So the Spanish boyfriend and I decided to take the plunge and get married when I return to Madrid in a few months(been visiting family here in the US). I have been searching the internet and this site to see what I should do to prepare myself i.e., what to bring besides my birth certificate,etc. I am just curious to know if this excerpt from a previous post still holds true:


Step 1: Go to the Civil Registry in the town where the Spaniard is a resident ("empadronado") and pick up the application form/information sheet.

Step 2: Gather the documents you need. For a US citizen you need you birth certificate with an Apostille seal on it, an official Spanish translation of the birth certificate, a statement saying that you are single and free to marry (this can be obtained in the US embassy), a document that states your place of residence in the US (also from the embassy), a letter about the Posting of the Banns (again from the embassy), your passport and a photocopy. The Spaniard needs his/her birth certificate, a document about his/her place of residence ("certificado de empadronamiento"), and his/her D.N.I. (identity card) plus a photocopy.

Step 3: When you have all of the documents and have filled out the application form you need to go back to the Civil Registry to turn them in. They make you sign a bunch of papers there, and you also need to go with 2 friends or relatives so that they can sign a paper saying that they know you and know of no reason why you shouldn't be allowed to get married. When this is done the Civil Registry will give you an appointment to come back in about 6 weeks (at least it was 6 weeks in my case--in Madrid)

Step 4: Go back to the Civil Registry the day of your appointment, and they will tell you that your papers are in order and you can get married. You sign the papers, and they tell you to come back in 2 weeks to pick up the marriage license.

Step 5: Pick up the license and choose a wedding date. In my case we did the paper work in Madrid but had the wedding in Burgos, so we had to take the papers to the town hall in Burgos. There we filled out another form and they let us choose a date the same day that we dropped off the paper.

Step 6: Get married--don't forget to bring your passport to the ceremony because they need to check it.

Basically that's it--of course than the real fun begins when you have to apply for residency here after the wedding, but I guess that's another post.


Any information would be very helpful! Thank you in advance!

Hi CJA,

I'm not 100% but I believe the process is still very much the same. Check out this info from the US Dept. of State:

http://travel.state.gov/law/citizenship/citizenship_763.html

The important thing to have before coming over is your birth certificate, with translation and an Apotille of the Hague seal.

This may vary depending on where your boyfriend is empadronado. I would recommend he go by the registro civil and get a list of the documents you will need.

Congrats and good luck. I am in the same boat, so if you find other info it'd be great if you could share on here.

Take care,
IVett