Documents Required for Marriage in India

At minimum, expect to need valid photo identification (passport for foreign nationals; passport, Aadhaar or another accepted ID for Indian citizens), proof of age, and proof of current address for both parties.

If either partner has been married before, you'll typically need a certified copy of the divorce decree or, in the case of widowhood, a death certificate for the previous spouse. Registering offices generally want original or certified documents here, not photocopies.

In addition to a passport and visa, some nationalities require a no-objection certificate from their embassy in India confirming there's no legal impediment to the marriage. This can take several weeks to obtain, so it's worth checking early whether your nationality requires one.

Most registration routes require two witnesses present at solemnisation, each with valid photo ID. If you don't have your own available witnesses (common for couples marrying away from home), this can be arranged.

In our experience, the single most common cause of registration delays is a name or address mismatch across different documents — a passport with one spelling of a name and a utility bill with another, for instance. Check your documents for consistency before submission, since fixing a mismatch after a rejected application costs more time than catching it beforehand.