Online questionnaire

To apply for a Certificate of Freedom to Marry, you must complete an online questionnaire about yourself and your upcoming marriage or civil partnership.

Statutory Declaration

Based on this questionnaire, you’ll be presented with one or more Statutory Declarations to complete and a checklist of supporting documentation you'll need to submit with your application.

You need to:

1. Print and sign your questionnaire
2. Print out a copy of each Statutory Declaration
3. Print out your checklist
4. Complete the Declarations and have them witnessed
5. Post them to us with your supporting documentation, signed questionnaire and fee

Remember...

Print off or save each form right after your online questionnaire, as you won't be able to retrieve them later.

When to apply

Submit your application a minimum of four months before the date of your marriage or civil partnership.

Your witnessed statutory declaration(s) cannot be dated more than six months before the date we receive your application.

Remember...

Your application is not complete until we get hard copies of your questionnaire, statutory declaration(s), and all supporting documentation. Please note Letter A and signature of applicant must be noted on all original birth certificates. Letter B and signature of applicant must be noted on the Final Order of the Court.

Please contact the Embassy after submitting your application for further instructions in relation to particular requirements of the local authorities.

Your checklist will tell you exactly what supporting documentation you'll need for your application, which may include:

• Your original long-form birth certificate
• A court order, if you are under 18 years
• Death certificate of your previous spouse, if widowed
• Petition and final decree of your divorce, if divorced
• A photocopy of your current Irish passport (passport card not accepted)
• Your original naturalisation certification, if naturalised

Translating your documents

You'll need to submit certified translations of any of these documents, if the originals are in a language other than English or Irish.

Getting replacement documents

We need original documents (except for the photocopy of your passport) to process your application.

If you don't have the original certificates, you must get replacements from the General Register Office which issued your certificate.

Ordering certificates - HSE.ie

Getting your documents back

We will return all your original documents to you after we inspect them.

Apostilles

If the country in which you are getting married requires a Certificate de Coutume with an Apostille attached, we will provide this service. This may take up to 3 weeks. You will be charged the standard consular fee (currently €40) for each document that needs to be Apostilled (including the Certificate de Coutume, birth certificate, etc.).

If you are an Irish citizen who was not born in Ireland, and you require an Apostille on your birth certificate, it must be Apostilled by the government which issued your birth certificate.

Remember...

If you haven't included all the necessary documents, your application will be returned to you.

Please note that the Embassy does not have a role in issuing copies of birth, marriage or death certificates. To obtain an Irish birth, marriage or death certificate, please visit the General Register Office.

Please note that French authorities will often ask for you to submit a certificate that was issued within the past six months so you may find need to request replacement certificates - check with the authority requesting the certificate in case of doubt. For all your dealings with the Embassy, for example for a birth certificate accompanying a passport application, we will accept the certificate regardless of the date of issue.

For births, marriages or deaths in France, the town hall "mairie" of the area where the event occurred will issue the appropriate certificate. In some cases, you may need to prove that you have the right to obtain the certificate, for example, for a death certificate, you may need to show that you are a relative of the deceased. The local town hall will advise you of its specific requirements.

If you wish to have your form witnessed at the Embassy, please contact us by email for an appointment. If you choose to have your statutory declaration witnessed at the Embassy, there is an additional €40 fee (payable by cash or French cheque) for this service. For your appointment at the Embassy, you should bring your passport and birth certificate with you at your appointment time (not a photocopy) and you may be asked for a second form of ID.

Who can be a witness?

• A notary public in France
• An Irish Honorary Consuls or a diplomat at the Embassy (by appointment)

Your witness must:

• Know you personally
• Know a third party personally who can identify you
• Be able to verify your identity through your official documents (e.g. a passport)
• Provide a business contact number, address, and stamp

Your witness needs to:

• Witness you completing and signing your Statutory Declaration(s)
• Complete and sign the relevant part of your Statutory Declaration(s)

Remember...

It's against the law to make a Statutory Declaration that you know is false or misleading in any way.

The Embassy can issue a "Certificat de Célibat" to Irish citizens who wish to enter into a Pacte Civil de Solidarité, commonly known as a PACS, in France.

Applications for PACS are not submitted online. For each Irish person entering into a PACS, please instead submit the following documents by post to the Embassy of Ireland, Paris (marked for attention of Marriages Section, Consular):

 - Questionnaire to be signed and completed‌

 - If you have never been married or in a civil union please fill in form MP2S 

 - If you were divorced in Ireland please fill in form MP2E

 - If you were divorced abroad or in a previous civil union please fill in form MP2B

- Original long form birth certificate

 - Copy of Irish passport (passport card not accepted)

 - Fee of €60 Euro (cheque made payable to 'Ambassade d'Irlande')

 - Please indicate your daytime phone number.

If you wish to have your Certificat and documents returned by registered post, please enclose a self-addressed envelope plus fee of €8.00.

The statutory declaration form must be completed in person either at the Embassy or before a French notary public "notaire".

If you wish to have your form witnessed at the Embassy, please contact us for an appointment. If you choose to have your statutory declaration witnessed at the Embassy, there is an additional €40 fee (payable by cash or French cheque) for this service. For your appointment at the Embassy, you should bring your passport and birth certificate with you at your appointment time (not a photocopy) ad you may be asked for a second form of ID.

If you choose to complete the statutory declaration with a notaire, you can complete the rest of the process by mail.

Certificate of Freedom to Marry (Certificat de Coutume/Nulla Osta)

Per Irish applicant: €60

Non- refundable postage and handling  fee: €6

Total per Irish applicant: €66

Late fee

If you submit your application 28 days or less before the date of your intended marriage you’ll have to pay an additional fee of €60 by French cheque payable to Ambassade d'Irlande per Irish applicant.

Payment methods

Payment is made online as part of the application process. For marriage only online payment accepted; for PACS only payment by cheque accepted.

Send your application to:

Embassy of Ireland/Ambassade d'Irlande
Consular Section
4 rue Rude
75116 Paris

Begin your online Certificate of Freedom to Marry application