A Complete Procedure for Marriage Registration In India

In order to register a marriage in our country legally, a marriage certificate is issued. This certificate is a proof of the marriage of the two parties. Also, in case one of the spouses dies, then the other can claim insurance smoothly with the help of a marriage certificate.

Process for Registration of a Marriage in India

A marriage certificate is a legal document that declares that the marriage between two individuals is valid. In India, marriages are registered under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 or the Special Marriage Act, 1954. It was mandated by the Supreme Court in the year 2006 to obtain a marriage certificate in order to legalise the marriage.

It is known to  a lot of people that it is mandatory to register a marriage in India, but they are still unaware of the process for marriage registration. Here, we will discuss both the online and offline process for marriage registration in India.

Online Process for Marriage Registration

Just like all the other things that are available online, it is possible to do a marriage registration in India via online platforms. Online marriage registration is opted over offline registration because it is a time saving and hassle-free way. The steps to register a marriage online are listed below:

1. Visit the official state of the state to which the applicant belongs.
2. Search the website for the marriage registration form.
3. Fill in all the required details of both the individuals who are involved in the act of marriage.
4. Submit the form after entering all the details.

On submission of the marriage registration form, the applicants will be summoned by the marriage registrar on a specified date and time. The applicants must be present at the marriage registrar’s office on the specified time along with all the necessary documents. It is also necessary that at least two witnesses from each of the parties are present in the office of the marriage registrar at the time of marriage.

It should also be noted that the date and time of marriage is specified by the marriage registrar at least after 15 to 30 days from the date of submission of the form as per the guidelines of the Hindu Marriage Act. Also, in case of the Special Marriage Act, this duration may extend up to 60 days.

Marriage Registration Process Offline

• As per Hindu Marriage Act, 1955

As per the above discussion, it is clear that a marriage is registered in India either under the Hindu Marriage Act or the Special Marriage Act. All the individuals must register their marriage irrespective of their religion i.e. either hindu, Sikh, Jain or Buddhists. The applicant has to go to the office of the sub-registrar under whom the marriage has been solemnised. It can also be performed in the office of the sub-registrar of that region in which one of the individuals has been living for more than six months. 

• As per Special Marriage Act, 1954

No matter what the religion of the individuals is, they can do marriage registration Under the Special Marriage Act. As per the guidelines of this registration the couple is given solemnization by the marriage officer. As discussed above, the applicant must provide a 30 days’ notice to the sub-registrar under the jurisdiction of whom one of the individuals has been residing.

The marriage will be registered if the registrar does not receive any sort of objections regarding the marriage during a period of 30 days for which the notice is put up on the notice board. The sub-registrar also keeps a copy of  the notice with him.

This process helps in the completion of the marriage without any sort of religious ceremonies. The Special Marriage Act is an alternate option for those individuals who can not register themselves under the Hindu Marriage Act.

Documents Required

The documents that are required in order to do a marriage registration in India are listed below:

1. An application has been signed by both the husband and the wife.
2. A birth proof (either a matriculation certificate or a birth certificate or passport). The male should be 21 years old and the female should be 18 years old.
3. Address proof of both the parties(either a PAN Card or an Aadhaar Card or Ration Card or Electricity Bill or Voter ID).
4. If the marriage was performed in a religious place, then a certificate proving the solemnization of the marriage should be received from the institute.
5. Submission of Rs. 100 under Hindu Marriage Act and Rs. 150 under Special Marriage Act should be done to the direct cashier and the payment receipt should be attached with the application form.
6. Two passport size photos of both the husband and the wife and a marriage photo if the marriage has already been solemnised.
7. If the wedding has been solemnised, then the invitation card should be attached.
8. If any one of the parties is divorced, then they will have to attach the divorce decree with the application form.
9. If one of the parties is widowed, then they should attach the death certificate of the spouse with the application form.
10. Affidavit containing the state, date, time of marriage and the marital status and nationality of both the individuals.
11. Two witnesses from both sides should be present in the office of the registrar at the time of marriage.
12. The witnesses who were present at the time of the solemnization of marriage  should be present at the time of meeting in the office of the sub-registrar.

Where does marriage registration take place?

As discussed above, a marriage registration can be done both online and offline. The online process of marriage registration has been made available in some of the big cities in India. All one has to do is log in to the official website of the concerned state and fill out the marriage registration form which is present on the website. On completing this process, the applicant will be called to the office of the sub-registrar for a meeting in which the documents of the couple and the witnesses will be verified and the marriage will be registered.

For those people who wish to register their marriage offline, the applicant will have to visit the sub registrar’s office of the place where the marriage was solemnised. Then, the applicant will have to manually fill out the details in the application form and attach all the required documents along with their signatures. If there are no objections, then the marriage will be registered after 30 days.

Conclusion

In this blog, we came across marriage registration in India. We discussed the procedure of marriage registration in both online and offline mode. We also discussed the Hindu Marriage Act and the Special Marriage Act and the documents required for marriage registration and the place where marriage registration is done.