Do you need to apostille a Certificate of Non-Impediment for Marriage?
Are you planning to get married in another country and you have been told to obtain a Certificate of Non-Impediment for Marriage?
A Certificate of Non-Impediment for Marriage is an official Certification that the City Clerk’s Office has no information that would be an “impediment” to your getting a Marriage License. If you are planning to marry in another country, you will be required to obtain a Certificate of Non-Impediment.
Some countries and County Clerk office in the U.S. may also refer to this document as:
- No Record of Marriage
- Certificate of Freedom to Marry
- Single Status Affidavit
- Certificate of No Record – Marriage
- Affidavit of Single Status
- Affidavit of Marriageability
- Certificate of No Public Record
In the United States a certificate of non-impediment for marriage is commonly referred to a single status affidavit.
Here is an example of a single status affidavit:
The first step is to contact the local County Clerk’s office to request a document that states you are currently not married (AKA: Single Status). Some County Clerk offices may refer to this document as a “no record of marriage” instead of a “single status”. Most all County Clerk offices can provide you this document so please be sure to speak to a supervisor if you are told otherwise. A document issued from the County Clerk’s office does not require notarization.
If the County Clerk is unable to assist you and you are in the United States, you can use the sample above to write your own single status affidavit. Basically, you are writing a sworn statement stating that you are currently not married to another person in the United States. Be sure to have this document signed and notarized before you mail it in to our office. You should also check with the people requesting your single status if they will accept a sworn affidavit directly from you.
If you are outside of the United States, the local US Embassy or US Consulate office should be able to assist you in completing a single status and also having it signed and notarized. Because you will be visiting U.S. Federal Government office, this document can then only be apostilled through our Washington DC apostille office.
Here is an example of US Embassy or US Consulate Single Status Affidavit:
Note: If you have been divorced in the United States, you will also be told to obtain an apostille on your divorce decree.
What you need to get married in Colombia:
The person of Colombian nationality:
must present the original birth certificate with an issue date of no more than three months and a valid note for marriage or to prove relationship and a copy of the identity card.
The person of foreign nationality:
must present the original birth certificate and single certificate, which must come with an issue date of no more than three months and apostilled from the country of origin or issue and if they come in another language, they must be translated into Spanish by an official translator and a copy of the valid passport.
In order to contract marriage or de facto marital union by proxy ( in case you can not travel to Colombia ) , it is necessary that one of the contracting parties be domiciled in Colombia and thus the other person may grant a power of attorney, which must be signed and legalized in the country in which they are domiciled, ( apostille) to represent you regarding the filing of documents, as well as in the signing of the marriage deed or de facto marital union. It is important to keep in mind that the proxy cannot be the person he is going to marry.
