Single Status Affidavit and Apostille for Marrying Abroad

You are getting married abroad and the country has asked for proof that you are free to marry. The United States does not issue such a document, which is the root of most of the confusion.

What you produce instead is a sworn statement, made by you, in front of a notary, and then apostilled. It goes by several names: single status affidavit, affidavit of eligibility to marry, certificate of no impediment, or affidavit of freedom to marry.

Need a document apostilled?
We handle the whole chain: notarization, county clerk certification where required, the state filing, and secure return shipping. You never visit a government office. See our apostille service →

Why there is no official American version

No federal or state authority in the United States maintains a national marital status registry, so no office can certify that you are unmarried.

What can be certified is that you swore to it. That is the whole mechanism: you make a sworn statement under oath, the notary verifies who you are and administers the oath, and the state authenticates the notary’s signature with an apostille so the foreign authority will accept the chain.

Understanding that explains why the document is worded as an affidavit rather than as a certificate, and why the receiving country cares about the apostille.

Ask the destination first, always

This is the one piece of advice that saves the most money here, because requirements vary enormously by country and sometimes by municipality within a country.

Ask, in writing where you can, for: the exact wording or form they require, whether they have their own template, whether a parent or witness must also sign, whether the affidavit must be apostilled, whether it must be translated and in what order, and how recent it must be when submitted.

That last one matters. Many countries will not accept an affidavit older than three or six months, so preparing it a year ahead means preparing it twice.

Some countries also expect the document to come from a consulate rather than from a notary, and some accept nothing but their own form. Guessing here is expensive.

What the affidavit usually contains

Your full legal name, date and place of birth, current address, citizenship, and current marital status.

A statement that you are legally free to marry and know of no impediment. The name of the person you intend to marry, and often their details. The country where the marriage will take place.

Where you were previously married, expect to state how it ended and to attach evidence: a certified divorce judgment or a death certificate. Those attachments frequently need their own apostilles, which is an easy thing to overlook until the file is refused.

The notarization and the chain

It is a sworn statement, so it takes a jurat: you sign in front of the notary, after being sworn, rather than signing in advance. See the difference.

Then, because it is a notarized document, the New York chain applies: county clerk certification in the county where the notary is qualified, then the state apostille. See the county clerk step.

Bring valid unexpired government issued photo identification, and do not sign before the appointment.

Both of you may need one

Where both parties are American, many countries want an affidavit from each. Where one partner is a national of the destination country, often only the American needs one.

If you are both in the United States but in different states, note that each affidavit follows the chain of the state where it was notarized. Two states, two chains, and they will not move at the same speed.

Do not forget the marriage afterward

A foreign marriage certificate is generally recognized in the United States, and you may want it translated and, depending on what you plan to use it for, apostilled or legalized by that country for use here.

You will also want several certified copies. Name changes, immigration filings, insurance and banking all consume them. See which records need what after a name change.

We notarize single status affidavits in person across the five boroughs and online, and we handle the county clerk and state apostille chain through our apostille service. What we cannot do is draft the affidavit or tell you what your destination country requires, so get their list first and bring it to us.

A realistic timeline

Work backward from the wedding date, and be honest about the steps.

Confirming the destination’s requirements can itself take a week or two, because consulates and municipal offices are not quick correspondents. The notarization takes minutes. The county clerk certification and the state apostille take as long as they take, and both move with demand. Translation adds time. International shipping adds more.

Then remember the recency rule works against you from the other end. If the country will not accept an affidavit older than three months, you have a window rather than a runway, and the window usually opens later than couples expect.

The practical answer for most couples marrying abroad is to start the enquiries early and the paperwork on schedule.

Where a rush is genuinely possible

Some of this chain can be expedited and some cannot.

Notarization is same day, and can be done online in minutes. Filing can be handled promptly. What you cannot compress is a consulate’s appointment calendar, an overseas municipality’s review, or international post.

So if you are short on time, the fastest gains come from removing your own delay: get the requirements in writing today, get the affidavit sworn this week, and let the filing start rather than waiting until everything else is decided.

Take copies with you

Carry the apostilled original in your hand luggage rather than a checked bag, and keep a photograph of every page on your phone.

Bring more supporting documents than you think you need: passports, birth certificates, divorce judgments or death certificates where a previous marriage ended, and any translations. Overseas offices ask for things that were not on the list, and a document sitting in a folder five thousand miles away is no help at all.

Marrying in New York instead

Worth mentioning, because a number of couples researching this decide the overseas paperwork is not worth it.

Some couples marry legally in New York first and hold the ceremony abroad as a celebration, which removes the affidavit, the apostille and the foreign municipality entirely. Others do the reverse and marry abroad for legal reasons of their own.

Neither is right or wrong, and it is worth pricing both before committing. A New York marriage requires the license, the mandatory twenty four hour waiting period, and an officiant. See how a City Hall marriage works and what an officiant costs.

If you go that route and still need the marriage recognized abroad afterward, your New York marriage certificate can itself be apostilled.

Marrying Abroad: Single Status Affidavit and Apostille