Concordat wedding – formalities and documents required in order to contract marriage

In case of concordat wedding, documents required by a given church or religious association in order to contract the marriage (e.g. baptism certificate, confirmation certificate, certificate of completion of marriage preparation courses), as well as the abovementioned certificate from the civil registry office regarding no impediment to the conclusion of marriage. Therefore, in order to obtain such certificate, a foreigner is obliged to provide the Registrar General with all the documents enumerated in the Civil Wedding chapter.

The Polish law (Article 41 of the Family and Guardianship Code (Kodeksu rodzinnego i opiekuńczego) forbids clergymen to accept the abovementioned certificate issued over 6 months before..

Immediately upon solemnizing the marriage, the clergyman draws up the legally required certificate and within 5 days he submits it to the civil registry office competent with regard to the place where the wedding was contracted, in order for a marriage certificate to be drawn up.

The Registrar General draws up the marriage certificate without delay, not later than on the working day following the date of submission of the required documents to the civil registry office. Abridged copies of marriage certificate may be collected from the civil registry office, usually within two weeks of the date of wedding. The copies may be collected by one of the spouses, upon producing a proof of identity. It needs to be borne in mind that the marriage certificate is drawn up at the civil registry office competent for the place where the marriage was contracted, and must be collected there.