How to Get Married in Nigeria: Statutory, Customary, and Islamic

To get married in Nigeria, you pick one of three legally recognized systems—statutory marriage under the Marriage Act, customary marriage under your ethnic group’s traditions, or Islamic marriage (Nikah) under Sharia law—and then follow that system’s specific steps for consent, documents, notice, and ceremony. The choice is not just a matter of style. It determines whether the marriage is monogamous, how inheritance works if a spouse dies, and how the marriage can be ended if it fails.

Choosing Which Type of Marriage to Enter

The three systems are not interchangeable, and the differences shape the rest of the process.

Statutory marriage, often called “marriage under the Act,” is governed by the Marriage Act and is strictly monogamous. Once you marry under the Act, neither spouse can legally marry anyone else while the marriage lasts—not under customary law, not under Islamic law, not at all.¹ The ceremony happens at a government marriage registry or a licensed place of worship.²

Customary marriage follows the traditional laws of the couple’s ethnic group. Those rules vary widely across Nigeria’s ethnic communities. Customary marriage allows polygamy, so a man may marry more than one wife. The process is family-centered and typically involves bride price negotiations and traditional rites.

Islamic marriage (Nikah) operates under Sharia law and is also potentially polygamous, allowing a man up to four wives. It centers on a formal offer and acceptance, a mandatory bridal gift called Mahr, and the involvement of a guardian for the bride.

You cannot mix these systems. Marrying under the Act while you have an existing customary marriage to a different person is a criminal offense carrying up to five years in prison. Taking a customary wife while your statutory marriage is still in effect carries the same penalty, as does knowingly marrying someone who is already married under the Act.¹² If you have an existing customary marriage and want to marry someone else under the Act, you need to dissolve the customary union properly first.

Baseline Requirements That Apply to Every Marriage

Whichever system you choose, four requirements apply across the board:

Both parties must freely consent. A coerced marriage is invalid.
Both parties must be of sound mind and able to understand what marriage means.
You cannot marry a close blood relative or someone related to you through a prior marriage.¹
Neither party can already be in a marriage that would make the new one illegal. Someone with an existing statutory marriage cannot take a second spouse under any framework.

Age Rules Are More Complicated Than They Look

The Marriage Act itself does not set a specific minimum age. What it does require is written parental or guardian consent for anyone under 21 who is not a widow or widower. Helping someone under 21 marry without that consent is a criminal offense punishable by up to two years in prison.¹

Separately, the Child Rights Act of 2003 sets 18 as the minimum age for marriage. Not every Nigerian state has adopted this law, so the effective minimum age varies by location. In states that have enacted the Child Rights Act, no one under 18 can legally marry. In states that have not, the Marriage Act’s parental consent framework is the main guardrail.

Getting Married Under the Marriage Act

Documents to Gather First

Before visiting the marriage registry, plan to have the following ready for each party:

Two passport-sized photographs
Valid government-issued identification such as a National ID card, international passport, or driver’s license
Birth certificate or sworn declaration of age
Affidavit of single status, typically obtained from a High Court
Death certificate of the previous spouse, if widowed
Final divorce decree, if divorced
Written parental or guardian consent, if either party is under 21

Requirements can vary between registries, so confirm the checklist with your local registry before your appointment.

Filing Notice at the Registry

One of the parties signs and delivers a marriage notice to the Registrar of Marriages in the district where the wedding will take place. The registrar enters the notice into the Marriage Notice Book and posts a copy on the outer door of the registry office, where it stays visible to the public.¹

The 21-Day Waiting Period

The posted notice stays up for at least 21 days. During that window, anyone who believes the marriage should not go forward can file a formal objection, called a caveat, with the registrar. If no valid objection is raised and the prescribed fee has been paid, the registrar issues a Registrar’s Certificate authorizing the marriage. The certificate stays valid for three months from the date the notice was filed, giving couples some flexibility on scheduling.¹

The Ceremony

You can hold the ceremony in one of two settings, and the permitted hours differ:

At a licensed place of worship, the ceremony follows the rites of that church or religious body but must take place with open doors, between 8:00 AM and 6:00 PM, with at least two witnesses in addition to the officiating minister.¹
At the registrar’s office, the registrar conducts a civil ceremony between 10:00 AM and 4:00 PM, with at least two witnesses present. The registrar reads a formal declaration reminding the couple that the marriage is binding and that contracting another marriage while it exists constitutes bigamy.²

After the ceremony, the marriage certificate is signed by both spouses, the officiating minister or registrar, and the witnesses. At licensed places of worship, the officiating minister fills out the certificate in duplicate and sends one copy to the principal registrar.¹

Skipping the Wait With a Special License

If you need to avoid the 21-day waiting period, you can apply for a Special Marriage License through the Ministry of Interior. The application is handled online through the Ministry’s marriage portal, and the fee is ₦100,000.³ The Minister has discretion over whether to grant the license, so approval is not guaranteed.

Getting Married Under Customary Law

Customary marriage procedures vary widely across Nigeria’s ethnic groups, but most follow a general pattern:

The groom’s family formally approaches the bride’s family to express interest in marriage.
The families discuss and agree on the bride price, meaning the payment or items the groom’s family will provide to the bride’s family. In some communities the amount is symbolic; in others it is substantial.
The agreed bride price is paid. In many communities, the marriage is not considered valid until this step is complete.
Traditional rites and celebration follow, varying by ethnic group and often including libation, prayer, breaking of kola nut, and the formal presentation of the bride to the groom’s family.

Customary marriages do not require a government-issued certificate to be legally valid.⁴ Registering the marriage afterward is still worth doing, for reasons covered below.

Getting Married Under Islamic Law (Nikah)

A valid Nikah in Nigeria requires five elements:

Consent. Both the bride and groom must agree to the marriage.
Wali. The bride must have a male guardian, usually her father, who consents to and facilitates the marriage.
Mahr. The groom must provide a mandatory gift to the bride, which can be money, property, or anything of value. The Mahr belongs exclusively to the bride, and both parties agree on the amount before the ceremony. Part of it can be deferred to a later date, but it remains binding.
Ijab and Qabul. The groom or his representative makes a formal offer of marriage, and the bride, through her Wali, formally accepts.
Witnesses. At least two adult Muslim witnesses must be present.

An Imam or other religious authority typically officiates. The Nikah can take place at a mosque, the bride’s family home, or another agreed location.

Registering the Marriage

Statutory marriages are registered at the marriage registry where they are solemnized, and you receive the marriage certificate immediately after the ceremony. No separate registration step is needed.

Customary and Islamic marriages are registered at Local Government Council offices. Registration is not required for the marriage to be valid under customary or Islamic law, but it creates an official government record that matters for proving marital status in immigration applications, establishing inheritance rights, and accessing legal remedies if disputes come up later.⁴ The process involves submitting proof of the marriage—witness statements, evidence of bride price payment, or written confirmation from the officiating Imam, depending on the type—and the office then issues a certificate formalizing the union within Nigeria’s legal system.

What the Choice Means for Inheritance and Divorce

The system you marry under shapes what happens years later, in ways many couples do not think about at the ceremony.

Under a statutory marriage, if your spouse dies without a will, the surviving spouse and children are typically the sole beneficiaries of the estate. Customary law rules on inheritance are excluded in favor of the state’s administration of estates law. This is the single biggest legal advantage of marrying under the Act.

Under customary marriage, inheritance follows the traditions of the relevant ethnic group, and for wives the results can be harsh. Under Yoruba customary law, for example, a widow has traditionally been treated as part of her late husband’s estate rather than a beneficiary of it. Under Igbo customary law, widows may retain the family home and a portion of land, but their rights are possessory rather than ownership-based. These customs have faced constitutional challenges in Nigerian courts, but they remain a practical reality in many communities.

Divorce works differently too. Statutory marriages can only be dissolved through the formal court process established by the Matrimonial Causes Act, which specifically does not apply to customary or Islamic marriages.⁵ Customary divorces typically involve family negotiation and may require the return of bride price, while Islamic divorces follow Sharia procedures.

Weigh those consequences before you choose. A ceremony takes an afternoon; the legal framework it locks in can shape the rest of your life.

1
CommonLII. Nigeria Code – Marriage Act
2
Laws of the Federation of Nigeria. Nigeria Code Marriage Act
3
Ministry of Interior (Nigeria). Marriage Portal
4
Library of Congress. Customary Marriage and Divorce Law in Nigeria
5
Laws of the Federation of Nigeria. Nigeria Code Matrimonial Causes Act