Where to Get a Copy of Marriage Certificate, and How to Certify It in Dubai

Lost, damaged or needed twice: your options

Your choice depends on what you still have in your hands.

• You have the original. You do not need a replacement. You need a certified copy, so the original can stay safe at home. We check your original and certify the copy.
• The original is damaged but readable. Ask the issuing office for a replacement. Until it arrives, a copy of a damaged document may be turned away, so check with the receiving body first.
• The original is lost. You must ask the issuing office for a replacement. A photocopy of a lost certificate is not a substitute for the original in most cases.
• You need it in two places at once. Ask the issuing office whether it can issue more than one copy, or have us certify several copies from one original.

Where to Get a Copy of Marriage Certificate: the Issuing Court or Country

A marriage certificate is issued where the marriage was registered. That is where a replacement comes from, so this is where to get a copy of marriage certificate records. Each office sets its own form, proof of identity and fee, and we do not publish those for them.

A marriage registered in the UAE is replaced by the UAE office that registered it. A marriage registered abroad is replaced by the registry in that country, or by its embassy if the embassy offers the service. Ask the office what it needs from you before you send anything.

When you contact the issuing office, have these ready:

• Full names of both spouses as shown on the certificate
• The date and place of the marriage
• Your passport or Emirates ID
• Any old copy, even a poor one, to help them find the record

Replacement certificate or certified true copy

These two are not the same document, and receiving bodies treat them differently.

A certified true copy does not replace the original. It confirms that the copy matches the original we examined. For the service itself, see our page on certified true copy of marriage and birth certificates.

How to get a certified marriage certificate copy in Dubai

Follow these steps once you hold the original or the replacement.

1. Message or call us and say where the copy will be used.
2. We confirm what the receiving body is likely to ask for and book your appointment.
3. Bring the original marriage certificate and your ID.
4. We check your original, and our lawyers certify the copy.
5. You take the certified copy. Check with the receiving body whether it also wants another step.

Our fee depends on the document and the number of copies, and we confirm it when you book. For an urgent request, call or WhatsApp us and see our urgent certification page.

Marriage certificates for visas and passports

Visa offices, embassies and passport offices often ask for a certified copy, not the original. Which one they accept is their decision, so ask them first.

If you sponsor a spouse, read our page on a certified copy of marriage certificate for visa. If your certificate was issued abroad, see the page on a certified copy of a foreign marriage certificate.

When another step is needed

Some bodies ask for notarization by a notary public, or for marriage certificate attestation by MOFAIC. Those are separate steps from our certification. The UAE is not a party to the Hague Apostille Convention, so a foreign certificate is attested in the issuing country first, then by MOFAIC in the UAE. MOFAIC charges AED 150 for personal documents, and its fee is separate from ours. It needs the original, and the document must not be laminated. Our page on certified true copy vs notarization vs attestation explains the difference.