Marrying before a notary: a real guide to get married without getting stuck

What you need

1. Capacity to marry: over 16 with dispensa (18 without dispensa), not already married and no prohibited kinship. If divorced or widowed, carry the papers that prove it.
2. Decide where to process the expediente: you can do it at the Registro Civil (free) or before a notario (they charge an arancel). If you go via a notario, ask if they take on expedientes involving foreigners.
3. Deadlines: don’t sleep on it. Certificates usually last 3–6 months and the authorisation of the expediente has an expiry.
4. Witnesses: two adults with DNI/NIE for the audiencia and ceremony.

Documentation

1. DNI/NIE/pasaporte of both.
2. Certificación literal de nacimiento (less than 6 months). Request online: https://sede.mjusticia.gob.es/es/tramites/certificado-nacimiento.
3. Certificado de empadronamiento or proof of residence for the last 2 years.
4. Declaración jurada of marital status and lack of kinship (given at the notaría/Registro Civil).
5. If divorced: certificación literal de matrimonio with anotación de divorcio.
6. If widowed: certificación literal de matrimonio and certificado de defunción.
7. If foreign: certificado de capacidad matrimonial or certificado de soltería from their country, with apostilla or legalisation and traducción jurada (check the MAEC list of sworn translators).

Step by step

1. Get your certificates: nacimiento at the Ministerio de Justicia site (choose literal), empadronamiento at your ayuntamiento’s sede (eg. Madrid: https://sede.madrid.es).
2. Choose a notaría: search and contact at https://www.notariado.org/portal to book the cita for the expediente/acta previa matrimonial. Ask for the full document list and a presupuesto.
3. Expediente with the notario: you take the documents, they hold the audiencia reservada separately and two testigos must appear. The notario will authorise the expediente if everything fits.
4. Set the date: agree the day and place for the ceremony (in the notaría or within their district). On the wedding day bring the two testigos and sign the escritura pública de matrimonio.
5. Registration: the notario sends the testimonio to the Registro Civil. Once registered, request your certificación de matrimonio online: https://sede.mjusticia.gob.es/es/tramites/certificado-matrimonio.

Tips from an expert

1. Order everything at once so nothing expires: nacimiento and empadronamiento on the same day.
2. Foreign paperwork: don’t improvise. Ask the notario exactly what they will require (apostilla, translation, capacity). Many refusals come from missing this.
3. Get a closed quote from the notaría (expediente + ceremony + travel if applicable). Avoid surprises.
4. Certificaciones literales, not extracts. If you order the wrong one you’ll repeat steps and lose weeks.
5. Plan B: if the notaría won’t handle complex expedientes, process the expediente at the Registro Civil and celebrate with the notario later.

Common mistakes

1. Expired certificates: bringing papers older than 6 months and having them rejected. Check dates.
2. Forgetting witnesses or their DNIs: without testigos there’s no signature. Confirm with them the day before.
3. Not apostilling/translating foreign docs: the classic cause of multi-week delays.
4. Mixing up “literal” with “extracto” of birth: the expediente asks for literal.
5. Not asking about registration times: the wedding is valid from the signature, but without inscription you’ll hit roadblocks for other procedures. Make sure you know when they send to the Registro Civil and when you can request the certificación.