Anmeldung zur Eheschließung - Heiraten in Bremerhaven / Bremerhaven

Your way to civil marriage

The path to a civil marriage consists of three steps.

For those wishing to marry who both have or have acquired German citizenship, we have published an information sheet on the documents to be submitted for a marriage under "Forms".

For more information: see under Procedure.

Registration for marriage takes place at the registry office of the place of residence. If the spouses have different places of residence, the registration of the marriage is optionally possible in one of the registry offices.

The place of the civil ceremony is different from the place of registration. Marriage can take place at any registry office in Germany.

Step 1: Pre-registration

The registry office where the marriage is registered checks whether there are any obstacles to the intended marriage.

Take advantage of this opportunity and enter your data in the case of an intended marriage in the deposited data collection form. You will find the data collection form under "Forms". Please return this form to the registry office.

This can be done in person without an appointment during our opening hours, by mail, by dropping it in the house mailbox or by e-mail to standesamt@magistrat.bremerhaven.de.

After an initial review, we will contact you again and provide you with information about the necessary documents you need for a marriage. If it is necessary to check the prerequisites for marriage, the registry office can request additional documents.

After that, the registration for the marriage can take place after making an appointment.

In the case of foreign citizenship, the respective state law/foreign law must be observed. This can also lead to longer processing times depending on the intensity of the check.

The processing times depend on the individual case constellation.

In cases involving foreign countries, the average processing time (initial contact to information) is approx. 6 weeks.

Documents must always be submitted to the registry office in the original. The translation of foreign documents must be done by a sworn translator in Germany and must be submitted together with the original document.

Step 2: Registration of the marriage

The registration of marriage is possible only after making an appointment with the registry office. When registering the marriage, the documents to be submitted will be checked. You will receive information, for example, about the name and the procedure for the day of the marriage. Once it is determined that the requirements for marriage are met, the marriage registration is valid for 6 months.

If one of the fiancées cannot personally attend the appointment to register the marriage at the Registry Office, the registering fiancé(e) must submit an appropriate power of attorney. You will find the form for the power of attorney under "Forms".

Step 3: Marriage

The marriage is concluded when the spouses declare before the registrar that they wish to enter into marriage with each other. The spouses must make the declaration in person and in the presence of each other. The marriage is recorded in the presence of the spouses.

Witnesses are no longer required, but may still be involved.

Marriages in the Bremerhaven registry office take place in the wedding hall or wedding room.

You can find our external wedding venues and the respective contact details under "Wedding venues" on this website.

The registry office will gladly provide information about the possible wedding days on which marriages can take place.

Please note that you should first contact the Bremerhaven registry office to find out about available wedding dates before making appointments at external wedding venues.