3 Points to Note for Completing the Notice of Intended Marriage｜Eligibility, Procedures and Documents Required

Before getting married in Hong Kong, the following procedures must be completed:

• Eligible persons over the age of 16 shall, within 3 months before marriage, complete the Notice of Intended Marriage in order to initiate the marriage registration process;
• When submitting the Notice of Intended Marriage, the required documents must be produced for verification;
• Persons under the age of 21 must obtain parental consent and provide the required information

Our celebrant will explain below in detail the eligibility, procedures and information required for a marriage application.

Relevant articles：9 Steps to Complete Overseas Notice of Intended Marriage｜Procedure, Points to Note and Follow-ups

1. Eligibility for Marriage Application

• Nationality - person of any nationality can get married in Hong Kong;
• Over the age of 16 (as of the wedding date)
• Consent - for personAged Below 21his/her parents or guardian are required to sign Consent and Declaration.

2. Time & Procedures of Notice of Intended Marriage

1. You shall submit the Notice of Intended Marriage to the Registrar of Marriages through a civil celebrant within 3 months¹ before the wedding day;
2. The Registrar of Marriages shall exhibit the Notice of Intended Marriage for at least 15 clear days in the Marriage Registry;
3. On the first working day after the lapse of 15 clear days, the Registrar of Marriages shall, if not objected, be ready to issue the Certificate of Registrar of Marriages;
4. Therefore, the Notice of Intended Marriage must be submitted to the Marriage Registry within the window of 3 months and 17 days² before the wedding day;
5. On receipt of the Certificate of Registrar of Marriages by the civil celebrant, you may get married immediately;
6. Wedding ceremony shall take place after the issuance of the Certificate of Registrar of Marriages but within 3 months³ from the date of the Notice of Intended Marriage;
7. The tasks of giving the Notice of Intended Marrige and conducting wedding ceremony can be performed by two different civil celebrants;
8. If neither the bridegroom nor the bride can make a marriage application in person in Hong Kong between the period of 3 months (the earliest) and the 17th day (the latest) before the marriage, you may adopt the alternative procedure of giving the Notice of Intended Marriage overseas. For details, please refer to: 9 Steps to Complete Overseas Notice of Intended Marriage｜Procedure, Points to Note and Follow-ups

Remarks

1. The law prohibits the giving of the Notice of Intended Marriage earlier than 3 months before the marriage.
2. If you choose to submit a Notice of Intended Marriage to the Marriage Registry right before the statutory deadline which is 17 days before your wedding day, you are subjecting your wedding to the risk of delay caused by some external factors (such as closure of government offices due to pandemic, typhoons, etc) and human factors (such as requests made by the Registrar of Marriages for extra documents or further information, failure to take into account public holidays or clerical errors, etc) which may occur during the period rendering your marriage application not yet completed as of your intended wedding date. Therefore, you are advised by the Registrar of Marriages to take 1 month before your wedding day as the deadline for marriage application with the aim of reducing the risk for your own benefit.
3. The Notice of Intended Marriage shall be valid within 3 months from its date of giving. If the wedding date is changed to fall beyond 3 months from the date of giving the Notice of Intended Marriage, the original marriage application shall become invalid and a new application has to be made.

3. Documents and Information Required

One of the marrying parties (as representative of both parties) can go to the office of An Oath, bringing along the originals of his own identity proof and documents, as well as the originals or copies of identity proof and documents of the other party. Required documents are detailed as follows:

A. Residence/ Nationality

Hong Kong Residents (Permanent)

HK Identity Card

Hong Kong Residents (Non-permanent)

HK Identity Card Hong Kong Document of Identity for Visa Purposes (applicable if you are holder of this document) Passport + Valid permit to stay in HK (applicable only if you are not holder of the Hong Kong Document of Identity for Visa Purposes)

Macau

Macau Identity Card Latest landing slip Valid permit to stay in HK

Mainland China

Exit-entry Permit for Travelling to and from HK Latest landing slip Valid permit to stay in HK Updated household registration booklet (may be required on a case-by-case basis)

Taiwan

Mainland Travel Permit for Taiwan Resident (applicable if you are holder of this document) Taiwan Identity Card + Passport (applicable only if you are not holder of the Mainland Travel Permit for Taiwan Resident) Latest landing slip Valid permit to stay in HK Household Certificate Transcript (may be required on a case-by-case basis)

Other countries

Passport Latest landing slip Valid permit to stay in HK

B. Marital Status

For those marrying parties who had been married before, such documents as specified below for the former marriage and for each of the former marriages (if there is more than one former marriage) must be produced.

Divorced Persons

Decree Nisi Absolute / Divorce Certificate HK: Form 6/Form 7B(Replacement Method) Mainland China: Divorce Certificate/Judgment +effective letter (if there is an appeal period in the judgment) Taiwan: Household Certificate Transcript with updated marital status If the divorce happened outside the country of your nationality: proof of domicile for the place where the divorce happened (e.g. passport, residence permit, driving license, government mail issued prior to divorce); alternatively, a Statutory Declaration MR23A (in which dates of the former marriage and divorce, habitual residence during the former marriage, ex-spouse's nationality, place and date of birth have to be specified) to be signed

Widows and Widowers

Marriage Certificate with Ex-spouse Death Certificate of Ex-spouse(Replacement Method)

Previous Marriage Annulled

Decree Nisi Absolute (Nullity) (Voidable) (HK: Form 7A) Petition

Previous Marital Status Restored

Decree Nisi Absolute (Nullity) (Void) (HK: Form 7) Petition

C. Exceptional Cases - Persons of Foreign Nationality or from Mainland China Claiming To Be Bachelor/Spinster

• Proof of marital status issued by the relevant government authorities
• Mainland China: Updated household registration booklet
• Taiwan: Household Certificate Transcript
• While this proof is not required at the time of giving the Notice of Intended Marriage, the Registrar of Marriages may, during the processing of the marriage application, request your submission of this proof as extra supporting document. So, if your case is urgent or it takes a very long time for you to obtain the proof in your country, you may consider taking immediate step to apply for the proof so that your marriage application will not be held up by the unavailability of this document of proof.

D. Exceptional Cases - Persons with different names

• Deed Poll

E. Exceptional Cases - Aged Below 21

Anyone who is 16 years old (as of the wedding day) or above can get married in Hong Kong. However, for any person under the age of 21 and not being a widower or widow, his/her parents or guardians must come to our office to sign Consent and Declaration ("the Consent Papers") at the time of marriage application, or apply to a District Court judge for a consent to marriage. Moreover, the originals of the following documents must be produced:

• Birth Certificate of the applicant under the age of 21(Replacement Method)
• Identity document of father, mother or guardian

In addition, based on the current relationship of the applicant's biological parents, the originals of the following additional documents must be produced:

Still Married

Consent Papers to be signed by father or mother Marriage Certificate of the parents

Divorced

Consent Papers to be signed by father, mother or guardian to whom the custodial right was granted by the Court Order Decree Nisi Absolute / Divorce Certificate Court Order appointing the guardian

Cohabited

Consent Papers to be signed by mother Provide information on the cohabitation, namely the father’s name, the dates of commencement and termination of cohabitation and place of residence during cohabitation

Guardian

Consent Papers to be signed by guardian Court Order appointing the guardian

Remarks

1. For documents other than in Chinese and English, official translation thereof shall be produced. There should be incorporated in the translation a declaration made by the translator (as to his/her name, identity, license registration number, company, occupation, qualification to understand and translate the foreign language into Chinese/English) and duly signed by the translator and dated.
2. If the translator's license registration number is not specified on the translation document, the business registration certificate of the translator's company and the business card of the translator (which must indicate the translator as being employed by the translation company).

1.  

Not only will our advanced IT system walk you through your marriage application and ceremony preparation, but also our staff plays a proactive role in tracking every step you take to ensure that your wedding ceremony is carried out as planned.

KNOW MORE

Further reading:　

Online Data Input - Points to Note

Commonly used forms and document samples

Related Government Documents

Information Leaflet for the Marrying Parties

Code of Practice for Civil Celebrants of Marriages

Registration of Marriage - Immigration Department

Please note that the above is for general reference only and should not be treated as legal advice. For details, you mayContact Us.