroad. In 2026 the agency usually decides complete applications within 5 working days, and the fee is DKK 2,100 (about €281).
The key figures at a glance
All values come from official sources or from figures the authorities gave to Dansk Erhverv, the Danish Chamber of Commerce, checked on 27 October 2026. Our own calculations are marked as such.
| Figure | Value | As of | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marriages, at least one partner resident in Denmark | 32,624 couples | 2025 | Statistics Denmark |
| of which civil ceremonies | 21,428 couples | 2025 | Statistics Denmark |
| of which one partner resident abroad | 2,639 couples | 2025 | our analysis, Statistics Denmark |
| Most popular month | August: 5,609 couples (17 %) | 2025 | Statistics Denmark |
| Applications for a marriage approval (prøvelsesattest) | 23,404 (+14 %) | 2024 | Familieretshuset via Dansk Erhverv |
| Applications for a marriage approval | about 25,000 (estimate) | 2025 | our calculation, Familieretshuset annual report |
| Approvals issued | about 18,500 (90 % of decisions) | 2023 | Familieretshuset |
| Applications naming Copenhagen as the place to marry | 27 % | 2024 | Familieretshuset via Dansk Erhverv |
| Weddings in Copenhagen | 6,914 | 2025 | City of Copenhagen |
| Copenhagen slots set aside for couples with at least one partner resident in Copenhagen | 40 % | since 24 Oct 2025 | City of Copenhagen |
| Decision on a complete application | usually 5 working days | October 2026 | Familieretshuset |
| Fee for the marriage approval | DKK 2,100 (about €281), not refunded | 2026 | Familieretshuset |
| Validity of the approval | 4 months from issue | 2026 | Familieretshuset |
How many couples marry in Denmark?
According to Statistics Denmark (Danmarks Statistik), 32,624 couples married in 2025 where at least one partner is resident in Denmark, 13 % more than in 2015; in 2024 the figure was 32,861. About two thirds married in a civil ceremony (21,428), 9,247 in church and 1,387 abroad; for the rest, the type is not recorded.
August has been the most popular month for years: in August 2025, 5,609 couples married, 17 % of the whole year. May came second with 4,022 couples, and January had the fewest with 1,485. In the first half of 2026, 14,974 couples married according to preliminary figures, almost exactly as many as in the first half of 2025 (14,964).
Important for any comparison: the statistics only count couples where at least one partner is resident in Denmark. Couples who are both resident abroad and travel in just for the wedding are not included at all. For 2,639 of the couples counted, one partner was resident abroad, about 8 %. This is our analysis of StatBank table VIE325: 841 couples where the man or the older partner is resident abroad, plus 1,798 where it is the woman or the younger partner.
How many couples from abroad marry in Denmark?
There is no official figure. The best indicator is the applications to Familieretshuset: the agency reviews the conditions for marriage when at least one of you has neither Danish nor other Nordic citizenship nor a permanent right of residence in Denmark. The figures therefore also include couples resident in Denmark, such as Danes marrying a partner without a Danish passport, and approvals for a wedding abroad.
| Year | Applications to Familieretshuset |
|---|---|
| 2021 | 13,500 |
| 2022 | 20,200 |
| 2023 | about 20,500 (calculated from +14 % for 2024) |
| 2024 | 23,404 |
| 2025 | about 25,000 (our estimate) |
From 2021 to 2024 the number of applications thus rose by 73 %. The figures for 2021 and 2022 come from Familieretshuset's statistics, the figure for 2024 from data Familieretshuset gave to Dansk Erhverv. No figure for 2025 has been published yet, but according to the 2025 annual report the number of applications kept rising.
How we estimate the 2025 figure
Every application costs a fixed fee, and the annual report shows the income from it: DKK 53,228,151 in 2025. Divided by the fee of DKK 2,100, that gives 25,347, so about 25,000 paid applications and about 8 % more than in 2024. The method matches the previous year well: for 2024 it gives DKK 44,075,439 ÷ DKK 1,900 = about 23,200, against 23,404 reported. It remains an estimate, as income and applications can be booked in different months.
How many applications are approved
In 2023 Familieretshuset made about 20,500 decisions and issued the approval in about 18,500 cases, or 90 %. About 2,000 cases (10 %) ended without an approval. These include refusals, for example for lack of lawful residence or a suspected sham marriage, withdrawn applications, and cases closed, for example because a reply did not arrive in time. In 2022, 7 % of cases ended without an approval, in 2021 5 %.
Which countries do the couples come from?
Familieretshuset does not publish a ranking by nationality. Neither the statistics for 2021 to 2023 nor the annual reports for 2024 and 2025 contain one, and the 2024 figures Familieretshuset gave to Dansk Erhverv (article of 14 February 2026) only name municipalities (checked on 3 November 2026). The only official breakdown is in the 2021 statistics and distinguishes three groups:
| Partners' citizenship | Applications 2021 | Share |
|---|---|---|
| One partner with EU citizenship, one from a third country | 8,170 | 61 % |
| Both from third countries | 2,818 | 21 % |
| Both with EU citizenship | 2,466 | 18 % |
| Total | 13,454 | 100 % |
So in 2021, at least one partner came from a country outside the EU in about 82 % of applications. Which documents and rules apply to individual nationalities is shown in our overview Getting married in Denmark by country of origin.
The most popular municipalities for the wedding
In the application you name the municipality where you want to marry. For 2023, Familieretshuset published how many approvals went to each requested municipality:
| Municipality | Approvals 2023 |
|---|---|
| 1. Copenhagen | 5,763 |
| 2. Ærø | 2,028 |
| 3. Tønder | 1,134 |
| 4. Frederiksberg | 1,122 |
| 5. Aabenraa | 987 |
| 6. Esbjerg | 936 |
| 7. Kolding | 921 |
| 8. Sønderborg | 751 |
| 9. Stevns | 483 |
| 10. Lolland | 420 |
In 2024, 27 % of all applications named Copenhagen as the place to marry, the other 73 % other municipalities, above all Ærø, Aabenraa, Tønder and Stevns. The 2024 ranking according to Familieretshuset (via Dansk Erhverv, 14 February 2026): Copenhagen, Ærø, Aabenraa, Tønder, Kolding, Sønderborg, Stevns, Esbjerg, Aarhus, Helsingør. No figures per municipality were published for 2024. For Ærø, the local tourism association Ærø Turist & Erhverv reports 3,000 foreign couples who married on the island in 2025.
More on the individual places is in our guides to Ærø, Tønder, Aabenraa and Sønderborg and on the page Getting married in Copenhagen.
Copenhagen: the most sought-after municipality
Copenhagen married 7,947 couples in 2024 and 6,914 in 2025. The drop has a simple reason: since August 2025 the city no longer offers its fee-based “I Do Now” weddings. With the previous ceremony times, City Hall can hold up to about 6,900 regular weddings a year. In its 2026 budget the city set aside money to scale up from 8,000 to 10,000 wedding slots a year, 9,000 of them regular ceremonies at City Hall.
Since 24 October 2025, 40 % of the slots have been set aside for couples where at least one partner is resident in the Municipality of Copenhagen. The city explains that very high demand from foreign couples had made it difficult for Copenhageners to get a slot at their own City Hall. It states a wait of up to four months. For August 2026 the city had planned about 800 weddings, after about 540 in August 2025, and expected 60 to 75 % of them to be international (figures given to Dansk Erhverv, 10 August 2026).
Processing time and costs
Familieretshuset usually decides complete applications within 5 working days. If something is missing, the agency asks for documents and the case moves to a separate queue: as of 27 October 2026 it is processing cases there that were received in August 2026. If you have to send documents later, you wait months instead of days.
The agency measures itself against two five-day rules: within five working days it either issues the approval or asks for what is missing. It managed this in 94 % of cases in 2023 and 92 % in 2024. Once a case was complete, it decided 64 % of cases within 5 working days in 2023; 11 % took more than 26 working days.
The fee in 2026 is DKK 2,100 (about €281), the same as in 2025; in 2024 it was DKK 1,900. You pay it before the application is processed, and it is not refunded. The approval is valid for 4 months from issue. Copenhagen may not charge a fee for the ceremony at City Hall: a legal review by the city found in 2025 that there is no basis for it; it may only charge the actual extra costs of a ceremony at a place of your choice. The city has budgeted DKK 23 million for 2025 to 2027 to repay fees charged without a legal basis.
What the figures mean for you
- Demand is rising, and supply is not keeping up everywhere. Applications rose by 73 % from 2021 to 2024. Copenhagen married fewer couples in 2025 than in 2024 and keeps 40 % of its slots for residents, and according to Dansk Erhverv several municipalities are limiting weddings of international couples. Popular town halls such as Copenhagen state waits of up to four months, and August is the most popular month.
- Choose the municipality first, then apply. The approval goes to the municipality you name in the application and is valid for 4 months. Familieretshuset recommends checking which municipalities have available dates before you apply. How much waiting times differ is shown in our 2026 waiting times comparison.
- Complete documents save months. With a complete application it takes days, with requests for more documents months. Which documents your case needs is shown by our free eligibility check.
- Approved, but no date? Then you do not need to apply again: Familieretshuset can forward the approval to another municipality. How this works is explained in the guide Approved but no wedding date; we handle the switch as our change of municipality service.
Sources, checked on 27 October 2026
- Statistics Denmark: Vielser og skilsmisser 2025 (12 February 2026) and the StatBank tables VIE9, VIE325 and VIE7KVT
- Familieretshuset: statistics “Internationale ægteskaber” 2021, 2022 and 2023, annual reports 2024 and 2025, Sagsbehandlingstider and Ansøg om prøvelsesattest (all Danish), notice of 15 May 2025 (English)
- Fee orders for 2024, 2025 and 2026 (retsinformation.dk, Danish)
- City of Copenhagen: committee meeting of 20 February 2026 and budget note on weddings (Danish), City Hall Wedding (English)
- Dansk Erhverv, with figures from Familieretshuset and the City of Copenhagen: article of 14 February 2026 and of 10 August 2026 (Danish)
As of 27 October 2026. Our own calculations are marked in the text and shown with the calculation. Free to cite with a link to this page.
