You are married from the wedding day, and in Germany and Austria a Danish marriage usually needs no separate recognition procedure. There is still some work to do: in Germany, registering the marriage is optional, but unless you show the certificate to the registration office, neither your marital status nor your tax class changes. Austrians must report the marriage, Swiss citizens through the consular centre in Stockholm, and a joint name is a separate step everywhere. This is the order we recommend to couples.
What you have in hand after the ceremony
Right after the ceremony you receive two copies of the international marriage certificate, with all details in Danish, German, English, French and Spanish. German and Austrian authorities therefore usually need neither a translation nor an apostille (EU Regulation 2016/1191). The certificate shows your names as they appear in your passports; you do not get a new name in Denmark but at home.
Look after both originals: keep one with your important papers and use the other for authorities. Scan both straight away, as many offices work with a copy at first. More in our guide International marriage certificate from Denmark.
Your checklist after the wedding
- Secure the certificates: keep both originals, make scans.
- Check the apostille: only needed if a country outside the EU asks for it, such as your partner's home country (Apostille on the marriage certificate).
- Register the marriage at home: optional in Germany, mandatory for Austrian citizens, by report through Stockholm for Swiss citizens (Germany, Austria, Switzerland).
- Declare your name if you want a joint name; in Switzerland no later than six months after the wedding (Name change after the wedding).
- Registration office: in Germany, show the marriage certificate so your marital status is right.
- Tax: in Germany, then check your tax classes and apply for a change if needed.
- Start family reunification if your partner from a non-EU country is to move in with you (Family reunification).
- Inform your employer, health insurance, banks and insurers.
- Your partner's home country: ask its embassy whether and how the marriage is registered there.
- Plan the celebration: a church or symbolic wedding whenever you like (Church wedding later).
Germany: what is mandatory and what is optional
Entry in the German marriage register
Registering your Danish marriage with a German registry office is not required, according to the German Embassy in Copenhagen. If at least one of you is German, you can apply to have the marriage recorded in the German marriage register (§ 34 PStG) and can then always get a German marriage certificate. The registry office for the place where you live or last lived is responsible, otherwise Standesamt I in Berlin. It makes sense if you will often need proof later, for example for names, children or inheritance; the registry office sets the costs and processing time.
When the marriage is valid in Germany
The marriage is usually valid in Germany without any procedure if each of you was allowed to marry under your home law (Art. 13 EGBGB). The main exception: if an earlier marriage was dissolved outside the EU, that divorce usually has to be recognised first under § 107 FamFG. If you did not settle this before the wedding, do it now. More in our guide Recognition of the Danish marriage in Germany.
Registration office and tax class
Couples who marry in Germany are usually placed in tax class IV automatically from the wedding day. This does not apply to a marriage abroad, according to the tax administration's description in the Baden-Württemberg service portal. So show the marriage certificate to the registration office so it records your marital status; the tax office cannot enter the marriage in the system itself, and presenting it there as well is usually not necessary. You can then apply to the tax office for a change of tax class, for example from IV/IV to III/V. It takes effect from the start of the following month; for it to apply in the current year, the application must be made by 30 November.
Name and health insurance
If you live in Germany, your name is generally governed by German law (Art. 10 EGBGB). You choose a joint married name by declaration to the registry office; if you make it after the wedding, it must be publicly certified (§ 1355 BGB). A name change in Denmark is not valid in German law for German nationals, according to the German Embassy. Only after the declaration do you get an ID card and passport in the new name. It is worth asking your health insurer: spouses can be covered free of charge under family insurance in statutory health insurance if they live in Germany and their income is below the legal limit (§ 10 SGB V).
Austria: reporting to the Central Civil Status Register
Austrian citizens must report changes in their civil status abroad so that the Central Civil Status Register (ZPR) stays complete. This can be done directly at an Austrian registry office or through the Austrian representation abroad (oesterreich.gv.at). The Danish certificate needs no apostille for this. It is best to settle a joint name at the same appointment; for Austrian citizens, Austrian law always applies to names. All the steps are in our guide Registering a Danish marriage in Austria.
If your partner from a third country is to move to Austria, the residence permit "Familienangehöriger" (family member) is the usual route for spouses of Austrian citizens. According to oesterreich.gv.at (as of 10 August 2026), it is usually applied for before entry at the Austrian mission; requirements include knowledge of German, secure means of subsistence and accommodation, spouses must be at least 21 when applying, and the fee is €218.
Switzerland: reporting through the consular centre in Stockholm
In Switzerland, the marriage is only recorded in the Infostar civil status register after you report it. For marriages in Denmark, the Regional Consular Centre for the Nordic and Baltic countries in Stockholm is responsible. According to its leaflet, you submit the original marriage certificate, stamped and signed by the Danish authority and no older than six months, plus the marriage questionnaire and passport copies. Documents in Danish, English, German, French or Italian are accepted, registration is free of charge, and the consular centre expects at least two months. The leaflet names no apostille; if you file directly with the cantonal supervisory authority, ask there first.
If your partner's civil status documents come from neither Denmark nor Switzerland, contact the consular centre beforehand, because according to the leaflet other rules then apply and it can take longer. As for residence: foreign spouses of Swiss citizens are entitled to a residence permit if they live with them (Art. 42 Foreign Nationals and Integration Act); the cantonal migration office is responsible. Details in our guide Registering a Danish marriage in Switzerland.
Apostille: when you need it
| Where do you present the certificate? | Apostille needed? |
|---|---|
| Germany | no (EU Regulation 2016/1191) |
| Austria | no (EU Regulation 2016/1191) |
| Switzerland, report via Stockholm | not required according to the leaflet; ask first if filing directly with the canton |
| Your partner's home country outside the EU | often yes; the authority or embassy there decides |
Only the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs issues the apostille on a Danish marriage certificate: DKK 250 per document, paid in advance in its webshop, originals only, 5 to 7 working days by post from receipt (Udenrigsministeriet). Which countries require an apostille or legalisation is shown in our country list for apostille and legalisation; the process is explained in our guide Apostille on the Danish marriage certificate. If you do not want to handle it yourselves, our apostille service takes care of it for €149.99 including the ministry's fee (prices).
Your partner's home country
Whether and how the marriage is registered in your partner's home country depends on its law. Some countries require their citizens to report a marriage abroad and decide themselves whether they want an apostille, legalisation or translation for it. Ask the country's embassy or consulate before you hand over an original. There are separate guides for some countries, for example for partners from Ukraine, the Philippines or Vietnam; the rules for about 198 countries are on our page rules by country of origin.
Family reunification: the next big step
The wedding gives your partner no right of residence. If you live in Germany and one of you is German, the foreign spouse is entitled to a residence permit if the legal requirements are met (§ 28 AufenthG). If they come from a non-EU country, they usually need a national visa for spouse reunification first, applied for before entry at the German mission; for spouses of Germans it is free of charge (§ 52 AufenthV). What applies to language proof, documents and exceptions is in our guide Family reunification after the wedding in Denmark.
Employer, insurance, banks
- Employer: tell them your marital status and, if relevant, your new name. In Germany, the employer retrieves the tax classes electronically once the registration office has recorded the marriage.
- Health insurance: check family insurance for your partner and register them if applicable.
- Banks and insurers: name change, beneficiaries in life and pension insurance, joint accounts.
- Contracts: rent, phone, electricity and memberships if a name changes.
Many offices work with a copy of the marriage certificate; ask before you send an original.
And the celebration?
The wedding in Denmark takes care of the legal part. You can hold a church or symbolic wedding at any time, even years later; what applies is explained in our guide Church wedding later. If you are still before the wedding, the step-by-step checklist shows the whole route, and our free eligibility check tells you whether Denmark fits your case.
