If your partner's home country doesn't issue a certificate of no impediment, the German registry office requires a waiver from the Higher Regional Court (OLG), a procedure that often takes 6–12 months in practice. Denmark doesn't require the certificate at all.
Why the Standesamt demands the certificate
Under § 1309 (1) BGB, a foreign partner whose home-country law governs the marriage must generally present the German registry office with a certificate from their home authority. This certificate of no impediment (Ehefähigkeitszeugnis) confirms that nothing under the law of the country of origin prevents the marriage, that the person is of age, unmarried and free to marry.
The reason is pragmatic: a German registry office cannot verify on its own whether someone is validly divorced or single under Indian or Brazilian law, so that check is delegated to the home country.
Without the certificate, the registry office may not perform the marriage, unless the OLG president grants a waiver under § 1309 (2) BGB. And that is exactly where a long, nerve-racking procedure begins for many binational couples.
Countries that don't issue a certificate of no impediment
The certificate is a concept known mainly in European countries with central civil-status registers. In many legal systems there is simply no authority that could issue such a document. Typical examples:
- In the USA there is no central civil-status register; no US authority certifies that someone is "free to marry".
- Indian law does not provide for the document.
- In Brazil, too, no certificate of no impediment within the meaning of § 1309 BGB exists.
- In many African countries the concept is largely unknown to civil-status law.
If your partner comes from one of these countries, there is no way around the OLG waiver in Germany. What the alternative looks like for binational couples in Denmark is covered below.
How the OLG waiver procedure works
Registering at the Standesamt
You don't apply to the OLG directly, but through the registry office where you register your intended marriage. That's where you submit all documents.
Preliminary check and forwarding
The registry office pre-checks the documents and forwards the application, with its assessment, to the competent OLG.
Substantive review
The OLG examines, under the home country's law, whether impediments to the marriage exist, for example a still-existing marriage or a foreign divorce not recognized in Germany. It relies on proofs of single status, sworn declarations and, in some cases, document verification through German diplomatic missions.
Requests for additional documents
If documents are missing or outdated, the OLG asks for more, and every round costs weeks to months.
Decision
If the waiver is granted, it is valid for six months (§ 1309 Abs. 2 Satz 4 BGB). If you don't marry within that period, the procedure starts over.
Duration and costs: what to expect
How long the procedure takes depends heavily on the OLG district and the country of origin. Simple cases can move faster, but in practice 6–12 months is often realistic, especially when the OLG orders a document verification abroad. That verification, carried out via lawyers of trust working with the German embassies, can take several months on its own.
For the exemption itself, the OLG charges an administrative fee of €15–305 (JVKostG, no. 1330), setting the exact amount according to the effort involved. On top come additional expenses for fresh certificates, apostilles, certified translations and, where required, the document verification; there are no reliable flat figures for these, so ask your registry office for an estimate for your specific case.
Frequent requests for additional documents
- proofs of single or marital status that are older than six months
- missing apostille or legalization on foreign certificates
- translations not produced by sworn translators
- foreign divorce decrees without a certificate of finality, or without the separate recognition procedure that Germany sometimes requires
- inconsistent name spellings across passport, birth certificate and other documents
The alternative: Denmark requires no certificate
Denmark has no equivalent of the § 1309 BGB requirement. The competent authority, the Familieretshuset (Agency of Family Law, AFL), checks your capacity to marry directly from your documents: passport, for divorced partners the final divorce decree and, for non-EU partners, proof of lawful stay. It asks for a single-status certificate only in individual cases; otherwise, never-married applicants confirm their marital status by signing the application, under criminal liability. The review follows Danish law. Our document checklist for getting married in Denmark shows exactly what you need.
The practical difference is enormous: with a complete application, the AFL review is usually finished within 5 working days of payment being received (as of October 2026); if Familieretshuset requests further documents, it is currently processing applications received in August 2026 (around 2 months, as of 18 October 2026). The real bottleneck after that is the ceremony date at the municipality; where dates are still free right now, we find out for our couples directly from the municipalities we are often in touch with. In total, it usually takes 3–6 weeks from complete documents to wedding day, longer in some municipalities (Copenhagen up to 4 months).
The AFL fee is DKK 2,100 (about €281). The Danish marriage is recognized in Germany if it was formally valid and both partners were allowed to marry under their home country's law (Art. 11 and 13 EGBGB); Austria and Switzerland also generally recognize it. Read more in our guide to getting married without a certificate of no impediment.
| Route | Certificate of no impediment required? | Who checks? | Typical duration | Authority fee | Typical delay | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Germany (OLG) | Yes, or a waiver under § 1309 (2) BGB | The OLG, under the home-country law | Often 6–12 months | €15–305 (JVKostG, no. 1330) | Document verification abroad | Marriage concluded in Germany |
| Denmark | No | Familieretshuset (AFL) | Usually 3–6 weeks to the wedding day | DKK 2,100 (about €281) | Waiting time for the municipal date | Danish marriage certificate; marriage generally recognized in DE/AT/CH |
Sources and status
- § 1309 BGB: certificate of no impediment for foreign nationals (German)
- JVKostG, schedule of fees no. 1330: fee for the exemption (German)
- Familieretshuset: marriage conditions (single-status certificate only if specifically needed)
- Familieretshuset: processing time for certificates of marital status
As of October 2026. This article provides general information and does not replace individual legal advice. For complex special cases, consult a family-law attorney.
