Getting married in Spain
How to apply for a marital status certificate (MSC) or a certificate of no impediment (CNI) if you’re getting married in Spain.
Check the laws in Spain to make sure you can get married. For example, you or your partner must live in Spain or be a Spanish national to get married in Spain.
The documents you’ll need depend on where you’re getting married in Spain. Contact the civil registry office where you’re planning to get married to find out about local marriage laws and which documents you’ll need from the British embassy. You can then apply online for either:
Apply for a marital status certificate
If you’re getting married in Barcelona city and applying to the Central Civil Registry, you’ll need an MSC.
You might need an MSC to register a cohabitation arrangement (pareja/unión de hecho) or for another reason, like late registration of a birth. Find out more about this in our Living in Spain guide.
Apply for a certificate of no impediment
If you live in the UK, you’ll need to apply for a CNI from a UK register office. You’ll then need to apply online to exchange your UK CNI for a local CNI, as the authorities in Spain will only accept a CNI issued there.
Apply to exchange a UK CNI for a local CNI
If you live abroad, or you’ve travelled to Spain without a UK CNI, you’ll need to apply for a CNI by post from an embassy in Spain.
Apply for a CNI by post from an embassy
Apply for a marital status certificate and a certificate of no impediment
If you’ve been told you need an MSC and a CNI you can apply for both in a single application. When applying for both an MSC and CNI you do not need to get a UK CNI from a UK register office.
Updates to this page
Published 19 August 2024Last updated 26 November 2024 + show all updates
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Added information about getting a marital status certificate for a cohabitation arrangement.
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Updated with links to new online application form
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First published.