Registered partnership

You must make the notification in the municipality where you wish to register your partnership.

• You and your partner must both be 18 years or older.
• You and your partner must both understand the legal consequences of a registered partnership.
• Your registered partnership may never take place under duress.
• You and your partner may not be married or in a registered partnership with someone else. Double registered partnerships 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 enter into a registered partnership with 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 date when you make the notification and the date of the partnership registration ceremony. You can plan your partnership registration ceremony 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 registered partnership certificate and in the partnership 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 what 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.

In the municipality of Schagen, there are several options when registering a partnership:

• 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 enter into a registered partnership on Mondays at 9.00 a.m. and 10.00 a.m. free of charge. This is only possible if at least one of you resides here in the municipality. A free partnership registration ceremony only covers the essential formalities. There will not be a speech. The ceremony will take place in a meeting room. Only the couple and the witnesses may attend. Your officiant will be assigned by the municipality.

Budget

You can also have your partnership registered at a reduced cost. This is known as a budget registered partnership. Just like the free partnership registration ceremony, the ceremony will take place in a meeting room. There will not be a speech. Only the partners and the witnesses may attend. Your officiant will be assigned by the municipality. You can, however, choose between various dates and times. You may register your partnership 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.

Registered partnership in the Council Chamber

You may register your partnership in the Council Chamber of the Town Hall. You can directly reserve the Council Chamber when notifying your intended registered partnership. The date is not definite until you receive confirmation. The Council Chamber has space for 50 people. You must choose an officiant yourself.

Registered partnership in a location of your choice

You may register your partnership at a venue 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 the venue where you want to register your partnership first for availability and costs.

It is possible to hold your partnership registration ceremony almost anywhere within the municipality of Schagen. There are a number of important conditions:

• There must be public access to the venue. 
• The venue must be accessible. The (special) civil officiant must be able to park his or her car, if necessary.
• The venue needs to be safe and there should be no threat to public order. This means that there should be no disturbance to normal daily life.
• Various amenities must be present. For example: toilets, tables, chairs and a changing area.
• The venue must be safe for the (special) officiant.
• The ceremony must be able to proceed in a calm, orderly manner.
• Do you wish to hold your ceremony in the open air? If so, 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 Consent by owner/occupier for wedding/registered partnership venue to communicate his/her consent. You will need this consent when making the notification. You must choose an officiant yourself. 

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

Are you organising a private party in temporary accommodation such as a tent? And is this venue intended to be used by more than 150 people at the same time? If so, you must submit a notification of fire-safe occupancy (BGBOP). This department will inform you as soon as possible whether your notification of use satisfies the conditions. Not sure whether you are required to submit a notification of use? If so, you can also fill in the decision tree to see if that applies to you.

An events permit is not required when a private party such as a partnership registration ceremony is being held on private land. You must complete a notification form if more than 150 people will be present at the same time.

We work with freelance officiants. You can also choose to use an officiant of your own. More information about officiants can be found on the wedding officiants.

You must notify your intention to enter into a registered partnership (formerly known as ‘betrothal’) in the municipality where you are registering the partnership. There must be at least 14 days between the date when you make the notification and the date of the partnership registration ceremony. You can plan your ceremony up to 12 months in advance. You can make a notification of your intention to enter into a registered partnership. You will need your DigiD code. When applying online, you can check which 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 registration ceremony.
• The witnesses and a copy of their identity documents.
• The venue.
• The officiant (not in the case of a budget registered partnership or one that is free of charge)
• The surname you intend to use.

If you do not want your registration ceremony to be performed in the Town Hall, you should book the venue first before notifying us. Please ask the venue owner to complete the form Permission of owner or occupier for use of venue as wedding location. You will need this when making the notification. The municipality of Schagen works with "freelance" officiants. Would you like to hold the partnership registration ceremony at a location of your choice? Or would you prefer the Council Chamber in the Town Hall? If so, you must contact the officiant before making the notification. If you have opted for a ‘free’ or ‘budget’ partnership registration ceremony, it is not possible to choose an officiant. We will arrange this.
Have you filled in all your details and paid the fee? If so, you have officially made a notification of your intended registered partnership.

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

Registered partnership with a non-Dutch person

If 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 the partnership registration ceremony. You may also need to submit a declaration proving that you are not married. In that case, please contact us. Do this between 6 and 12 months before making the notification of intended marriage/registered partnership. If either partner is not a Dutch citizen and that person is not registered in the Key Register of Persons, you cannot declare your intention to register your partnership online. You will have to do so in writing or in person at the Town Hall. In all cases, we will need:

• A birth certificate.
• An extract from the population register of your place of residence that shows your address.
• A declaration proving that you are not married.
• A valid passport or identity card.

Are all of these documents in order? Then you can notify us of your intention to register your partnership. For more information, contact civic affairs by calling (0224) 210 400.

Both of you live abroad

If both of you live abroad and at least one of you is a Dutch citizen, then you can make the notification to the Municipality of The Hague. The Municipality of The Hague will send your notification to the municipality where you wish to register your partnership. The municipality where you wish to register the partnership will check that there are no impediments. This means that the municipality will check that you and your partner are free to enter into a registered partnership in accordance with Dutch law. It is possible that you will be asked to provide more documents after making the notification in The Hague. For example: a copy of a birth certificate, a declaration that you are not married or an extract from the population register. For that reason, make sure to notify the municipality of The Hague on time.

If both of you live abroad and if both partners are not Dutch citizens, you cannot establish a registered partnership in the Netherlands.

Marital Property Laws

Entering into a registered partnership has consequences for your property and your debts. This includes existing property and debts and those that arise in the future. A limited community of property has automatically been in force since 1 January 2018. You can read more about this on the Dutch government’s website (Rijksoverheid).

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.
• If you do not have minor children, it is possible to dissolve a registered partnership without going to court. Married couples must always apply to the court to dissolve a marriage.
• Legal separation is not available to couples who are registered partners. It is available to married couples. It is available to married couples, however.
• Not every country in the world recognises a registered partnership.