Choose the office before the documents
For the ordinary license route, begin with the local civil registrar where either partner habitually lives. A beach resort or reception venue may be in a different municipality. Tell the office that one applicant is a U.S. citizen, give your partner’s municipality and explain any prior marriage. Those details let the registrar answer a particular application question.
Separate identity, birth and civil status
Start your inventory with your passport, birth record and any record explaining a change of name or marital status. Your partner can ask which PSA records the office needs from her. Ask about originals and certified copies separately. A passport can identify a person without answering the office’s questions about marital history.
Resolve uncertainties before paying for replacements
Write the accepted issuing authority next to each record. For a U.S. record, identify the state, county or court that holds it before ordering. A scan may help you check spellings while a certified copy is in transit, but only the receiving office can tell you what is accepted for filing.
Before your next appointment
- Citizenship and habitual residence of each partner
- Accepted evidence of legal capacity
- Issuing office and required format for each record