A marriage certificate is an official document that verifies that two individuals are legally married together. It is a record that holds proof of the marital status of the individuals. A marriage certificate is issued by the sub-divisional magistrate of the state government, only after the civil registration of the marriage has been done successfully. The certification of marriage is not only important for legal proof of the marriage but also, offers various other benefits such as – divorce proceedings, genealogical studies, family inheritance, or claiming health benefits.
In India, people can get their marriage registered under either of the two legislation acts, that is The Hindu Marriage Act, 1995 or The Special Marriage Act, 1954.
As per the Hindu Marriage Act, 1995, both the parties must belong to Hindu/ Sikh/ Jain or Buddhist religions. If not, they need to get converted into one of this religion, or they can get registered under the Special Marriage Act, 1954. the eligibility criteria for both the acts are different, excluding the one very important and common one, that is, the male individual should be of at least 21 years and the female individual should be of 18 years minimum at the time of marriage.
The online process for marriage certificate registration
With the advancement in technology, now most of the registrations have become easier with the help of the online process. For online registration of marriage certificate, one needs to follow the given steps and guidelines –
- The very first step is to visit the official website of the state government.
- Once entered, select the district in the state where both parties reside. This is generally to be filled with the information of the husband’s residence.
- Next, select the option of ‘ Registration of Marriage Certificate’ and click on it.
- A form will open up. Fill in all the details required correctly.
- In the end, submit the date of the appointment and finally click on the ‘submit form’ option.
- Once the form is submitted, an acknowledgement page will appear on the screen carrying all the details of the appointment, a temporary number and some instructions. Take a print of this form.
- On the day of appointment carry this form along with other documents such as ID proof along with 3 witnesses in the sub-registrar office and get registered.
Facts related to marriage certificate in India
- Before 2014, not all states in India had made it compulsory to register the marriages. In fact, Himachal Pradesh in 2004, became the first state to make it compulsory to register all the marriages. This was followed by Bihar in 2006 and Kerala in 2008 to introduce such laws of marriage registration to the people.
- In June 2017, Uttar Pradesh made it compulsory to register marriages and also introduced the online registration process by linking the Aadhar cards, to make the process easier. It was recorded that almost 87,000 people had registered their marriages with the help of the new online system.
In case of mutual divorce, if the marriage is unregistered, then instead of the marriage certificate, the parties