Yes, you can get married in Roskilde, west of Copenhagen, even without Danish residence. The municipality usually holds weddings on Thursdays at 15:30 and Fridays at 11:30 at the town hall, and on Saturdays at 11:00 in the old council chamber on Stændertorvet, in the middle of the old town. There are no weddings in July, and as a rule you bring two witnesses of your own.
Can couples without Danish residence get married in Roskilde?
Yes. On its English page Roskilde states explicitly that you can have a civil wedding at the town hall even if you do not live in Denmark or are not Danish citizens. In that case the approval to marry (Danish: prøvelsesattest) is issued not by the municipality but by Familieretshuset, the Danish Agency of Family Law. According to the municipality's Danish page, Familieretshuset is responsible as soon as one of you is neither Danish nor a citizen of another Nordic country and has no permanent right of residence in Denmark.
The online form on the municipality's page (Ægteskabserklæring, with MitID) is meant for couples who apply through their Danish municipality of residence. According to the municipality, anyone who applies there but falls under Familieretshuset gets the application sent back. In your application to Familieretshuset you name Roskilde as the place of the wedding, because the approval is valid for exactly one municipality. The fee is DKK 2,100 (about €281) and is not refunded. Familieretshuset usually decides complete applications within 5 working days; if it asks for more documents, it is working on cases received in August 2026 in that queue, as of 6 November 2026. What you need to submit is shown in our guide Documents for your wedding in Denmark; the approval itself is explained in our guide Prøvelsesattest: the Danish marriage approval explained simply.
On which days and where does Roskilde hold weddings?
According to the municipality's Danish page (as of 6 November 2026), Roskilde holds weddings “som udgangspunkt”, that is as a rule, at these times:
| Day | Time | Place |
|---|---|---|
| Thursday | 15:30 | Roskilde Rådhus, Rådhusbuen 1 |
| Friday | 11:30 | Roskilde Rådhus, Rådhusbuen 1 |
| Saturday | 11:00 | Den Gamle Byrådssal (old council chamber), Stændertorvet 1, 1st floor |
So the municipality names one fixed time per day. The old council chamber is in the old town hall on Stændertorvet, the central square of the old town right by the cathedral; the picture above shows this building. According to the municipality, there are no weddings around public holidays such as Easter, Christmas and New Year, on days between a public holiday and the weekend, or during the whole of July. In addition, the municipality lists further individual days on its page on which it does not hold weddings, and points out that there may be others. Your preferred date is only fixed once the municipality confirms it; if it cannot accommodate it, it will get in touch with you.
Which time of year suits a wedding in Denmark is shown in our guide When to marry in Denmark.
Do you have to bring your own witnesses?
As a rule, yes. The municipality's Danish page, last updated on 19 October 2026, says: in principle you provide two witnesses yourselves. If you have none, the municipality can find witnesses, but you must arrange this with it in advance. The older English page (as of 8 October 2025) is more detailed: on Thursdays and Fridays the municipality provides witnesses if you bring no guests, while on Saturdays you have to bring them yourselves. Because the Danish page is newer, do not rely on the English version; settle the question of witnesses in your first e-mail to the municipality.
If you bring witnesses, the municipality needs their names and addresses; you send these together with the approval. If you are travelling as a couple on your own, ask explicitly for witnesses provided by the municipality and preferably plan for a Thursday or Friday. How other municipalities handle this is compared in our guide Wedding witnesses in Denmark.
In which language are weddings held in Roskilde?
The municipality does not say, either on its Danish or on its English page. There is an English information page for couples from abroad, but it does not state the language of the ceremony either. So before you apply, ask by e-mail whether the ceremony can be held in English, and get the answer in writing; ask separately about German. Throughout Denmark the rule is: you must both understand what is said during the ceremony. If one of you does not understand the language, you need an interpreter; more in our guide Interpreters at the wedding.
How it works for couples without Danish residence
- Ask first. Clarify language and witnesses by e-mail to vielse@roskilde.dk. The municipality says it answers e-mails within 10 working days; by phone you can reach it on +45 46 31 30 00.
- Apply for the approval for Roskilde. To Familieretshuset, with Roskilde as the place of the wedding. Both partners fill in their part of the application. If both parts have not been received within 14 days of starting the application, Familieretshuset closes the case according to its own page, and you have to apply and pay again. Whether your case has any special features is shown by the free eligibility check.
- Send the approval to the municipality. By e-mail to vielse@roskilde.dk, with your preferred date and the names and addresses of two witnesses, or with a request for the municipality to provide witnesses.
- Allow for processing time. Roskilde states 3 to 4 weeks of processing after it receives the marriage declaration or an approval from another municipality, and around 8 weeks if one or both of you are not Danish citizens. The municipality does not say whether the same applies to an approval from Familieretshuset. So send the approval as soon as you receive it and expect weeks, not days.
- Wait for confirmation. Your wedding is only booked once the municipality has confirmed the date and time. It is best to book flights and accommodation firmly only after that.
- The wedding day. Bring your passports and be at the town hall or the old council chamber in good time. A wedding in Denmark usually takes 15 to 20 minutes; afterwards you usually receive the international marriage certificate.
How the wedding day itself works is explained in our guide The wedding ceremony in Denmark, step by step. In the Complete package we file the application with Roskilde as the place of the wedding and arrange the date with the municipality; the prices are on the prices page. We are often in contact with municipalities and ask them, but nobody can promise a particular day.
Weddings outside the town hall
On its page Roskilde names three ways to marry outside the town hall and the old council chamber (as of 6 November 2026):
- At home or at another place, conducted by a member of the municipal council. For this you contact the municipality; it mentions a processing time of around 3 weeks. According to the municipality, on days when no weddings are held at the town hall, it is possible to arrange a wedding of this kind.
- At a public place. Then you need permission from the Veje og Grønne områder department (roads and green spaces); you apply for it through the municipality's Arrangørguide.
- By registrars from other municipalities. Roskilde generally allows registrars from other municipalities to conduct weddings within its area, though not at the town hall, in the old council chamber or in other administrative buildings. The wedding paperwork is then prepared by the municipality the registrar comes from. Because your approval is issued for a single municipality, clarify with both municipalities beforehand which one you name in your application.
Roskilde does not say what a wedding outside the town hall costs; get the place, the witnesses and any possible charge confirmed in writing beforehand. Which places other municipalities offer is compared in our guide Special places to get married in Denmark.
Roskilde Cathedral is not one of the municipality's wedding venues. For a church wedding in the Danish National Church the general rule is: one of you must be a member or belong to the Lutheran church of Sweden, Norway, Finland or Iceland. Details are in our guide Church wedding in Denmark.
How much does a wedding in Roskilde cost?
Roskilde names no fee for the ceremony at the town hall or in the old council chamber. This is in line with the situation since August 2025: back then, the City of Copenhagen concluded in its own legal review that there is no legal basis for charging fees for town hall weddings.
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Familieretshuset fee (mandatory, not refundable) | DKK 2,100 (about €281) |
| Ceremony at the town hall or in the old council chamber | no fee stated |
| Ceremony elsewhere by a member of the municipal council | not stated, ask beforehand |
| Permission for a public place | not stated, ask via the Arrangørguide |
All the costs of a wedding in Denmark, from translations to the apostille, are shown in our cost comparison 2026.
Roskilde or a municipality closer to Copenhagen?
Roskilde is not the only municipality in the Copenhagen area that marries couples from abroad. Each municipality is independent and has its own rules; an approval for Copenhagen is not valid in Roskilde, Dragør or Frederiksberg. According to the municipalities' pages (Roskilde, Dragør and Copenhagen as of 6 November 2026, Frederiksberg and Stevns as of 3 November 2026):
| Municipality | Wedding days | Witnesses provided by the municipality | Language according to the municipality |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roskilde | Thu 15:30, Fri 11:30, Sat 11:00 | only if arranged in advance | not stated |
| Dragør | selected days each month 10:30 to 16:30, selected Saturdays | two on weekdays, none on Saturdays | English |
| Copenhagen | Mon to Fri 9:10 to 15:50, Sat 10:00 to 12:40 | always two | Danish, English or German |
| Frederiksberg | Thu, Fri, Sat, each at 11:00 | two on weekdays, one on Saturdays | without Danish residence, English or German on Thursdays only |
| Stevns | Tue and Thu 10:00 to 14:00, selected Saturdays | on request on Thursdays and on the first Saturday of the month | not stated |
More in our guides Getting married in Dragør, Getting married in Frederiksberg and Getting married in Stevns, and on our page Getting married in Copenhagen. Roskilde suits couples who bring two witnesses of their own and would like, for example, to marry on a Saturday in the old council chamber in the middle of the old town. If you are travelling as a couple on your own and want to marry in German, you will find rules that suit you better in Copenhagen.
You can only switch between municipalities through Familieretshuset: only it can forward an approval that has been issued to another municipality, and that does not extend the four months of validity. What you can do if you have the approval but no date is explained in our guide Approved but no wedding date; we handle the switch as a change of municipality.
Getting to Roskilde
Roskilde is on Zealand, west of Copenhagen, on the railway line from Copenhagen to Funen and Jutland.
- From Copenhagen Central Station: trains run direct from København H to Roskilde.
- From Copenhagen Airport: by train, direct or with a change at København H depending on the connection.
- By car from Germany: via Jutland and the Great Belt bridge, with Roskilde then on the way to Copenhagen; or by ferry from Puttgarden to Rødby or from Rostock to Gedser and on to the north.
- From Switzerland and Austria: fly to Copenhagen and continue by train.
Current connections are shown by the Danish journey planner Rejseplanen. For a wedding on a Friday at 11:30 or a Saturday at 11:00, it is best to arrive the day before.
What to see in Roskilde after the ceremony
- Roskilde Domkirke: The cathedral has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1995. According to UNESCO, it was the first Gothic cathedral in Scandinavia to be built of brick and has been the burial place of the Danish royal family since the 15th century.
- Stændertorvet and the old town: On Stændertorvet stands the old town hall with the council chamber where weddings are held on Saturdays; the cathedral is right next to it.
- Viking Ship Museum on Roskilde Fjord: the museum about the Viking ships found in the fjord, right by the water.
How to get a wedding date in Denmark and what rules other municipalities have is explained on our page How to get a wedding date in Denmark. Municipalities sometimes change wedding days and rules at short notice; what counts is what the municipality confirms to you.
