Examination of impediments to marriage
- Service
- Nationwide
- Public service
Before the marriage ceremony, you must request an examination of impediments to marriage. This ensures that no impediments under Finnish law exist for the marriage. You can only be married after the impediments to marriage have been examined.
Impediments to marriage include
- minority
- a valid marriage or registered partnership
- too close a family relationship
- family relationship created by ...
Do the following
- Request the examination of impediments to marriage in the Digital and Population Data Services Agency’s online service. You can also fill in the PDF form and mail it in or hand it over in person at a service location.
- You will receive the certificate after we have processed your request. You do not need to bring a certificate to the marriage ceremony if you are married by an officiator from the Digital and Population Data Services Agency. If the officiator is from another organisation, hand the certificate over to them before the marriage ceremony.
- If you are getting married outside Finland, order a certificate of the right to marry abroad in the online service.
To whom and on what terms
The examination of impediments uses data from the population information system. If your or your spouse's marital status is not recorded in the Population Information System, we will need a certificate of your marital status. You can obtain this certificate from the embassy, consulate, or registry office or similar authority of your country of citizenship. More detailed instructions are available on our website.
If neither of you is a Finnish citizen, we will also need an official certificate that you have the right to get married in Finland.
We can process a Finnish, Swedish or English document. If the document is in another language, you may also need an EU translation form, a translation carried out abroad by a certified translator, or a translation by an authorised translator in Finland. We will request a translation from you if necessary. A translation is not required if the certificate is issued by an EU member state, and it includes a translation form pursuant to an EU regulation.