While it might seem like just a piece of paper, without a marriage certificate, a wedding becomes just a glamorous party, at least as far as the government is concerned.
To make the process of acquiring a marriage certificate less daunting, here is the nitty gritty of acquiring a marriage certificate.
Before you get married in Kenya, you have to receive a certificate from the Registrar of Marriages. Their offices are located on the Third Floor, Sheria House, along Harambee Avenue in Nairobi. The first stage involves filling the application form for the certificate. This should be accompanied with copies of your identification cards and two hundred Kenya Shillings in application fees.
In the case where either one or both parties are widowed, the Death Certificate of the departed spouse and a copy is required. In the case that either one or both parties are divorced, a Divorce Decree Absolute is also required.
After filing the application with the clerk, the notice of intention to marry has to be published for twenty one (21) days. If there is no objection to the marriage, you have the following options:
• If you plan to get married at the Registrar’s office, you will have to get a date, based on availability, from the clerk at the point of applying for a certificate. However, you still have to wait the 21 days for the notice. On the day when you are to marry, you are required to come with two witnesses for the occasion.
• If you plan to get married in the church, the notice of the intention to marry will be filed and also required to be announced in the church where the spouses are members and after the 21 days notice, you and your partner are required to go pick the certificate together. A payment of Kshs 350 will be made at this point. This
certificate is then given to the pastor who will officiate the wedding and the church will prepare the marriage certificate.
• If your wedding is in any other venue other than a church, for example a garden wedding, the fee is Kshs 5,050. You are also required to pick the certificate together after 21 days.
If you are not able to give the 21 days notice, you will require a special certificate. To receive this, you have to apply with the following documentation:
• Birth certificates
• Identification documents
• Affidavit to indicate that you are single, divorce decree or death certificate if you are divorced or widowed respectively.
• Documented reason why you are not able to give the 21 day notice.
• A fee of Kshs 10,250 is required for this special certificate.
If the marriage does not take place within three months after the 21 days notice is over, a fresh notice must be given before you can lawfully marry.
*These fees stated in this article are as at December 2012
Click to Read more info
Click to download Marriage Bill Kenya 2014
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