Getting married

You must make the notification in the municipality where you wish to get married.

• You and your partner must both be 18 years or older.
• You and your partner must both understand the legal consequences of a marriage.
• Your wedding may never take place under duress.•    
• You and your partner may not be married or in a registered partnership with someone else. Double marriages are not permitted in the Netherlands
• Are you under guardianship? If so, you will need the permission of your guardian or the limited jurisdiction judge.
• You may not marry your own child, brother, sister, parent, grandparent, grandchild, half-brother or half-sister.
• You will need at least 2 and no more than 4 witnesses. The witnesses must be 18 years or older. 
• There must be at least 14 days between the notification and the wedding date.You can plan your wedding up to 12 months in advance.
• If you reside in the municipality of Schagen, you can indicate in the notification how you would like to be addressed by the authorities, such as the municipality, the Tax and Customs Administration and the Social Insurance Bank.This is known as ‘the surname you use.’ On the marriage certificate and in the marriage booklet, only your own family name will appear. They will not state what surname you wish to use. If you are not registered in Schagen, you can let your own municipality know which surname you wish to use.

Dispensation to marry

Do you not meet these requirements? The Minister of Justice and Security can grant a dispensation. For example: if you are brother and sister by adoption. This is called dispensation to marry.

Options and locations

There are several options for getting married in our municipality:

• Free of charge. This is possible if at least one of you resides here in the municipality.
• Budget.
• In the Council Chamber at the Town Hall.
• At a location of your choice in the municipality of Schagen.

Free of charge

You can get married free of charge on Mondays at 9.00 a.m. and 10.00 a.m. This is only possible if at least one of you resides in the municipality of Schagen. A free wedding ceremony only covers the essential formalities. There will not be a speech. The ceremony will take place in a meeting room. Only the wedding couple and the witnesses may attend. Your wedding officiant will be assigned by the municipality.

Budget

It is also possible to have a low-cost ceremony, known as a budget wedding. Like a free wedding ceremony, it takes place in a meeting room. There will not be a speech. Only the wedding couple and the witnesses may attend. Your wedding officiant will be assigned by the municipality. You can, however, choose various dates and times. For example, you can have your wedding performed on: 

• Mondays between 11.00 a.m. and 5.00 p.m.
• Tuesdays to Fridays between 9.00 a.m. and 5.00 p.m. 

Please note that the Town Hall is closed on Friday afternoons. The front door will be opened for you.

Getting married in the council Chamber

You can get married in the Council Chamber at the Town Hall. You can directly reserve the Council Chamber when notifying your intended marriage.The date is not definite until you receive confirmation. The Council Chamber has space for 50 people. 
You must choose a wedding officiant yourself. You can find more information about officiants on the Officiants page.

Wedding ceremony at a location of your choice

If you choose to get married at a location other than the Town Hall, this is subject to a number of conditions. These conditions mainly relate to the safety of the venue. Always contact your wedding venue first for availability and costs.. 

It is possible to hold your wedding ceremony almost anywhere within the municipality of Schagen. This is subject to a number of conditions:

• The wedding venue must be accessible to the general public;
• The wedding venue must be accessible. The (special) civil officiant must be able to park his or her car;
• The venue needs to be safe and there should be no threat to public order.
• The venue must have certain facilities, for example: toilets, tables, chairs and a changing area;
• The safety of the (special) civil officiant must be guaranteed;
• The wedding ceremony must be able to take place without hindrance;
• If you are getting married in the open air, it must be possible to move to a covered area or indoors.
• We will need a consent form from the venue’s owner or operator. This also applies if using your own home. The owner can use the form Consent owner/user wedding/partnership venue to communicate his/her consent. You will need this consent when making the notification.

You must choose a wedding officiant yourself. You can find more information about officiants on the  Officiants page.

You may need to request a licence for use of the venue or submit a notification of use. For example: is the location a hotel or restaurant? If so, we assume that the owner already has a licence or has already submitted a fire-safety declaration. You should ask about this at the venue, to be on the safe side.

If you are organising a private party and place any form of temporary accommodation such as a (stretch) tent there that is intended to be used by more than 150 people at the same time, you must submit a  notification of fire-safe occupancy (BGBOP). The relevant department will inform you as soon as possible if your request for a licence satisfies the conditions.
Are you not sure if you need to submit a usage notification? You can also fill in the decision tree to find out if this applies to you.

An events permit or notification is not required when a private party such as a wedding is being held on private land. If more than 150 people will be present at the same time, you must complete a notification form.

We work exclusively with freelance wedding officiants. You can also choose to have your own wedding officiant. More information on officiants can be found on the wedding officiants page. 

You can make a notification of intended marriage (formerly known as ‘betrothal’) in the municipality where you are getting married.There must be at least 14 days between the notification and the wedding date.You can plan your wedding up to 12 months in advance. You can submit the notification of intended marriage online.You will need your DigiD code. When applying online, you can see which wedding officiants and venues are available. You can do this before logging in with your DigiD. 
You can also make an appointment to pay us a visit. To do so, call (0224) 210 400. 

Online notification

During the online notification, you can submit a number of items of information straight away.
These include:

• The date and time of the marriage.
• The witnesses and a copy of their identity documents.
• The venue.
• The wedding officiant (not in the case of a budget wedding or a wedding that is free of charge)
• The surname you intend to use.

If the ceremony is not taking place at the Town Hall, book the venue before you make the notification and have the venue owner fill in the consent of owner/operator of marriage or partnership venue form. You will need this when making the notification. The Municipality of Schagen works with "freelance" wedding officiants. Are you getting married at a location of your choice or in the Council Chamber at the Town Hall? If so, you must contact the wedding officiant before making the notification. If you have opted for a ‘free’ or ‘budget’ wedding ceremony, it is not possible to choose your wedding officiant. The municipality will do that for you.
Once you have filled in all your details and paid your fee, you have officially made a notification of your intended marriage.. You will receive confirmation of your wedding from us if your notification is complete.

Free/ budget/ conversion

Council Chamber at the Town Hall

This does not include the cost of the wedding officiant. The wedding officiant will issue his or her own bill.

Locations other than the Town Hall

This does not include the cost of the wedding officiant. The wedding officiant will issue his or her own bill.

Your own officiant

The amounts below will apply if you choose someone who has not yet been designated as a wedding officiant in the municipality of Schagen. If the wedding officiant has not yet been sworn in at the court, fees will also be charged for him/her to be sworn in. A wedding officiant may also charge fees themselves.

Other charges

There are several differences between marriage and registered partnership:

• When you get married, you say ‘I do.’ This is not mandatory during a partnership registration ceremony.
• It is possible to dissolve a registered partnership without going to court if you do not have any minor children. Married couples must always apply to the court to dissolve a marriage.
• Legal separation is not possible in the case of a registered partnership, but it is possible in the case of a married couple.
• Not every country in the world recognises a registered partnership.

Marrying someone who is not a Dutch citizen

If you were born abroad and you do not yet have Dutch nationality, you must register your birth certificate in the Key Register of Persons (BRP) before the wedding ceremony. You may also need to submit a declaration proving that you are not married. In this case, notify the Municipality between 6 and 12 months before announcing the date of your upcoming wedding or registration ceremony.

If one partner is not a Dutch citizen and is not registered in the municipal persons data base (BRP) it is not possible to announce your intention to marry online. You will have to do this in writing or in the Town Hall. We will need the following documents: your birth certificate, an excerpt from the population register which shows your address, a declaration that you are unmarried and a valid passport or identity card. When all of the documents have been approved you can announce your intention to marry. For more information, please contact the Civil Affairs department onIf you were born abroad and/or you are not a Dutch citizen, you must register your birth certificate in the Key Register of Persons (BRP) before you can get married. You may also need to submit a declaration proving that you are not married. In this case, contact the Municipality between 6 and 12 months before you make the notification of intended marriage/registered partnership.
If either partner is not a Dutch citizen and is not registered in the Key Register of Persons (BRP), you cannot make a notification of intended marriage online. You will have to do so in writing or in person at the Town Hall. We will need the following documents: your birth certificate, an extract from the population register of your place of residence that shows your address, a declaration that you are unmarried and a valid passport or identity card. Once all of the documents have been approved, you can make the notification of intended marriage. For more information, contact the civic affairs department by calling  (0224) 210 400.

If both of you live abroad

Do you both live abroad, and does at least one of you a Dutch citizen? If so, you must make the notification at the Municipality of The Hague. The Municipality of The Hague will send the notification of your intended marriage to the municipality where you wish to get married. The municipality where the wedding will take place will be responsible for checking that there is no impediment. As such, it is possible that you will be asked to provide additional documents or evidence after the notification has been made in The Hague. For example, you may be asked to submit your birth certificate, a declaration that you are unmarried, an extract from the population register. For that reason, make sure to notify the municipality of The Hague on time.

If you both live abroad and are not Dutch citizens, you cannot get married in the Netherlands.

Marital Property rules

Getting married has consequences for your existing and future property and debts. A limited community of property has automatically been in force since 1 January 2018. You can read more about this on the central government website (Rijksoverheid).