What Documents Do You Need to Legally Get Married in Greece?

A practical guide for international couples planning a civil wedding in Crete

Getting legally married in Greece is absolutely possible for international couples.

And although the paperwork can look intimidating when you first start researching it, the process is usually much simpler once you know exactly which documents you need and in what order to prepare them.

The most important thing to understand is this:

Your required documents depend on your nationality and on the country that issued them.

An EU citizen, a British citizen and a couple coming from a non-EU country may all need slightly different paperwork.

The overall process, however, is usually very similar:

proof of birth → proof that you are legally free to marry → authentication or legalisation where required → official Greek translation → submission to the Greek municipality.

At Elements Company, we work with international couples getting legally married in Crete and help them navigate the Greek side of this process.

Quick answer: What do you normally need for a legal wedding in Greece?

For most foreign couples getting legally married in Crete, the core documentation includes:

• a recent duplicate or certified copy of your birth certificate

• a document confirming that you are legally free to marry

• a valid passport or EU identity card

• divorce documentation if you have previously been married

• additional documentation if you have been adopted or legally changed your name

• an Apostille or other legalisation, depending on the country that issued the document

• an official Greek translation

Each person getting married needs their own set of documents.

The exact document names, validity periods and legalisation requirements depend on your nationality.

That is why one of the first things we ask a couple is simply:

What passports do you both hold?

Does the process depend on your nationality?

Yes. A lot.

There is no single document checklist that works perfectly for every nationality.

For planning purposes, we usually divide couples into four broad groups:

1. EU citizens

2. British citizens

3. citizens of other countries that use the Hague Apostille system

4. citizens of countries requiring additional consular legalisation

The Municipality of Rethymno itself publishes different requirements depending on the country that issued the documents.

So before you start ordering documents, confirm the requirements for your specific nationality.

Documents for EU citizens getting married in Greece

If you are an EU citizen, the overall process is usually relatively straightforward.

In most cases, you will need two main civil-status documents:

1. A duplicate or recent certified copy of your birth certificate

This needs to be an official document issued by the relevant civil registry in your home country.

Do not simply photocopy the birth certificate you have had in a drawer for twenty years.

The Greek authority may require the document to have been issued recently. Rethymno, for example, currently asks for a recent birth certificate.

2. Proof that you are legally free to marry

The exact name differs from country to country.

It may be called something like:

• Certificate of Legal Capacity to Marry

• Certificate of No Impediment

• Certificate of Marital Status

• Marriage Licence

• Certificate of Capacity to Marry

Some countries do not issue the same type of certificate at all and require an alternative document or declaration.

That is why we never recommend simply copying a checklist written for another nationality.

Do EU documents need an Apostille for a wedding in Greece?

This is where theory and real-life administration do not always look exactly the same.

Under EU Regulation 2016/1191, public documents concerning matters such as birth, marriage and capacity to marry generally do not need an Apostille solely to prove their authenticity when used between EU Member States.

However, local administrative practice matters.

The Municipality of Rethymno currently publishes its own document requirements and still explicitly requests Apostille authentication for documents from many Hague Convention countries, while listing a number of country-specific exemptions.

Our practical approach

For a legal wedding, we prepare documents based on what the municipality that will actually register your marriage requires, not only on what should theoretically be sufficient under a general rule.

There is very little value in winning an argument about EU administrative law three days before your wedding.

Our priority is simple:

your documents should be accepted and your marriage should go ahead.

Do multilingual EU forms replace an official Greek translation?

They can simplify cross-border administration under EU rules, but we do not rely on them for the civil-wedding process we handle in Crete.

EU rules allow Member States to issue multilingual standard forms as a translation aid for certain public documents.

In practice, however, the local Greek authorities we work with need documentation they can process clearly in Greek.

This also matters because names and other personal information may need to be correctly rendered in the Greek alphabet.

For weddings handled by Elements Company, the required documents are therefore prepared with an official Greek translation.

For Czech documents, for example, we work with a Czech-Greek lawyer who prepares the official translations and certified documentation for us.

What documents do British citizens need to get married in Greece?

British citizens follow a similar overall process, but the exact paperwork is different because the United Kingdom is no longer an EU Member State.

A British couple will normally need documents including:

• a certified copy or duplicate birth certificate

• proof that they are legally free to marry

• a valid passport

• divorce documents where relevant

• Apostille/legalisation where required

• official Greek translations

One of the key documents for British nationals can be a Certificate of No Impediment — CNI — or another form of proof that they are free to marry, depending on their circumstances and the requirements of the Greek authority.

The UK Government specifically provides a service for British nationals to check whether they require a Certificate of No Impediment or another marital-status document when marrying abroad.

Timing matters for British documents

Documents proving capacity to marry are time-sensitive.

Rethymno currently requires a recent marriage licence or equivalent document and states that it should indicate its period of validity. It asks for it to be issued approximately three to four months before the wedding.

So please do not order everything a year in advance.

Once we know your nationality, residence and wedding date, we can tell you when to start.

Do British documents need an Apostille?

For documents that require authentication for use in Greece, British documents can be legalised through the UK Legalisation Office.

The application process is handled through the UK Government, and electronic Apostilles are also available for eligible electronic documents. The appropriate type depends on the document itself.

In other words, you do not necessarily need to physically walk into a Foreign Office building.

We will tell you which documents need legalisation and what format we need before you arrange it.

What if you are from outside the EU or UK?

The basic logic remains similar:

birth certificate + proof you are free to marry + identity documents + translations + authentication.

What changes is the way your documents must be legalised.

There are generally two situations.

Your country is part of the Hague Apostille Convention

In many cases, the original public document is authenticated with an Apostille issued by the competent authority in your country.

Your country is not covered by the relevant Apostille process

Additional legalisation may be required through a Greek embassy or consular authority.

Rethymno's current guidance distinguishes between documents from Hague Convention countries and documents from countries that require consular legalisation.

This is exactly why we recommend not starting the process from a generic internet checklist if you are coming from outside the EU.

Send us your nationality first.

We will check the route applicable to your documents.

Do both partners need their own documents?

Yes.

Each person getting married needs their own civil-status documentation.

If both partners are foreign nationals, we check both nationalities separately.

This is particularly important for international couples.

For example:

British + German does not automatically mean one shared checklist.

One partner may need one type of proof of capacity to marry and the other may need a completely different document.

We handle them as two separate document sets that eventually become one marriage file in Greece.

What if you have been married before?

If either of you has previously been married, additional documentation is required.

Usually this means a final divorce document or other official proof that the previous marriage has legally ended.

Rethymno currently asks for recent divorce documentation relating to previous marriages.

The document may also need authentication and translation depending on the issuing country.

Tell us about any previous marriage at the beginning of the process, not two weeks before the ceremony.

It makes everything easier.

What if you were adopted?

Adoption can mean that additional civil-status documentation is needed.

The exact documents depend on:

• the country of adoption

• your current birth record

• whether your name or legal parentage changed

• the documents issued by your national authorities

We therefore handle adoption cases individually.

It does not necessarily make getting married in Greece difficult.

It simply means we need to check your documentation before beginning the standard process.

What if you have changed your name?

If your current passport name is different from the name appearing on your birth certificate or other civil-status documents, you may need an official document showing the name change.

Rethymno currently includes documents evidencing relevant changes, such as a name change, in its foreign-wedding requirements.

Again: tell us early.

We would much rather solve this three months before the wedding than three days before it.

Do all documents have to be translated into Greek?

For the civil-wedding process we handle in Crete, yes, the required foreign-language documents must be prepared in an officially acceptable Greek translation.

The Municipality of Rethymno lists several forms of official translation, including translation by an appropriately qualified Greek lawyer or certified professional translator.

What if your documents are not Czech or English?

We do not maintain translators for every language in the world.

If your documents are issued in a language outside the languages covered by our translation network, you may need to arrange the appropriate certified translation in your home country.

We will tell you what needs to be translated and what form the Greek authority needs, so you do not spend money translating the wrong document.

When should you start preparing your wedding documents?

For many couples, around four months before the wedding is a sensible starting point.

Why not earlier?

Because several civil-status documents have limited validity or need to have been issued recently.

Why not later?

Because you still need time for:

• issuing documents

• Apostilles or legalisation

• translations

• sending originals

• corrections if anything is wrong

• submission to the Greek municipality

Rethymno currently specifies that the capacity-to-marry document should generally have been issued around three or four months before the wedding.

Four months gives us breathing room without obtaining documents unnecessarily early.

What happens once your documents are ready?

This is where the process becomes much easier for our couples.

Once the documents have the necessary authentication, you send us scans first.

We check them and arrange the Greek side of the documentation.

Once the translated and certified paperwork is ready, we can begin communicating with the local Greek authorities and arrange the civil marriage.

You will still need to provide the original documents.

Depending on when you arrive in Crete, you can either:

• give them to us personally, or

• send them in advance by tracked mail.

Rethymno currently requires the formal request and necessary documents to be submitted no later than three working days before the wedding.

That is an administrative deadline.

It is not when we recommend beginning the process.

What do you need on the wedding day?

Much less than you probably expect.

For a civil wedding in Rethymno, each partner needs an adult witness.

Witnesses may be relatives and the municipality's official instructions state that they should carry a passport or identity card.

The ceremony documentation is then signed by the couple, witnesses and the authorised representative conducting the marriage.

That document forms the basis for registering the marriage and issuing the Greek marriage certificate.

What happens after you get married in Greece?

After the marriage is registered, you receive your Greek marriage certificate.

We can then arrange the Greek-side authentication required for use abroad.

What you do next depends entirely on your home country.

Some countries require you to register the foreign marriage with your domestic civil registry.

Others do not.

For example: the United Kingdom

A valid foreign marriage does not normally need to be registered again in the UK. GOV.UK states that a marriage celebrated abroad is recognised in the UK if it was lawful where it took place and would be permitted under UK law.

For other countries

You may need to:

1. have the Greek marriage certificate authenticated where necessary,

2. obtain a certified translation into your country's language,

3. submit it to your local registry or civil-status authority.

We therefore tell every international couple:

Check the post-wedding registration requirements of your home country separately.

Is getting legally married in Greece complicated?

It looks much worse written down than it usually feels in real life.

For most uncomplicated cases, the process is essentially:

Get your civil documents → authenticate them → arrange the translation → send us the documents → we deal with the Greek authorities.

Many couples initially consider having a symbolic wedding simply because the paperwork sounds overwhelming.

Once they see the actual steps, they often realise:

it really isn't that bad.

You do not need to understand Greek bureaucracy.

That is our part.

The most important advice: check before you apply

Please do not order documents simply because:

• your friend needed them,

• somebody in a Facebook group said so,

• a wedding blog published a checklist,

• or another couple from another country used them.

Nationality matters.

Residence can matter.

Previous marriages matter.

The country issuing the document matters.

And local Greek administrative requirements matter.

Before you start, send us:

• your nationality

• your partner's nationality

• where you both currently live

• whether either of you has been married before

• whether either of you has been adopted

• your planned wedding location in Crete

• your planned wedding date

From there, we can tell you what your actual process looks like.

No guessing. No collecting unnecessary documents. No discovering a missing Apostille when you're already in Crete.

Written from real experience organising civil weddings in Crete by ELEMENTS COMPANY.
Last updated: August 2026.

FAQ: Legal wedding documents in Greece

What documents do foreigners need to get married in Greece?

Most foreign couples need a recent birth certificate, proof that they are legally free to marry, valid identity documents and any relevant divorce or name-change documentation. Authentication and official Greek translation requirements depend on the country that issued the documents.

Do I need a Certificate of No Impediment to marry in Greece?

It depends on your nationality. Some countries issue a Certificate of No Impediment; others issue a marriage licence, certificate of capacity to marry or another equivalent document.

Do I need an Apostille to get married in Greece?

It depends on where your documents were issued and which Greek authority will receive them. EU rules remove the Apostille requirement for certain public documents between EU Member States, but local Greek requirements should always be confirmed before submitting wedding paperwork.

Do wedding documents have to be translated into Greek?

For the civil-wedding process handled by Elements Company in Crete, the required documents are prepared with an officially acceptable Greek translation.

How early should we prepare our documents?

For many couples we recommend beginning approximately four months before the wedding, because capacity-to-marry documents and other certificates can have limited validity.

Can Elements Company handle the Greek paperwork for us?

Yes. Once your required home-country documents have been correctly prepared, we can manage the Greek-side translations, local administration and communication with the relevant authorities according to your specific case.

What if one of us is British and the other is an EU citizen?

We check each nationality separately. You do not need identical documents simply because you are marrying each other.

What happens to the marriage certificate after the wedding?

You receive a Greek marriage certificate. Whether it needs translation, authentication or registration in your home country depends on your country's rules.