Step 2 - Apply for notice of your marriage or a 'special marriage license'
You must first contact the Office of the District Commissioner nearest to your wedding location to notify the government of your intention to get married. We will provide this information when you book your wedding through Africa A-Z.

At the Registrar of Marriages you must complete the necessary forms, pay the fee and submit the following documents:
• notarized copy of passports,
• the Certificate of No Impediment, and
• two passport photos each.

Once your have notified the Registrar you must wait twenty-one days so that persons with adverse information may register their complaints. While this old tradition that has pretty much died out in Western countries, it is part of Tanzanian law.

To avoid the twenty-one day waiting period, you may get a waiver by applying for a “Special Marriage License” from the local Registrar of Marriages. After completing the application form for “Special Marriage License” and paying the fee, the Registrar can issue the license and you can be married at any point.

Step 3 - The Wedding
After twenty-one days or the granting of the “Special Marriage License,” you need to schedule a time for your wedding with the Registrar of Marriages. The civil ceremony can be done at the Registrar’s office during working hours or you can arrange a time for the Registrar to come to your location (this will require an extra fee and transportation costs for the government officials). At the actual ceremony, the couple must have two witnesses of their choosing (resident or non-resident). A Tanzanian Marriage Certificate (in duplicate) will be issued upon completion of the ceremony.

Religious services must be arranged with the religious organization of your choice. The requirements for religious weddings vary from one organization to the next, so you must contact the selected faith to discuss the process prior to the wedding.

Step 4 - Apply for an international certificate of Marriage
This legal document is more readily accepted outside of Tanzania as proof of your marriage. This certificate can be obtained from the Registrar of Marriages. There is a fee of approximately 22,000 Tanzania Shillings for entry into the Register of Foreign Marriages and an additional 7,000 Tanzania Shillings 7,000 for the International Marriage Certificate. The Tanzanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs can endorse the International Marriage Certificate. While both the certificate and the endorsement are optional for US citizens & UK citizens, you should clarify with your spouse’s home country to verify if it needed in that country or for immigration purposes.

The above is just a guideline and as laws/proceedures may change at any time, it is best to check this with your consultant at the time of booking your wedding. We get lots of people enquiring about these issues when they have already booked their wedding but please understand that we are not a free information outlet but provide this assistance to our clients (for free) who choose to book their special day with us.

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Some Tanzania Wedding Packages: