CIVIL CEREMONIES:
Civil ceremonies can only be held at the licensed Saint Martin Salle des Marriages (licensed wedding hall). Afterwards, a second ceremony can be held on the island i.e. a church or at a resort.

A letter will need to be sent to the President of the Collectivité
(six weeks prior) to the address below, detailing the desired wedding date and the name of the bride and groom.

Send mail and/or overnight correspondence to:
Collectivité de St. Martin, Bureau du President
BP 374 - 97054 Saint Martin, French West Indies
Tel.: 05 90 87 61 80
Fax: 05 90 29 63 09

Prior to the ceremony the following are required:

• Constitution of the wedding file* must be fully assembled
  (see list below of documents for details)
• Register the file with the "Service Etat Civil de la Collectivité"
• Publication of the wedding banns in the local island newspaper
  for a period of 10 days**
• A translator at an additional cost

**Please note that the ceremony cannot take place before the 10-day publication period.


REQUIREMENTS by NATIONALITY:

Bride and Groom are both French:

• At least one person must be a permanent (continuous) resident of Saint Martin for at least one month prior to the wedding ceremony.
  
  

Bride or Groom is French and marrying a foreigner:

• At least one person must be a permanent (continuous) resident of Saint Martin for at least one month prior to the wedding ceremony.

Bride and Groom are both foreigners:

• According to the May 27, 2009, amendment to Article 74 of the Civil Code, herein known as Article 58, two foreigners who are not residents of mainland France may marry without the requirement that one or the other of the couple-to-be is a resident on Saint Martin.
• A wedding ceremony may be held 10 days after the date of publication of the marriage banns.

*WEDDING FILE:

Please present (or send) the following:

1. Photocopies of photo IDs of the bride and groom.
2. Full birth certificate legalized in the last 3 months (for non-French nationals, this must be within the last 6 months and must be accompanied by a French translation). An apostille stamp is required.***
3. A copy showing proof of address (water, electricity or telephone bill).
4. Photocopies of photo IDs of 2 witnesses, plus their full address and their respective professions.
5. Marriage contract (Contrat de mariage), where applicable.
6. Certificate of Law (Certificat de coutume), required only of foreigners; stipulating the marriage laws of their country of nationality. In the U.S., brides and grooms should contact their local county courthouse, clerk of court or bureau of vital statistics/records.
7. Certificate of single standing (Certificat de célibat) issued within the last 3 months; required only of foreigners. In the U.S., brides and grooms should contact their local county courthouse, clerk of court or bureau of vital statistics/records.
8. Full death certificate of former spouse, widows/widower.
9. Full copy of previous marriage certificate(s) with proof of divorce or death, when applicable.
10. Authorization from the bride's or groom's superior, if serving in the military. This applies to anyone serving in any military.

Please check that all the above documents have been enclosed before sending the wedding file.

Documents should be sent to the President of the Collectivité's office 6 weeks prior to the date of wedding to allow time for processing.

**Apostille - this is a certified document provided through a state agency, typically the Secretary of State's office or the Department of Health's Bureau of Vital Statistics in the bride's and groom's home state. An apostille is used to document international transactions and signifies that the two countries participate in the code of the Treaty of Hague. The apostille seal verifies the signatures on the documents.

GETTING MARRIED IN DUTCH SINT MAARTEN

Couples planning on getting married on St. Maarten must be at least 18 years of age.

Requests must be submitted at the least 14 days prior to the scheduled ceremony to:
Chief Registrar
Census Office
Soualiga Road
Philipsburg, St. Maarten
Fax: + 599-542-4267

The following notarized original documents must be submitted to the Registrar with your request:

1. A full abridged birth certificate to prove the legality of the same. An apostille stamp is required.***
2. Unmarried persons must present a declaration of marital status not older than 3 months.
3. Persons must be 18 years of age.
4. Address of both parties.
5. Names of parents and maiden name of mother.
6. Date and place of birth of parents.
7. Professions of bride and groom and of their parents.
8. Six (6) witnesses, if the marriage is performed outside of the Marriage Hall. Non-Dutch witnesses must present a valid passport or a birth certificate with a picture I.D.
9. If a widow/widower, a death certificate.
10. If divorced, a divorce certificate or a final judgment decree.
11. For minors, permission of the parents is required.
12. In the event the bride and groom are not of Dutch nationality, a valid passport is required.
    

Original documents other than Dutch or English need to be translated into the Dutch language (i.e. a French or Spanish document must be translated into Dutch, not English).

The cost for contracting foreign marriages is US$285.90 (subject to change without notice) and includes civil ceremony, marriage book, stamps and certificate.

Marriage ceremonies will be performed after all documents are found correct by the Civil Registrar.

Questions can be directed to Chief Registrar's Census Office at the address above.

**Apostille - this is a certified document provided through a state agency, typically the Secretary of State's office or the Department of Health's Bureau of Vital Statistics in the bride's and groom's home state. In Canada, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Dutch Consulate have to legalize said documents. An apostille is used to document international transactions and signifies that the two countries participate in the code of the Treaty of Hague. The apostille seal verifies the signatures on the documents.