Obtaining Marriage or Divorce Certificate in Russia

We provide services for searching and obtaining duplicates of Marriage Certificates or Divorce Certificates which were registered with government agencies of the Russian Federation.

According to Part 2 of Article 9 of the Federal Law of the Russian Federation No. 143-FZ of November 15, 1997 “On Civil Status Acts,” a duplicate Marriage Certificate is issued:

to the person in respect of whom the marriage certificate was drawn up;
relatives of the deceased person if there is evidence of relationship;
guardians of persons declared incompetent;
to any other person with a notarized power of attorney from the above persons

A duplicate Marriage Certificate is not issued to persons who have divorced or persons whose marriage has been declared invalid. At the request of these persons, they are issued another document confirming the fact of state registration of marriage (note of marriage record).

According to Part 2 of Article 9 of the Federal Law of the Russian Federation No. 143-FZ of November 15, 1997 “On Acts of Civil Status,” a duplicate Divorce Certificate is issued:

to the person in respect of whom the marriage certificate was drawn up;
relatives of the deceased person if there is evidence of relationship;
guardians of persons declared incompetent;
to any other person with a notarized power of attorney from the above persons

What is a Marriage Certificate?

A marriage certificate is an official document that is issued by the territorial civil registry offices of Russia when registering a marriage on the territory of Russia.

What information is included in a Marriage Certificate?

The marriage certificate contains information about the surname (before and after the marriage), first name, patronymic, date and place of birth, citizenship and nationality (if indicated in the marriage certificate) of each of the persons who entered into the marriage, the date of marriage registration and the place of marriage registration, the date and place of issue of the marriage certificate (name of the civil registry office) and the surname assigned to them after marriage registration.

What is a primary Marriage Certificate?

A primary marriage certificate is a marriage certificate issued by a territorial body of the Civil Registry Office of Russia for the first time immediately after the registration of the marriage.

What is a duplicate Marriage Certificate?

A duplicate marriage certificate is a marriage certificate that is issued by the Russian Civil Registry Office in the event of loss (misplacement) or wear of the original marriage certificate.

What is the difference between a Re-ussued Marriage Certificate and a Duplicate Marriage Certificate?

Nothing, it’s the same document.

In what cases is a Marriage Certificate (Duplicate Marriage Certificate) re-issued?

A marriage certificate (duplicate marriage certificate) is re-issued in case of loss, deterioration or damage to the original marriage certificate.

Who can get a Re-issued Marriage Certificate (Duplicate Marriage Certificate)?

According to the current legislation of the Russian Federation, a duplicate marriage certificate may be issued to the person in respect of whom the birth record was made, to a relative of the deceased if the person in respect of whom the civil status record was previously made has died, or to a representative of any of the above persons under a notarized power of attorney.

In what cases is a duplicate marriage certificate not issued?

A duplicate marriage certificate is not issued to persons who have dissolved their marriage or to persons whose marriage has been declared invalid. At the request of the said persons, they are issued another document confirming the fact of state registration of the marriage (Note of Marriage Record).

What to do if your Marriage Certificate has discrepancies with your current documents?

It is possible to make changes to the birth certificate and subsequently obtain a duplicate of the Birth Certificate with the correct data, provided that there is sufficient evidence that the birth certificate was drawn up incorrectly.

Is there a document that proves that I am not married to anyone?

An unmarried person, at his request, is issued a document on the absence of the fact of state registration of the applicant’s marriage on the basis of information contained in the Unified State Register of Civil Status Acts.

What information is contained in a Divorce Certificate?

– the surname (before and after the divorce), first name, patronymic, date and place of birth, citizenship, nationality (if indicated in the record of the divorce act) of each of the persons who dissolved the marriage;
– information about the document that serves as the basis for state registration of the divorce;
– date of termination of the marriage;
– date of preparation and number of the record of the divorce act;
– place of state registration of the divorce (name of the civil registry office that carried out the state registration of the divorce);
– the surname, first name, patronymic of the person to whom the divorce certificate is issued;
– date and place of issue of the divorce certificate (name of the civil registry office).

Can the relatives of the spouses in respect of whom the marriage record was made receive a Duplicate Marriage Certificate?

They can, but only if the person in respect of whom the birth record was made has died – upon presentation of the death certificate of this person or its notarized copy, as well as evidence of kinship with the deceased.

Obtaining Duplicates Marriage or Divorce Certificate in Russia