Headdon Consulting is a French registered company offering independent legal advice and assistance to English speaking people around the world who are purchasing, selling or own real estate property in France, whether it be a holiday home, a principal residence or in connection with a small business.

This is a rough outline of the process involved in marrying in France and is particularly aimed at UK nationals. Specific information and instructions should always be sought from the French authorities to verify precisely what is required.

If you wish to get married in France, the first thing that you need to be aware of is that it is a legal requirement to marry at the local town hall ('mairie'). It is of course possible to have a church service but for the marriage to be legally recognised you have to pass in front of the mayor.

The first step is therefore to contact your local 'mairie'. You can marry in that commune provided that one or both of you have resided there for at least one month. You will be provided with a booklet which contains essential forms for you to complete and submit to the mayor.

The forms which you need to complete are as follows:

1. You will each need to have a medical with a doctor. It should be noted that the blood test is only obligatory for women of child bearing age. The doctor needs to complete the certificate in the aforementioned booklet; 
2. You will need to fill out the forms in the booklet which provide the town hall with the personal details of each spouse as well as a list of witnesses (minimum of two, maximum of four).

In addition, you will need to provide a full birth certificate (detailing the parents) issued within three months of the date of the intended marriage. If you were born in Great Britain, the local registry where you were born will issue this certificate in return for a fee (about £7). It will be necessary to provide a translation of this certificate and this translation must be done by a sworn translator ('traducteur assermenté').

A foreigner must also supply a certificate of law ('certificat de coutume') and celibacy certificate ('certificat de célibat'). For a British citizen, the certificate of law can be obtained from the British consulate in Paris. You need to send them a form which can be downloaded from their website along with your original birth certificate and passport and the fee (currently 50 Euros). As for the celibacy certificate, this does not exist under British law. Therefore, you can obtain an official attestation from the consulate confirming this.

Finally, you will also need to produce identification e.g. passport.

Once all of the above documents are produced at the town hall, the banns can then be published. They must be published ten days prior to the wedding ceremony.

During the ceremony, the mayor will read out the legal texts governing marriage in France, verify whether an ante nuptial agreement exists (if there is one, a certificate issued by the notaire must be provided to the mayor beforehand) and ascertain that the parties consent. The couple will sign the marriage act along with their witnesses. You will then be issued with a 'livret de famille' which contains a copy of the marriage act.

If you are French residents or intending to become French residents following the marriage, it is very important to give consideration to your 'matrimonial regime' as you may wish to marry under a regime other than the standard default regime. This can be of particular importance in relation to inheritance. If you wish to marry under a different regime, you will need to sign an ante nuptial agreement with a notaire prior to marrying. It is advisable to organise this a couple of weeks beforehand. If you wait until after your marriage, you will be precluded from making a change of matrimonial regime for two years and it is then much more costly.

© Headdon Consulting

Headdon Consulting Sarl
Le Moulié, 32190 Rozès (Gers), France
Tel: 0033-(0)5-62.68.00.81
Fax: 0033-(0)5-62.68.01.49

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