Registered partnership

How does it work?

Together with the municipality, you will discuss topics such as:

• the date
• the location
• which official you want
• who your witnesses will be during the ceremony
• what the costs are

It is important that:

• you and your partner are both eighteen years of age or older
• you are unmarried and do not have a registered partnership with anyone else

Difference between marriage and registered partnership

There are three differences between marriage and registered partnership:

• When you get married, you say "I do." This is not mandatory for a registered partnership.
• If you do not have minor children, a registered partnership can be terminated without going to court. In the case of a marriage, you must always go to court in order to get a divorce.
• Registered partnerships do not allow for legal separation, whereas marriages do.

What should I do?

• You must notify the municipality that you wish to enter into a registered partnership. Do this at least fourteen days in advance in the municipality where you want your partnership to be registered.
• Indicate who your witnesses will be during the ceremony. These individuals must be of legal age. You may have a minimum of two and a maximum of four witnesses.

Registered partnership with a non-Dutch citizen

If your partner does not have Dutch nationality, he or she must first submit a 'Declaration of no sham marriage'. With this declaration, your partner declares that he or she is not entering into the partnership with you for the purpose of obtaining a residence permit. The IND will check this declaration.

You do not need this statement if you:

• have the nationality of one of these countries
• both have a permanent residence permit
• both have an asylum permit for an indefinite period
• want to register a foreign registered partnership that is more than ten years old in the Netherlands
• want to register a terminated foreign partnership in the Netherlands

Make an appointment

To make an appointment, please call our Customer Contact Center. They are available during business hours.

What does it cost?

Costs of registering a partnership at the town hall or at a designated location

• Monday to Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.€422.00
• Free on Wednesdays between 9:00 and 10:00 a.m.
• Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.€617.00

Registering the costs of a partnership at your own location

• Monday to Friday between 9:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.€478.00
• Saturday between 9:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.€685.00
• For the costs of the location, please contact the manager or owner of the property.

Costs of own civil registrar

• For appointing a person of your choice as a civil registrar, €210.00 per day.
• For appointing a person of your choice as a civil registrar without swearing them in,€101.00 per day.

Cost of partnership booklet

• Partnership booklet, imitation leather, printed€33.45
• Leather partnership booklet, printed€43.50
• Partnership booklet, imitation leather, calligraphed€50.00
• Leather calligraphied partnership booklet€59.50
• Calligraphy
  • add child(ren)€11.25

Witness

• Witness from the municipality of West Maas en Waal€47.00per witness

What do I need?

• valid proof of identity for you and your partner
• copy of the valid identity documents of your witnesses 

Location

If you wish to register the partnership at your own location, you must have permission from the owner or manager. To obtain this permission, you will need a completed and signed agreement form.

Agreement for a free location for a wedding or registered partnership

Additional information

• If you want to convert your registered partnership into a marriage, ask the municipality for a 'certificate of conversion'.
• Do you both live outside the Netherlands and does at least one of you have Dutch nationality? Then you must report this to the municipality of The Hague.
• A foreign partnership will not be recognized if you or your partner is under the age of eighteen.

Other terms and conditions

• You may not enter into a partnership with your own child, brother, sister, parent, grandparent, grandchild, half-brother, or half-sister.
• You cannot be forced into a registered partnership.
• Are you under guardianship? Then you need permission from the guardian or district court judge.

If you do not meet the conditions, the Minister of Justice and Security may still grant permission. For example, if you are brother and sister by adoption. This is called a marriage dispensation.

Consequences of registered partnerships abroad

There are countries that do not recognize registered partnerships. This may have consequences if, for example, you want to live in another country. Check with the embassy to see if this applies to you.

Agreements with the municipality

If you enter into a registered partnership, you can make arrangements with the municipality regarding the registration of your partnership. For example, you can decide where you want to register, as well as the date and time. You can also make arrangements regarding the ceremony itself.

Saying "I do" is not mandatory, but you can if you want to.

Would you like to register your partnership free of charge? You can do so on Wednesdays from 9:00 to 9:30 a.m. You must always make an appointment for this.