Court Marriage in Nepal : Easy Guide

This article explains the legal procedure for court marriage registration in Nepal. Nepalese citizens living in Nepal or abroad, as well as foreign citizens, can register their marriage through the court in Nepal.

As a leading law firm in Nepal, we provide fast and reliable services for the court marriage registration process.

As per the prevailing laws of Nepal, a marriage certificate can be issued on the following two grounds:

a. Marriage registration through the court in Nepal (“Court Marriage”); and
b. Obtaining a marriage certificate from the Local Government, i.e., the Ward Office, after the marriage has been solemnized through social or religious rituals.

The existing law also provides an additional option for marriage registration through the Embassy of Nepal or a Consulate Office located in a foreign jurisdiction. However, this practice has not yet been adopted.

This article covers the details of marriage registration through the court, commonly known as court marriage or, sometimes, paper marriage.

 National Civil (Code) Act 2074 ("NCC")is the governing law for court marriage in Nepal.

4.1. Procedure of court marriage

The following procedure has to be followed to do a court marriage in Nepal:

• Step 1:  Receive the single status certificate from the respective ward office by both Spouses.

• Step 2: Submission of application before the District Court of Nepal.

• Step 3: The court will examine the documents.

• Step 4: Upon fulfilling the legal requirement, the Court shall grant the Court Marriage Certificate.

*Note:

a. Single Status Certificate means a recommendation letter that needs to be received from the ward office (based on their respective citizenship) stating the person has not been married yet or is currently divorced. Generally, one needs to apply for the court marriage within 30 (thirty) days of receiving such certificate.

b. A court marriage application can be filed within any of the 77 districts located in Nepal based on residence or convenience,

c. Both individuals should present physically at court,

d. Witnesses of both parties should be present physically at the date of receiving the certificate.

4.2.  Documents required for court marriage between two Nepalese Spouse

The following documents are required for the registration of court marriage in Nepal.

4.3. Timeline for Marriage Registration in Nepal

It takes 2  to 3  working days to complete the court marriage registration in Nepal.

5.1.     Additional document required for the Court marriage in case any of the individual is foreign citizen

The same court marriage registration process mentioned above applies to foreign citizens as well. However, foreign citizens are required to submit additional documents and must have stayed in Nepal for at least 15 days before they can apply for court marriage registration in Nepal.

*Note: Foreign citizen should have to stay for compulsory for 15 days in Nepal. On that ground temporary residence letter is granted.

 5.2. TimeLine For Marriage Registration Where any of the couple is a foreign citizen:

The following timeline applies if a foreigner wants to perform a court marriage in Nepal.

*Note: It will take a tentative 19 days for the court marriage registration for a foreign individual. However, we suggest allocating 22 to 24 days in Nepal when you decide to do a court marriage in Nepal. Sometime, court can request additional documents in case of unclarity on any of the documents.

5.3 Tentative Government Fee

The table explains the tentative government fee for court marriage in Nepal.

If the spouse wants to use the court marriage certificate in a foreign jurisdiction, then the best way to authenticate the marriage certificate is (i) to notarize the certificate before Department of National Personal Record (Rastriya Kitabkhana) and (ii) after notarization do attestation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Nepal government.

A man or a woman can re-marry in the following conditions:

• If the matrimonial relationship between husband and wife is terminated or
• If husband or wife dies or 
• If husband and wife are separated upon partition in accordance with law.

Date of Publication: 10 January 2023

Related Article

Court Marriage for Foreign Citizens in Nepal 

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