DOCUMENTS REQUIRED for Marriages conducted in South Africa

Please note: If you are planning to be married OUT OF COMMUNITY OF PROPERTY (i.o.w. married with a ante nuptial agreement) , you are required to have a lawyer draw up such an agreement and a letter from the said lawyer (dated before the wedding date) stating that this has been done needs to be made available to the wedding pastor. This is only applicable for South African couples.

SOUTH AFRICANS
If you are a South African Citizen or if you have a South African Identity Document and or Passport the following documents are required
1. Clear copy of your ID (both parties)
2. Clear copy of Divorce Decree if applicable
3. Clear copy of Death Certificate of deceased spouse if applicable
4. Clear copy of ID of 2 witnesses who will countersign the register.
5. For the marriage of minors (persons under 21 years of age) several requirements need to be satisfied. Please contact the marriage officer who will inform you of such requirements. e.g a form BI32  (http://www.home-affairs.gov.za/PDF/civic/bi-32.pdf). There are further requirements for a bridegroom under 18 and a bride under 15 which can also be obtained from the marriage officer.

Please check your marital status here (http://www.home-affairs.gov.za/enquiry/marital/status/marital_status.asp) to prevent any complications when registering the marriage. (You can also use this link to check on your wedding registration after the wedding. This can take anything up to 8 weeks or more depending on the workload of  The Department of Home Affairs)

NON SOUTH AFRICANS
If one or both parties is not South African, the following documents are required from you
1. Clear copy of your Passport photo page
2. Clear copy of the Customs Entry stamp in your Passport valid for the date of the marriage
3. Clear copy of divorce decree if applicable
4. Clear copy of death certificate of deceased spouse if applicable
5. Clear copy of ID of two witnesses who will countersign the register
6. Signed BI31(http://www.home-affairs.gov.za/PDF/civic/bi-31.pdf) form which the Marriage Officer will complete for you
7. Letter of no impediment from the government of the country of origin.

NB. Further to this, if one of the parties is South African and the other is a foreigner, the couple will need to meet with a home affairs immigration officer before the wedding (who will then provide a letter to the couple stating that he/she is satisfied that the couple may indeed get married.) Such letter will be submitted by the marriage officer to Home affairs with the rest of the marriage documents after completion of the marriage. Please speak to your marriage officer about where this can be done.