A Certificate of No Impediment to Marriage is an official document confirming you are legally free to marry, and many foreign governments require one before issuing a marriage license. The catch for U.S. citizens is that no federal agency issues this certificate. Instead, Americans marrying abroad typically swear an Affidavit of Eligibility to Marry before a consular officer at a U.S. embassy or consulate for a $50 fee, and that affidavit serves the same purpose in most countries. New York City is the notable exception: its City Clerk issues a Certificate of Non-Impediment to city residents for $15.
Why the U.S. Does Not Issue One
The U.S. Department of State states plainly that “the United States government cannot attest to your marital status.”1U.S. Department of State. Marriage Marriage records in the United States are kept at the state and county level, so no single authority can certify your status nationally. What foreign registrars actually need is proof you are not already married or otherwise barred from marrying; a sworn affidavit fills that role for most countries.2U.S. Embassy & Consulates in Germany. Marriage Abroad FAQs
The document goes by several names abroad: Certificate of No Impediment, Certificate of Non-Impediment, Certificate of Freedom to Marry, or Single Status Certificate. Some countries accept a sworn affidavit; others insist on a specific certificate. Before you fill out anything, contact the embassy or consulate of the country where you will marry and ask exactly which document they accept.
Getting the Affidavit Notarized at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate
If you are already abroad or traveling to the destination country ahead of the wedding, the most direct route is notarizing the affidavit at the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate. The procedure is broadly the same at every post, with small variations by country.
- Download the affidavit form from the embassy website for the country where you will marry. Fill in every field so it matches your passport, but do not sign it. You have to sign in front of the consular officer.
- Book a notary appointment through the embassy or consulate website. Availability is limited at many posts, so schedule well in advance of the wedding.
- Bring a valid U.S. passport for identification. If you were previously married, bring the divorce decree or the death certificate of your former spouse.
- Pay the $50 notarial fee per seal. Most posts take U.S. dollars in cash and major credit cards; confirm payment options with the specific embassy.3U.S. Embassy & Consulate in Vietnam. Notarials
- Collect the notarized affidavit, usually the same day as the appointment.4U.S. Embassy & Consulates in Türkiye. Marriage
Some countries add an authentication step after notarization. In Türkiye, an affidavit notarized at the Ankara embassy must go to the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs for apostille certification, while one notarized in Istanbul goes to the Governor’s office.4U.S. Embassy & Consulates in Türkiye. Marriage Germany has simplified things: U.S. residents in all 16 German states can swear the oath of eligibility directly at the local civil registry office.2U.S. Embassy & Consulates in Germany. Marriage Abroad FAQs Check the destination country’s rules before you assume the embassy affidavit alone is enough.
Notarizing in the United States Before You Leave
You can also have the affidavit notarized by a U.S. notary public at home. In that case, the document has to be apostilled by the state where the notary is commissioned before a foreign registrar will accept it.4U.S. Embassy & Consulates in Türkiye. Marriage It adds a step and processing time, but it spares you the trouble of finding an embassy appointment overseas.
The New York City Certificate of Non-Impediment
New York City is one of the few U.S. jurisdictions that issues its own version. The NYC City Clerk’s office provides a Certificate of Non-Impediment stating it has no information that would prevent you from obtaining a marriage license in the city, and some foreign authorities accept it in place of a federal document.5The Office of the City Clerk – NYC Marriage Bureau. Certificate of Non-Impediment
To qualify, you must be a resident of New York City and must not currently be married.5The Office of the City Clerk – NYC Marriage Bureau. Certificate of Non-Impediment You will need the city and country of the planned ceremony and valid ID. Accepted forms include a U.S. driver’s license, a passport from any country, a U.S. military ID, an IDNYC card, a naturalization certificate issued within the past ten years, or an alien registration card with a valid expiration date.6NYC311. Marriage Record
The fee is $15, payable by credit card or money order made out to the City Clerk. The certificate is valid for six months from the date of issue.5The Office of the City Clerk – NYC Marriage Bureau. Certificate of Non-Impediment
If the destination country requires an apostille on the NYC certificate, take it first to the nearest New York County Clerk’s office to authenticate the City Clerk’s signature, which costs $3. Then submit it to the New York Department of State for the apostille itself.
Apostille or Authentication
Most foreign governments will not accept a U.S. document at face value. They want proof that the signature and seal on your affidavit or certificate are genuine, and the method depends on whether the destination country belongs to the 1961 Hague Apostille Convention.
- Hague Convention countries require an apostille, a standardized international authentication recognized by all member nations.7Hague Conference on Private International Law. Apostille Section
- Non-member countries require a full authentication certificate, sometimes called legalization, which involves further steps through the destination country’s embassy.8U.S. Department of State. Office of Authentications
For federal documents or documents notarized at a U.S. embassy, apostille and authentication come from the State Department’s Office of Authentications. The fee is $20 per document, submitted with Form DS-4194 and the original.9U.S. Department of State. Requesting Authentication Services Mailed requests take about five weeks, walk-in submissions take seven business days, and same-day processing is available by appointment.8U.S. Department of State. Office of Authentications For an affidavit notarized domestically, the apostille comes from the secretary of state in the state where the notary is commissioned; fees and processing times vary by state.
Translation
If you are marrying in a country where English is not the official language, expect to need a certified translation. The State Department notes that many countries require documents to be “translated into the local language and authenticated.”1U.S. Department of State. Marriage
A certified translation does not require a translator with any particular credential in most cases. It means the translation is accompanied by a signed statement from the translator affirming its completeness and accuracy. Some countries are stricter and only accept translations by a government-approved translator, so ask the destination country’s marriage registrar before you hire anyone.
Timing and Validity
Foreign governments generally accept marriage-related documents only if issued recently, often within the last three to six months.5The Office of the City Clerk – NYC Marriage Bureau. Certificate of Non-Impediment If the wedding is postponed and the document expires, you pay again and start over.
Work backward from the ceremony date. Build in time for notarization, apostille processing (up to five weeks by mail from the State Department), translation, and any country-specific authentication. An extra two to three weeks of padding is cheap insurance against a rejected or expired document, which can derail plans that are far harder to reschedule than paperwork.
Documents to Have Ready
Whether you go the embassy affidavit route or the NYC certificate route, having the right documents on hand saves time.
- A valid U.S. passport, needed at nearly every step.
- Proof of any prior marital status: the original divorce decree or the death certificate of a former spouse. Foreign registrars and consular officers both scrutinize this carefully.1U.S. Department of State. Marriage
- A birth certificate, which some countries require to verify age and parentage.
- The details of the ceremony: city, country, and often the name and address of the venue.
Bring originals, not photocopies. Many foreign registrars and consular officers refuse copies, and replacing a missing original from overseas is slow and expensive.