In order to perform the court marriage, some legal documents are very mandatory from both the bride and groom side to fulfill the legal requirement of marriage. These documents are applicable for proving the identity, age, residential status as well as marital status. Also, witnesses need to produce other supporting documents in order to vouch for the couple that is getting married and the marriage that took place.

Essential Marriage Document for the Bride and Groom

The formalities required for a court marriage in India are similar to that of other places, the first document required is the marriage application form which is duly filled by both the bride and groom and signed by them to start the process. Another form that is necessary is the fee receipt that shows that one has paid the court marriage fee and this usually differs from one state to another.

Proof of Age

The age proof is mandatory and documents which are acceptable are the SSLC (Secondary School Leaving Certificate) book, birth certificate, passport, PAN card, Voter ID card. In India, there has been amendments in the laws and the marital age of the bride has been set as 18 and for the groom 21.

Residential Address Proof

A residential address proof subsequently allows the verification of the current residential address of the parties. The acceptable identification for address documentation can be an Aadhar, voter, ration, Driving license or a passport. It is also minimally used to set the legal power of the Marriage Officer and to confirm the legal registration of the marriage.

Affidavit

The testimonials also fall under mandatory documents and the accused and the alleged have to write two affidavits each which are different. In the affidavit part it is necessary to provide your date of birth and marital status: unmarried, divorced or a widow. It should also bear the affix of declaration that the parties affiants have no blood relationship inter se as prohibited by the special marriage act.

Photographs

This is formally obtained by photographers or anyway needed for identification with picture and are attached on marriage certificate. Typically, two copies are required.

Additional Documents for Specific Situations

In certain cases, other documents are required. For those applicants who were in previous marriage and are now divorced, the copy of the divorce documents or divorce decree is required. A widower or widow should submit a death certificate of the previous spouses to the court hearing a matter.

Witness Requirements

Witnesses are required in court marriage, where there should be three witnesses who must write their names in the marriage register as they witnessed the marriage ceremony. Application by the witnesses also required passport-size photos, PAN cards and IDs. Whereas, for a marriage under the Special Marriage Act, the witnesses need three in number and for the marriage under the Muslim Marriage Act, only male witnesses are necessary.

Marriage Document for Foreign Nationals

If one of the parties is a foreign national, other documents which may be required include a copy of a passport with a valid visa. They should also be in a position to present visa documents concerning their stay in India with over a period of thirty days or NOC or marital status certificate from the embassy or consulate of any of the parties in India.