How to Get a Portuguese Marriage Certificate
A Portuguese marriage certificate, or certidão de casamento, is the official proof of a marriage that is already registered in the Portuguese Civil Registry.
It can be requested online or on paper. If you are outside Portugal, you can use the official route yourself or ask Portugal Papers to obtain the certificate and prepare it for the authority that will receive it.
Quick facts
- Official online fee: €10
- Paper certificate for ordinary purposes: €20
- Online access code: valid for 6 months
- Portugal Papers service: from €99
Need the certificate handled for you?
Portugal Papers can obtain the Portuguese marriage certificate remotely and coordinate apostille, certified translation and delivery when required. Our certificate service starts from €99.
Get My Marriage CertificateWhat does a Portuguese marriage certificate prove?
The official Portuguese service describes the marriage certificate as proof of the registered marriage.
It includes information such as:
- Identification details of the spouses
- The marriage modality
- The property regime
- The place where the marriage was celebrated
The receiving authority determines whether it needs an online certificate, paper certificate, recently issued document or additional preparation for use abroad.
Who can request it?
Any person can request their own Portuguese marriage certificate or another person's marriage certificate.
Official online route
The certificate can be requested through the official Portuguese online civil-registry service.
The official online fee is €10.
When the certificate is available, the requester receives an access code valid for six months. Presenting the code has the same effect in Portugal as presenting the paper marriage certificate.
The six-month period is the access period for the online certificate. It is not a universal rule that every foreign authority accepts a marriage certificate for six months.
Paper certificate
A paper marriage certificate for ordinary purposes costs €20 under the official fee schedule.
Paper requests can be made through Portuguese civil-registry services. The official Justice guidance also lists Portuguese consulates abroad and postal requests to a civil-registry service as available routes.
Is this the right service for your situation?
A marriage certificate proves a marriage already recorded in Portugal. It does not register a foreign marriage and it does not start a new marriage process in Portugal.
Your marriage is already registered in Portugal
You need a Portuguese marriage certificate.
You married abroad and the marriage is not yet registered in Portugal
You need foreign marriage registration, also known as transcrição de casamento, rather than a certificate request.
You are planning to marry in Portugal
You need the civil marriage registration process, not a marriage certificate for an existing marriage.
This distinction prevents ordering the wrong service.
Using the marriage certificate outside Portugal
Apostille is not automatically required.
For marriage-related public documents covered by Regulation (EU) 2016/1191 and presented to an authority in another EU Member State, apostille is not required.
A multilingual standard form may be available in eligible EU cases as a translation aid attached to the public document. It does not replace the marriage certificate and has no autonomous legal value.
For other destinations, follow the receiving authority's instructions concerning:
- Paper or online format
- Recent issue date
- Apostille or legalization
- Certified translation
- Delivery of the physical original
Portugal Papers can obtain and prepare the certificate
The official self-service route remains available. Portugal Papers is for clients who prefer the request handled remotely or need the certificate prepared for another authority.
We can coordinate:
- Portuguese marriage certificate request
- Online access or paper certificate as appropriate
- Apostille when required
- Certified translation from €49 per document
- International delivery when a physical document is required
A private Portugal Papers service, handled by our document team in Lisbon.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. The official service states that any person may request their own certificate or another person's certificate.
The official online fee is €10. A paper marriage certificate for ordinary purposes is €20. Portugal Papers' private service fee is separate and starts from €99.
Six months.
Under the Portuguese official service, presenting the code has the same effect as presenting the paper marriage certificate. A foreign receiving authority can still require a specific format.
No. It depends on the destination and procedure. Covered marriage-related public documents presented between EU Member States under Regulation (EU) 2016/1191 do not require apostille.
Only if the marriage has already been registered in Portugal. If it has not, the relevant service is foreign marriage registration.
No. Use the civil marriage registration service for a new marriage process in Portugal.