Municipality of Oldenzaal: applying to get married

The municipality checks whether you can marry each other. You may marry each other if you: 

are 18 years or older 

are not married to anyone else 

does not have a registered partnership with someone else 

you are not too closely related to your partner. This means that your partner may not be, for example: your father, (grand) daughter, grandfather or (half) sister. Are you a third- or fourth-degree relative, such as aunt or cousin? Then you can get married. You must then both declare that you are marrying each other voluntarily. 

not under guardianship. If you are under guardianship, you need permission from the trustee or subdistrict court judge. 

name usage

If you are (or have been) married or have registered a partnership, you can indicate which name you wish to be addressed by the government by means of a written 'request for designation of name use'. 

Just to be clear: your own surname remains unchanged. It is only a choice about the method of registration. You can choose between your own name, the name of your (former) husband/wife/partner or both names. After receipt of your request, the indication of your name use in the municipal administration (GBA) will be changed. The request to change the designation of the name use can be made online, at the public desk or in writing. 

Example: 

Suppose your surname is Jansen and your (former) husband/wife/partner is called de Vries. When choosing the name to use, you have the following options: 

own family name (Jansen); 

own surname - surname partner (Jansen-de Vries); 

surname partner (de Vries); 

surname partner - own surname (de Vries-Jansen). 

Read more information about naming.

Since September 2015, there is no longer a question of banns, but of an "intention to marriage". You only need to report a proposed marriage digitally or in person. You do this at the municipality in which you want to get married. 

By law, the notification of intended marriage must take place at least two weeks and at most one year before the marriage. Now a wedding officiant needs preparation time to give a personal touch to the speech. We therefore advise you to submit the above-mentioned notification at least 2 months before your marriage or partnership registration. 

You can e-mail the declaration of the intended marriage using one of the forms below to burgerlijkestand@oldenzaal.nl.

Form of intended marriage of which the spouses meet the following conditions: 

the spouses both have Dutch nationality or 

the spouses are Community nationals (EU nationals) or 

the spouses have a regular residence permit or asylum for an indefinite period. 

Form of intended marriage of which the spouses meet the following conditions: 

one of the spouses does not have Dutch nationality one or 

both spouses are not Community nationals (EU nationals) one or 

both spouses do not have a regular residence permit or asylum for an indefinite period 

one is permanently resident abroad. 

Abroad?

Do you or your future partner live abroad and do you have to submit foreign documents to the municipality? Keep in mind that 2 months is too short. It is wise to inquire in good time which papers you need and which requirements they must meet. Keep in mind that it sometimes takes a long time before you have these papers in your possession. Sometimes the papers also have to be translated or legalized. Foreign documents are not automatically legally valid. We can only set a wedding date if all documents are approved. 

Do you and your future partner live abroad and do you want to get married or register your partnership in the Netherlands? And does at least one of you have Dutch nationality? Then you are obliged to report your intended marriage or registered partnership to the registrar of births, marriages and deaths in The Hague. For more information, visit the website of the municipality of The Hague.

When you register your marriage, you make a number of choices, which you communicate to the municipality. These choices relate to the ceremony and the venue. The costs depend on your wishes and the possibilities of the municipality.

Ceremony

The ceremony is the official part of your marriage. You can choose from:

• marriage free of charge;
• simple ceremony;
• elaborate ceremony.

If you opt for an elaborate ceremony, you determine who leads the ceremony. You have the following choices:

• A wedding registrar from the municipality. The wedding registrar will contact you a few weeks before the wedding date to introduce themselves and find out more about you and your future spouse. If you have a preference for a wedding registrar, inform the municipality of this.
• A family member or acquaintance. If you would like a family member or an acquaintance to be your own wedding registrar, contact the municipality.

Wedding venue

You can get married in various places. You can choose from:

• a wedding venue of the municipality;
• a wedding venue of your own choice. Notify the municipality of your venue. To do so, call (0541) 58 81 11 or use the contact form. You may have to pay for a wedding venue of your own choice.

• marriage free of charge;
• simple ceremony (€ 180);
• elaborate ceremony (€ 750).

You pay a fee for this service. For more information, contact the municipality Contact | Gemeente Oldenzaal.