Transcription (registration) of a foreign marriage certificate in the Polish registry of civil status

No, the documents can be submitted in person or by mail.

Make an appointment using the e-konsulat system .

1. transcription application (available at a consular office or download),
2. original of the foreign marriage certificate,
3. translation of the foreign marriage certificate by a sworn translator or consul.

Remember! Documents drawn up in a foreign language must be submitted together with an official translation into Polish made by:

• sworn translator entered on the list kept by the Minister of Justice,
• A sworn translator authorized to make such translations in the Member States of the European Union or the European Economic Area (EEA),
• consul.

Remember! If the foreign marriage certificate does not contain information on the surnames carried by the spouses after marriage and on the surnames of children born of this marriage, you can also include statements in this matter when submitting the transcription application or submit a statement to the consul for the record.

The fee is 50 EUR.

The consul will immediately forward your application to the head of the registry office indicated by you.

You can collect the Polish copy of the certificate in person at the consulate or it can be sent by post.

The head of the registry office refuses to transfer a foreign marital status certificate (transcription) if:

• the document in the issuing country is not recognized as a marital status document or is not valid or has not been issued by the competent authority, or raises doubts as to its authenticity, or confirms an event other than birth, marriage or death
• the foreign document was transcribed in a country other than the country of the event
• it would be contrary to the fundamental principles of the legal order of the Republic of Poland

The refusal to transfer a foreign marital status certificate will take the form of an administrative decision, which may be appealed against to the locally competent voivode. 

Do both spouses need to be present to submit a transcription request?

An application for the transcription of a marriage certificate may be submitted by one of the spouses, but in such a case, they will be able to submit a declaration on the choice of their surname only for themselves – stay with their current surname, create a two-part surname or adopt the surname of the other spouse. A spouse who does not apply for a transcription will remain with the current surname, and children born of such a union will have a two-part surname consisting of the mother’s surname and the husband’s surname added to it. Of course, this limitation will not apply if the information about the choice of surname was included in the text of the foreign marriage certificate.

Our data in the foreign marriage certificate was entered without Polish diacritics. How does this relate to a transcription request?

In this case, you can (together with the application for transcription) submit a request for the spelling in the Polish marriage certificate to be adjusted to the rules of Polish spelling or for data correction based on your birth certificates.

How long after drawing up a Polish marriage certificate and adopting a new surname, can I use the documents issued for my current data (passport and ID card)?

You should immediately apply for the replacement of your existing identity documents. In the case of Polish citizens staying abroad, the documents remain valid for four months from the date of the marriage certificate confirming the change of name, and in the case of a marriage concluded before a consul or abroad – from the date of delivery of a copy of the Polish marriage certificate.