Civil Marriage Requirements In Uganda
What is a Civil Marriage?
A civil marriage is a marriage performed, recorded and recognised by a government official. Such a marriage may be performed by a religious body and recognised by the state, or it may be entirely secular.
Civil Marriage Requirements In Uganda
The intending couple should come with the following;
Proof of citizenship for example a passport or national identification card
An LC 1 letter clearly stating duration of residence in the district in which the marriage is intended to be solemnized (this should not be less than 15 days).
One passport size photograph each for the groom and the bride.
A Photocopy of a VALID ID for each of the two Adult witnesses
Registered marriage affidavits that conform to Section 10 of the Marriage Act;
In case of foreign citizens, a letter from the Civil Registration or Vital Statistics Office of their country confirming that the party is not married.
For the case of Foreign Citizens, Copies of Valid Visas upon entry into Uganda shall be required on the Marriage Date
For the case of Divorced/Widowed intendants to the marriage, certified copies of Divorce Decree Absolutes or death certificates shall be required
For the case of Documents authored in any Language other-than English, Translations of the same shall be required
For the case of refugees, a letter from the Office of the Prime Minister on the marital status of the intendant shall be required
• One of the intending parties to the marriage should fill a Notice of Marriage Form (Form A according to the Marriage Act) (indicating their names, marital status, age, occupation and place of abode)
The client should attach evidence of payments of the prescribed fees. The fees must have be paid in any bank of choice after generation of a payment registration number (PRN) from the URA portal Alternatively, a client can exercise the self-assessment option by logging on to the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) website at www.ura.go.ug
The Notice form, accompanying documents and receipts should be submitted to the Registrar of marriages of the district of Residence of one of the parties to the marriage (For Kampala Residents, this may be done by scanning the documents as a single PDF file and sending via email to marriages@ursb.go.ug ) The intending couples are encouraged to indicate Valid Phone Contacts on the Notice Form
The Notice of Marriage is published on the Notice board of the District Registrar of Marriages for 21 calendar days.
If there are no objections to the notice of marriage, the ceremony takes place after 21 calendar days but not before the lapse of 90 calendar days. Marriages are celebrated from Monday to Friday, between 10 am and 4 pm
On the day of the marriage solemnization, the parties appear with the two adult witnesses before the Registrar who performs the ceremony and thereafter issues a Marriage Certificate (Form E according to the marriage Act)
If there is an objection, a caveat is placed and the matter is referred to Court for settlement.
Fees Payable:
A total of UGX 260,000/- (Where one of the parties to the marriage is Ugandan or a Refugee) and USD210 (Where none of the parties to the marriage is Ugandan).
Who is eligible to contract a Civil Marriage?
Every person who is single, widowed or divorced, aged 18 years and above and is not party to a subsisting marriage is eligible to contract a civil Marriage
How much does a civil marriage cost in Uganda?
| Service | Details | National Applications (Ugx) | Foreign Applications (Usd) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Civil Marriages | File notice of marriage | 10,000/= | $10 |
| Display of notice on notice board | FREE | FREE | |
| Celebration of marriage | 20,000/= | $150 | |
| Issuing of marriage certificate | 25,000/= | $25 | |
| Registration of marriages a) Marriages conducted at URSB. b) Marriages conducted at the Districts | 25,000/= | $25 |