Do you need to apostille your Certificate of No Impediment for Marriage?
A Certificate of No Impediment for Marriage is a document issued by a government authority that states that there are no legal obstacles to a person getting married in a foreign country (Example: Mexico) . It is typically required for couples who plan to get married in a foreign country. The certificate is often required by the foreign country’s embassy or consulate as proof that the person is legally able to get married. It is also known as “Certificate of Freedom to Marry” or “Certificate of Legal Capacity to Contract Marriage” or “Single Status”. The document is usually issued by a local County Clerk’s office, such as a city hall or town hall, and will need to be authenticated (apostille) or legalized before it can be used in a foreign country.
We can apostille documents issued from all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Federal Government (USA Embassy Single Status). For countries who are non-members of the Hague Apostille Convention, we can also process your documents through the U.S. Department of State and the Embassy or Consulate office (Legalization Process).
If you are planning to get married in another country who is a member of the Hague Apostille Convention, you will be asked to apostille a documents.
Note: This document may also be referred to as:
- No Record of Marriage Apostille
- Certificate of Freedom to Marry Apostille
- Single Status Apostille
- Certificate of No Record – Marriage
- Affidavit of Single Status
- Affidavit of Marriageability
- Certificate of No Public Record
- Eligibility to Marry
- Affidavit of Civil Status
The first step is to contact the local County Clerk’s office to request a document that states you are currently not married Most all County Clerk offices can provide you this document so please be sure to speak to a supervisor if you are told otherwise. A document issued from the County Clerk’s office does NOT require notarization. If the local County Clerk’s office is unable to assist, contact the next closest County Clerk office.
If you are outside of the United States, the local US Embassy or US Consulate office should be able to assist you in completing a single status and also having it signed and notarized. Because you will be visiting a U.S. Federal Government office and having your document signed and notarized by a US Federal notary public, this document can then only be apostilled through our Washington DC apostille office.
Obtaining an apostille on a Certificate of No Impediment for Marriage decree can be complicated. Don’t leave this process to untrained employees or non-professionals who do not fully understand the Apostille process and the unique requirements of certain countries. Your paperwork could be rejected costing you time and money. Don’t let this happen to you!
