Getting married

You must declare your intention 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? You will need the permission of the 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 2 weeks between the declaration and the wedding date. You can plan your wedding up to one year in advance.

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 known as dispensation to marry.

There are several options for wedding ceremonies in the municipality of Schagen: a free ceremony (at least one of you must be a resident of Schagen), a budget ceremony, a ceremony in the Council Chamber or a ceremony at a venue of your choice within the municipality of Schagen.

Free of charge

You can get married free of charge on Monday at 9:00 AM and 10:00 AM. This is only possible if at least one of you is a resident of 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. 

Due to the 1.5 metre corona rule, only 2 witnesses are allowed to come to the Town Hall. The persons who are permitted to attend are: 2 partners, 2 witnesses and the wedding registrar.

Budget

It is also possible to have a low-cost ceremony, known as a budget wedding. Just like the free ceremony, this ceremony will take place in a meeting room and there will not be a speech. Only the wedding couple and the witnesses may attend. You can choose various dates and times. You can get married on Monday between 11:00 AM and 5:00 PM, on Tuesday through Thursday between 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM, and on Friday between 9:00 AM and noon.

Due to the 1.5 metre corona rule, only 2 witnesses are allowed to come to the Town Hall. The persons who are permitted to attend are: 2 partners, 2 witnesses and the wedding registrar.

Getting married in the council Chamber

You can get married in the Town Hall (The Council Chamber, Laan 19 in Schagen), but your wedding can also take place in almost any location of your choice. The wedding location must be accessible to the public and it must meet a number of conditions.

You can book the Council Chamber directly when you declare your intention to marry. The date is definite if you have received a confirmation. The Council Chamber has space for 50 people.

Due to the 1.5 metre corona rule, it is not possible to use the Council Chamber at this time.

Wedding ceremony at a location of your choice

If you choose to get married at a location outside the Town Hall, this is subject to a number of conditions. These conditions are mainly related to the safety of the venue. You should first contact the venue where you wish to hold the wedding ceremony. 

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 location must be accessible to the general public;
• the wedding location must be accessible. The (special) registrar 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) registrar must be guaranteed;
• the wedding ceremony must be able to take place without hindrance;
• if you are getting married in an open-air location there must be provision for switching to an interior space or under a canopy.
• We will need consent from the venue’s owner or operator. This is also applies to your own home. The owner can give his consent with the form Consent by owner/occupier for wedding/registered partnership venue. 

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

If you are organising a private party and you intend to erect a temporary structure such as a stretch tent large enough for 150 people 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.

A private party such as a wedding held on private grounds does not need an events permit. You are required to fill in a notification form if more than 150 people will be present.

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

You must declare your intention to marry in the municipality where you wish to get married. There must be at least 2 weeks between the declaration and the wedding date. You can plan your wedding up to one year in advance. You may declare your intention to marry online. You will need your DigiD code. When you apply online you can see which wedding registrars 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 this, please call (0224) 210 400. 

Online notification

When you make an online application you can fill in your details immediately.

• The date and time of the registration ceremony.
• The witnesses and their identification document.
• The venue.
• The wedding registrar and the name you intend to use.

If your ceremony is not going to take place in the Town Hall you should first book the venue before making your declaration. Ask the owner of the venue to fill in the form Permission of owner or occupier for use of venue as wedding location. The Municipality of Schagen works exclusively with freelance wedding registrars. Are you getting married in a venue of your choice or in the Council Chamber in the Town Hall? You must contact the wedding registrar before filling in your application. If you have opted for a 'free’ or 'budget’ registration ceremony, it is not possible to choose your wedding registrar. The municipality will do this for you.

When you have filled in all your details and paid your fee you have officially notified us of your intention to marry. 

Free/ budget/ conversion

In the Town Hall

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

Venues other than the Town Hall

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

Your own wedding officiate

The amounts given below only apply if you choose to have a wedding officiate who is not yet certified by a court and who has never been appointed as a wedding registrar in our municipality. A wedding officiate may charge you extra fees, in addition to the charges given below.
 

Other information

There are several differences between marriage and registered partnership:

• When you get married, you say ‘I do.’ This is not mandatory during a registered partnership ceremony.
• It is possible to dissolve a registered partnership without going to court if you do not have any minor children. Married couples are required to go to court to dissolve a marriage.
• Legal separation is available to married couples but not to couples who are registered partners.
• Not every country in the world recognises a registered partnership. 

Getting married to a non-Dutch person

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 on (0224) 210 400.

If both of you live abroad

Do you both live abroad and does at least one of you have Dutch nationality? You must submit your notification to the Municipality of The Hague. The Municipality of The Hague will send this notification to the municipality where you wish to register your partnership. The municipality where the wedding will take place is responsible for checking that there is no impediment. It is possible that you will be asked to provide more documents after the notification has been made in The Hague. For example: your birth certificate, declaration that you are unmarried, excerpt from the civil register. Therefore, you need to be sure to notify The Hague in good time.

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

Marital Property Laws

Entering into a marriage has consequences for your property and debts. A limited community of property has been in force since 1 January 2018. You can find more information on the Dutch government’s website (Rijksoverheid).