Marriage Fees, by Country
New Zealand's NZ$333 is the most expensive standard civil marriage in this table; getting married costs nothing at all, for the standard domestic case, in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and France. Figures are each country's own currency, at face value, not converted to a common currency.
Last updated 2 November 2026.
Getting married is one of the few life events a government prices completely differently from country to country: some charge nothing at all for the standard case, others charge separately for giving notice, holding the ceremony, and issuing the certificate that proves it happened. This table adds up whichever of those charges are genuinely mandatory in each country — not the optional extras (an out-of-hours slot, an external venue, a private officiant's own fee) that inflate real wedding budgets everywhere.
Figures are each country's own currency, at face value, not converted to a common currency — see the methodology section for why a face-value ranking isn't a precise cost ranking once exchange rates are applied.
| Source | ||
|---|---|---|
🇳🇿 New ZealandNZ$158 marriage licence + NZ$175 fixed celebrant fee for a registry-style ceremony (registry offices no longer perform ceremonies directly). Effective 18 June 2026. | NZ$333 | [14] |
🇦🇪 United Arab EmiratesAbu Dhabi Judicial Department, standard service (up to 10 working days); AED 2,500 for next-day urgent service. Dubai Courts' own fee page blocked every attempt, so Abu Dhabi is used instead. | AED 300 | [11] |
🇮🇪 IrelandEstimateMandatory notification of intention to marry, given at least 3 months ahead; €50 for same-sex couples already in a registered civil partnership. gov.ie confirms the fee exists but doesn't state the figure; the €200 amount is corroborated by the statutory instrument's name and multiple independent citations of it, not read directly from the raw statute text. | €200 | [7] |
🇨🇦 CanadaCity of Toronto, Ontario: marriage licence fee, set municipally. A second, older City of Toronto page states CA$160 for the same licence — using the more current, authoritative transactional page's figure. | CA$180 | [4] |
🇬🇧 United KingdomEngland & Wales, from 6 April 2026: £46.50 per person to give notice (£93 per couple) + £62 register-office ceremony + £12.50 certificate. A ceremony is mandatory and always carries a fee — there's no free alternative route, unlike the US. | £167.50 | [2] |
🇺🇸 United StatesLos Angeles County, California: public marriage licence. Excludes the optional $35 civil ceremony performed by the County Clerk — couples can be married by many other officiant types at no charge to the county, so the $35 isn't mandatory. | $91 | [3] |
🇵🇱 PolandStamp duty (opłata skarbowa) for drawing up the marriage record. The ceremony itself at the standard USC office is free — this is the only mandatory government charge. | 84 zł | [8] |
🇦🇺 AustraliaNew South Wales: standard marriage certificate fee (incl. postage). Australia has no fixed government licence fee — notice of intended marriage is lodged with a celebrant, a private, market-priced role, not a government officer. See FAQ. | A$70 | [5] |
🇩🇪 GermanyBerlin: €45 mandatory eligibility check (Prüfung der Ehefähigkeit) + €12 marriage certificate. Ceremony at the couple's own Standesamt in business hours is free. Fees are set by individual Berlin municipalities, not nationally — other German cities charge differently. | €57 | [1] |
🇸🇬 SingaporeAt least one party a citizen or PR, solemnised at the Registry of Marriages or an external venue at no extra charge. S$380 if both parties are foreigners. | S$42 | [6] |
🇸🇰 SlovakiaNo fee applies where at least one spouse has permanent residence in the registry office's district, confirmed the same way as the Czech Republic: an explicit exemption, plus a fee schedule that charges only non-standard cases (30–280 €). | Free | [13] |
🇨🇿 Czech RepublicNo fee applies where at least one spouse has permanent residence in the registry office's district — confirmed by reading the full fee schedule, which lists charges only for non-resident couples (3,000–5,000 Kč) and other non-standard cases. | Free | [12] |
🇫🇷 FranceEstimateA civil ceremony at the mairie, and the resulting acte de mariage, cost nothing — no French government fee schedule anywhere lists a charge for the standard case. Service-public.gouv.fr, the official portal, confirms the process but doesn't state this as a price figure, so it's not independently read as a quoted "free" statement. | Free | [10] |
🇪🇸 SpainEstimateMadrid: a standard weekday civil ceremony at the Registro Civil is free; Madrid charges €120 only for a Saturday ceremony, which isn't the standard case. No national fee exists — set municipally, and some towns charge even for weekday ceremonies. Corroborated via a source citing the governing law by name; not read directly from an official Madrid fee schedule. | Free | [9] |
What's included: the notice/licence/eligibility fee a government charges as the legal precondition to marry, plus the marriage certificate where issuing it is a separate mandatory charge, plus the ceremony fee only where a government-performed (or government-mandated) ceremony is the sole legal route with no fee-free alternative — true in the UK, Germany (when held correctly) and New Zealand; not true in the US, where officiants other than the county clerk can marry a couple at no charge to the government.
What's excluded: out-of-hours, non-standard-venue, and expedited-service surcharges everywhere; private celebrant/officiant market fees (Australia, religious ceremonies generally); and post-marriage document requests (an extra certified copy ordered later, as opposed to the one issued at the time).
Sub-national jurisdictions. Germany, the US and Canada set marriage fees at the municipal, county, or provincial level, not nationally. This table uses Berlin (Germany), Los Angeles County, California (US) and Toronto, Ontario (Canada) — the same convention this site uses elsewhere for sub-national fees (Delaware for US company registration, California for US notary and probate fees, Ontario for Canadian probate). A different city, county or province will charge a different fee.
Why three countries show €0. Czech Republic and Slovakia's finding comes from reading each country's full administrative-fee schedule and finding no line item covers a standard resident marriage — every listed charge is for a genuinely different, non-standard scenario. France's finding is near-universal public knowledge with no government fee schedule contradicting it, though it couldn't be confirmed as an explicit quoted figure from a primary source this session.
Why Australia is priced differently. Every other country in this table has some form of government-set licence, notice or eligibility fee. Australia doesn't: notice of intended marriage is lodged with a marriage celebrant, who is privately engaged and charges a market rate, not a fixed government fee. The one fixed amount the Australian government actually charges in this whole process is the marriage certificate fee, so that's what's shown here — not a licence fee that doesn't exist.
Limits of this comparison. Figures are each country's own currency, face value, with no FX conversion — treat a 'cheapest/most expensive' ranking as directional, not exact, once exchange rates are applied.
Which countries charge nothing to get married?
The Czech Republic and Slovakia charge no fee at all for a standard domestic marriage where at least one spouse lives in the registry office's district — confirmed by reading each country's fee schedule and finding no charge for that case. France's standard civil ceremony is also free. Spain's Madrid charges nothing on a weekday (but €120 for a Saturday ceremony).
Why does Australia show only a certificate fee, not a licence fee?
Because Australia doesn't have one. Notice of intended marriage is lodged with a marriage celebrant — a privately engaged role that charges its own market rate, not a government fee. The only fixed amount the Australian government charges anywhere in the process is the A$70 marriage certificate, so that's the figure used here.
Why does the US figure exclude the $35 ceremony fee some counties charge?
Because it's genuinely optional: a couple can be legally married by many officiant types (clergy, and in some states other authorised persons) without ever paying a county clerk for a civil ceremony. The $91 licence fee, by contrast, is unavoidable — you cannot legally marry in California without it.
Does this include the cost of a wedding, venue, or celebrant?
No — this table prices only the government fees that are legally mandatory to get married, not the cost of a wedding itself. A private venue, caterer, celebrant (outside the few countries where that role is a government officer) or religious ceremony is a separate, market-priced cost not covered here.
Passport Fees by Country
Another official life-event document cost, from the same sourcing standard.
Notary Fees by Country
What it costs to certify a signature — often needed for marriage paperwork too.
Probate Fees by Country
Another official government fee for a major life event, this one at the other end of life.
Work Visa Fees by Country
Official work visa fees, including mandatory surcharges, for the countries in this table.
Divorce Fees by Country
The other end of the same life event, from the same sourcing standard.
Driving Licence Fees by Country
Another official government document fee, from the same sourcing standard.
- 1Gebühren — Standesamt
Berlin.de / Service Berlin
Prüfung der Ehefähigkeit (eligibility check at registration): €45. Eheurkunde (marriage certificate): €12. Fetched and read directly 2 November 2026.
- 2Notice of marriage or civil partnership; ceremony fees
Multiple England & Wales local authorities (.gov.uk)
From 6 April 2026: notice of marriage £46.50 per person (£93 per couple); register-office ceremony £62; certificate £12.50 — figures corroborated consistently across multiple independent local-authority .gov.uk pages (St Helens, Newport, Bedford, Chester). gov.uk's own general guidance pages don't themselves display the fee figures. Checked 2 November 2026.
- 3Marriage Licenses & Ceremonies — Fees
Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk
Public marriage licence: $91. Civil ceremony performed by the County Clerk (optional, not priced here): $35. Fetched and read directly 2 November 2026.
- 4Applying for a marriage licence
City of Toronto
Marriage licence: CA$180 (HST does not apply). A separate, older City of Toronto page states CA$160 for the same licence; this more current transactional page is used. Fetched and read directly 2 November 2026.
- 5Processing times and fees
NSW Government, Births, Deaths & Marriages
Standard marriage certificate: A$70 (incl. $11 postage and handling), current from 1 July 2026. Fetched and read directly 2 November 2026.
- 6Our Marriage Journey — civil marriage fees
Ask.gov.sg (Singapore Government)
Civil marriage fee: S$42 where at least one party is a citizen or PR; S$380 if both parties are foreigners. No extra charge for an external solemnisation venue. Fetched and read directly 2 November 2026 (official .gov.sg domain).
- 7Civil Registration (Births, Deaths, Marriages and Civil Partnerships) (Fees) Regulations 2020 (S.I. No. 552/2020)
Irish Statute Book / Government of Ireland
Notification of intention to marry: €200 standard, €50 for same-sex couples already in a registered civil partnership. gov.ie confirms the fee's existence but not the digit; the €200 figure is corroborated by the regulation's name/number across multiple independent sources, not read directly from the schedule text (access blocked). Checked 2 November 2026.
- 8Zawarcie związku małżeńskiego (SC-2)
Kraków City (Biuletyn Informacji Publicznej)
Stamp duty for drawing up the marriage record: 84 PLN, under the Act of 16 November 2006 on Stamp Duty. Fetched and read directly 2 November 2026.
- 9Ley de Eficiencia de la Justicia (Ley Bolaños) and Madrid municipal practice
Secondary source citing the governing law
The national reform sets no mandatory marriage fee; Madrid charges €120 only for a Saturday ceremony, implying a free weekday ceremony. Official Madrid pages confirm the process but not a €0 figure directly; corroborated via a source explicitly citing the law by name, not independently read. Checked 2 November 2026.
- 10Se marier à la mairie (F930)
Service-public.fr (Direction de l'information légale et administrative)
Describes the civil marriage process; doesn't itself state a price for the ceremony or the acte de mariage. The €0 finding is near-universal public knowledge with no contradicting fee schedule found, but wasn't read as an explicit quoted figure from a primary page this session. Checked 2 November 2026.
- 11Civil Marriage — Fees
Abu Dhabi Judicial Department (ADJD)
Standard service (up to 10 working days): AED 300. Urgent service (1 working day): AED 2,500. Fetched and read directly 2 November 2026.
- 12Act No. 634/2004 Sb., on Administrative Fees, Položka 12
Government of the Czech Republic (zakonyprolidi.cz)
Lists fees only for non-standard cases (3,000–5,000 Kč for non-resident couples, 1,000–3,000 Kč for other exceptions) — no charge applies to a standard resident marriage. Fetched and read directly 2 November 2026.
- 13Správne poplatky a sadzby, Položka 18 (Act No. 145/1995 Z.z.)
City of Poprad (official municipal reproduction of the national fee schedule)
Explicit exemption for marrying where at least one spouse has residence in the district; charges only non-standard cases (30–280 €). Fetched, downloaded and read in full directly 2 November 2026.
- 14Get a marriage licence; registry ceremonies
Govt.nz (New Zealand Government)
Marriage licence: NZ$158. Registry-style ceremony (fixed celebrant fee): NZ$175. Effective 18 June 2026 per the Marriage (Fees) Amendment Regulations 2026. Fetched and read directly 2 November 2026.