How to Register a Marriage and Get a Marriage Certificate in Malawi

To register a marriage in Malawi, you and your spouse must report the marriage to the district registrar within three months of when it was officiated.¹ Registration is handled by the National Registration Bureau, which now oversees all marriage-related matters including civil, religious and customary marriages.⁷

Before your marriage

Both parties intending to marry must appear in person before your chosen registrar (the person who will officiate) and complete a prescribed Notice of Marriage.⁵ Upon receipt of the notice, the registrar will enter it in the Marriage Notice Book and publicly display it.⁵

Marriage can be celebrated by District Commissioners for civil marriages, Religious Clerks for religious marriages at licensed places of worship, or gazetted Traditional Authorities for customary marriages.⁵ Civil marriages continue to be celebrated at District Council offices.⁷

Registering your marriage

Within three months after the officiation of your marriage, complete a prescribed form or deliver a copy of your marriage certificate to the district registrar.¹ If you register after three months have passed, you must pay a prescribed fee.¹

The registrar will issue you a marriage certificate in duplicate immediately after the marriage is celebrated.³

Documents for marriage registration

For marriages registered outside Malawi, you must provide a certified copy of the marriage certificate confirming the celebration of marriage and certified copies of both spouses’ passports certified by a Notary Public or District Registrar of the country where you reside.²

After registration

The district registrar will send a certified copy of your marriage registration to the Registrar of Marriages within ten days after the end of each month.³

If you later divorce or your spouse dies, the marriage registration can be cancelled by presenting a certified copy of a Court Judgment of Divorce or a death certificate and surrendering the certificate of registration of marriage to the Director through the District Registrar.²