Court marriage in India: how it works

Two things called court marriage

Register your marriage either way. In Seema v. Ashwani Kumar (2006) the Supreme Court directed the States to make registration of marriages compulsory, and a registration certificate is the proof offices and courts ask for.

Marriage registration in India: documents and process

Who can marry under the Special Marriage Act

Section 4 of the Act sets the conditions at the time of the marriage:

• neither of you has a husband or wife living;
• both of you can give valid consent and are of sound mind;
• the man has completed 21 years and the woman 18 years;
• you are not within the degrees of prohibited relationship, unless a custom that governs at least one of you allows the marriage.

Religion and caste are not conditions. Neither of you has to convert, and no religious ceremony is needed.

Step by step

1. Give notice. Both of you sign a notice in the form in the Second Schedule of the Act and give it to the Marriage Officer of the district where at least one of you has lived for 30 days or more just before the notice (section 5). The State Government appoints the Marriage Officers (section 3); ask at the district office, or check your State's marriage registration website.
2. The notice is put up. The Marriage Officer enters it in the Marriage Notice Book and puts a copy up at the office. If one of you lives in another district, a copy is sent to that district's Marriage Officer too (section 6).
3. Thirty days for objections. Anyone may object within 30 days, but only on the conditions in section 4: age, a living spouse, capacity to consent, or a prohibited relationship (section 7). If someone objects, the Marriage Officer must decide within 30 days; if the objection is upheld, either of you can appeal to the district court within 30 days (section 8).
4. The declaration. After the 30 days, both of you and three witnesses sign a declaration before the Marriage Officer (section 11).
5. The marriage. It takes place at the Marriage Officer's office, or at a place nearby on payment of an extra fee, in any form you choose. It is complete when each of you says to the other, before the Marriage Officer and the three witnesses and in a language you understand: "I, (A), take thee (B), to be my lawful wife (or husband)" (section 12).
6. The certificate. The Marriage Officer enters the certificate in the Marriage Certificate Book, signed by both of you and the three witnesses. It is conclusive evidence that the marriage took place (section 13).

If the marriage does not take place within three calendar months of the notice, the notice lapses and you have to give a fresh one (section 14).

Papers to have ready

• Proof of age for both of you: a birth certificate, school certificate or passport.
• Proof of address showing that one of you has lived in the district for 30 days.
• Passport size photographs of both of you.
• If either of you was married before: the divorce decree, or the death certificate of the earlier spouse.
• Three witnesses, with their own ID and address proof, on the day of the declaration.

Each State, and sometimes each district, has its own form and list, and its own fee. Ask the Marriage Officer's office before you go, and keep a copy of the notice with its date.

About "court marriage in one day"

A marriage under the Special Marriage Act cannot take place on the day you give notice: section 7(2) allows it only after 30 days. Offers of a "court marriage in one day" usually mean a religious ceremony, often at an Arya Samaj, followed by registration.

A Hindu marriage is valid when the ceremonies of either party's custom are performed; where they include the saptapadi, it is complete at the seventh step (Hindu Marriage Act, section 7). The certificate that counts as proof is the one from the State's registrar or the Marriage Officer. In June 2022, refusing to accept an Arya Samaj certificate as proof of marriage in a bail hearing, the Supreme Court remarked that issuing marriage certificates is the work of the authorities (Sunil Lora v. State of Rajasthan). Register the marriage with the State either way.

If your families object

In Lata Singh v. State of U.P. (2006) the Supreme Court held that once a person becomes a major, he or she can marry whoever they like, and directed the police to act against anyone who threatens or harasses such a couple. In Shakti Vahini v. Union of India (2018) it held that the consent of the family or community is not needed when two adults agree to marry, and told the States to take steps to protect couples who are threatened.

If you are threatened, give a written complaint to the police station and to the Superintendent of Police, keep a copy with the date, and keep the messages. You can also ask the High Court for protection.

The notice is put up at the office, and a copy may go to the other district. In Uttar Pradesh the Allahabad High Court has held that putting up the notice is optional: you can ask in writing, when you give notice, that it not be published (Safiya Sultana v. State of U.P., 2021). Elsewhere the Act's procedure applies unless your High Court has said otherwise; ask an advocate.

What changes after a Special Marriage Act marriage

A member of a Hindu undivided family who marries under this Act is treated as separated from the joint family (section 19), and succession to the couple's property and their children's is governed by the Indian Succession Act, 1925 (section 21). Neither applies when both of you are Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh or Jain (section 21A): then the Hindu Succession Act continues to apply.

Divorce for a Special Marriage Act marriage, including divorce by mutual consent, is under the same Act, whatever your religions.

Other rights pages