How to Apply for Marriage Registration in Ukraine and Choose Your Wedding Date

Where can you apply to register a marriage in Ukraine?

A couple may submit a marriage-registration application to a state civil status registration department of their choice. The current official Diia Guide also lists executive bodies of village, settlement and city councils, eligible Centres for Administrative Services, known as CNAPs, and electronic services through Diia as available channels.

The standard rule does not require you to use the civil status office linked to your registered residence. The Family Code allows the woman and man to submit the application to any state civil status registration authority they choose.

Current service information is available through the official Diia Guide marriage registration service.

Who can legally marry in Ukraine?

The standard marriage age is 18 years for both women and men. Each person must have reached the required age by the actual date of marriage registration.

A person who has reached age 16 may apply to a court for permission to marry. The court may grant the right if it determines that marriage is in that person's interests.

Marriage must be voluntary. Ukrainian family law does not permit coercion into marriage.

What legal barriers can prevent a marriage?

A person may be in only one registered marriage at a time. Someone who was previously married can enter another marriage only after the previous marriage has ended.

The Family Code also prohibits marriage between persons who are directly related by blood and between full or half siblings. Other statutory restrictions apply to certain family and adoption relationships. A marriage involving a person who has been declared legally incapable is also legally prohibited.

What documents do you need to submit?

When applying in person, both fiances must present documents establishing their identity. The exact additional documents depend on their individual circumstances.

• Joint application for state registration of marriage.
• Ukrainian passport or another accepted identity document for a Ukrainian citizen.
• Passport document for a foreign citizen or stateless person.
• Proof that a foreign citizen or stateless person is lawfully staying in Ukraine.
• Proof that a previous marriage has ended, where either fiance was married before.
• A court decision granting the right to marry if a fiance is aged 16 or 17.
• Proof of payment of the state duty or proof of entitlement to an exemption.

The marriage-registration application itself is formed and registered through the State Register of Civil Status Acts.

What if one fiance is a foreign citizen?

A foreign citizen or stateless person must present the passport or identity document required by the official procedure and proof of lawful stay in Ukraine.

Official civil-status documents issued abroad may need to be legalized in the prescribed manner unless an applicable international treaty removes that requirement.

A document written in a foreign language must be translated into Ukrainian, with the accuracy of the translation certified according to Ukrainian requirements.

If the foreign fiance was married previously, documents establishing that the former marriage has legally ended may also be required.

How much does marriage registration cost?

The current official service guide lists a state duty of UAH 0.85, equal to 0.05 of the non-taxable minimum income used for this duty.

This is the basic state duty for the registration itself. It does not mean every wedding arrangement costs UAH 0.85. Ceremonial, expedited, venue-related or other optional services can have separate charges where selected.

How long after applying do you have to wait?

The general Family Code rule is that the marriage is registered after one month has passed from the application date.

When the application is accepted, the registration authority arranges the date and time in accordance with this rule and any applicable special circumstances.

If the marriage is not registered on the scheduled date, the application does not remain valid indefinitely. Under the Family Code, it loses validity after three months from the date it was submitted.

Can you marry before the one-month waiting period ends?

Yes. If there is a valid reason supported by documents, the head of the civil status registration authority may authorize marriage registration before the one-month period expires.

The Family Code specifically provides that where the fiancee is pregnant, has given birth to a child, or there is an immediate threat to the life of either fiance, the marriage may be registered on the day the application is submitted or on another day chosen by the couple within one month.

Does martial law change the marriage-registration procedure?

Yes, special wartime rules can apply alongside the ordinary Family Code procedure. The current official Diia Guide states that Ukrainians may continue to submit marriage applications during martial law and that marriage can be registered on the same day under the applicable wartime procedure.

Special rules also permit registration without the physical presence of one fiance in defined wartime cases, including certain members of the Armed Forces and other military formations, police officers, specified security and civil-protection personnel and healthcare workers.

These are exceptional wartime arrangements. Couples who do not fall within a special procedure should follow the ordinary registration route and the date assigned by the registration authority.

Can you submit the marriage application online?

Yes. The official Diia Guide lists both the Diia portal and mobile application among the channels for marriage registration. An electronic marriage-registration application is submitted by the couple personally through the electronic service and signed using the electronic signatures required by the system.

The standard electronic application may include scanned copies of supporting documents where those documents are necessary.

Ukraine also operates a separate Marriage Online service in Diia, which goes beyond simply filing an application. Under that service, eligible couples can apply electronically, choose a date and time, participate in a real-time video ceremony and sign the marriage act using Diia.Signature.

Who can use Marriage Online in Diia?

The current government rules for the electronic marriage-registration project define applicants as a woman and man who are Ukrainian citizens, will be at least 18 years old on the marriage-registration date, have an RNOCPP taxpayer number and have a Ukrainian internal or international passport created through the Unified State Demographic Register.

The online ceremony uses electronic identification and Diia.Signature. In February 2026, Diia specifically advised couples using Marriage Online to activate their Diia.Signature before the ceremony.

The fully online route is therefore more restrictive than the ordinary civil status registration procedure. For example, the special electronic project is not the appropriate route for a foreign fiance or a person aged 16 or 17 marrying under a court decision.

How does Marriage Online work?

For couples who meet the electronic project's requirements, the process can be completed without visiting a civil status registration office.

1. Submit the marriage application in Diia.
2. Choose an available date and time.
3. Confirm the required actions with Diia.Signature.
4. Join the scheduled real-time video ceremony through Diia.
5. Confirm consent to the marriage and sign the marriage act electronically.

Diia confirms that after successful online registration the digital marriage certificate appears in the application. A paper certificate can also be ordered for delivery under the service arrangements.

Can someone else submit the application for you?

As a rule, the couple submits the marriage application personally. However, if one or both fiances cannot personally submit it for a valid reason, the Family Code permits a representative to file the relevant application.

In that case, the fiance's application must be notarized, and the representative's authority must also be notarized.

This should not be confused with the marriage ceremony itself. Under the ordinary procedure, marriage registration through a representative is not permitted. Special wartime and electronic procedures are separate exceptions governed by their own rules.

What if you were previously married?

If either fiance was previously married, a new marriage can be registered only after the earlier marriage has legally ended.

The official procedure may therefore require a divorce certificate, death record, court decision details or another legally accepted document showing termination or invalidity of the earlier marriage, depending on how it ended and what information is already available in official registers.

Can you change your surname when you marry?

The marriage application process includes decisions about the surnames the spouses will use after registration. Ukrainian family law allows spouses to keep their premarital surnames, choose the surname of one spouse as their common surname or use another surname arrangement permitted by law.

Make this choice carefully because the marriage act record and marriage certificate will reflect the information recorded during registration. A surname change after marriage can trigger separate procedures for replacing identity and other official documents.

What happens when the marriage is registered?

Under the ordinary procedure, both fiances appear for registration and present their identity documents so the authority can verify identity and age. The marriage cannot ordinarily be registered through a representative.

Marriage is based on the personal and free consent of both parties. Once the registration is completed, the authority creates the marriage act record in the State Register of Civil Status Acts.

Each spouse receives a marriage certificate confirming the state registration of the marriage.

Why can marriage registration be refused?

The official Diia Guide lists refusal where the requested registration would contradict Ukrainian law, where an applicant is legally incapable or lacks the required authority, or where the registration must legally be performed by another competent authority.

Other legal barriers include an existing registered marriage or a prohibited family relationship. Providing incomplete or unsuitable foreign documents can also prevent the registration authority from establishing that the legal conditions have been satisfied.

If a problem concerns a missing document rather than a legal prohibition on marriage, ask the registration authority exactly what evidence is needed before selecting a new registration date.