Examination of impediments to marriage 

Before the marriage ceremony, you must request an examination of impediments to marriage. The examination ensures that no impediments referred to in the Finnish Marriage Act exist for the marriage. Such impediments include minor age, a valid marriage or a registered partnership, and a family connection that is too close.  

In the application, you must declare that there is no impediment to marriage. At the same time, you must report the last name you have chosen.  

You cannot be married without an examination of the impediments to marriage.

Make a request for an examination well in advance of the planned date of marriage, as the examination is valid for four months. The examination of impediments to marriage takes at least seven days. If one of you is a foreigner, you should reserve several weeks for the processing the matter.  

The examination of the impediments to marriage that we have made is acceptable in other Nordic countries as such. So if you are going to marry in another Nordic country, you only have to ask for an examination once: either from us or from the authority of the wedding country. The examination carried out in another Nordic country is also acceptable as such in Finland. If the examination is carried out with us, ask for the examination using the form on this page. If the examination is carried out in a wedding state, please use this form. 

Are your data in the Population Information System? 

The information needed to examine impediments to marriage is checked in the Population Information System. The key information needed is the marital status of the couple, which ensures that the spouses do not have a valid marriage or a registered partnership.  

If you have doubts that your marital status has not been entered in the Population Register System or that it is entered incorrectly, check your marital status from the check your data service or contact us. 

If you or your spouse's marital status information does not exist in the Population Information System, you must prove your marital status with an appropriate certificate. You can request a certificate of your marital status from the embassy or consulate of your state of residence/citizenship. In such a case, the certificate does not have to be legalised. You can also request a certificate of marital status from the Population Register Authorities of your state of residence/citizenship. In most cases, the document must be translated and legalised. See our instructions for the legalisation of documents.  

If neither of you is a Finnish citizen and neither is resident in Finland, you must send us a certificate from the authorities of your state of residence/citizenship indicating that you are allowed to enter into the marriage in question in Finland.  

Surname 

You must indicate which last name you use after the marriage ceremony. You can read more about last name selection on our website. 

After examining the impediments to marriage 

Once the person examining the impediments to marriage has determined that there are no impediments to your marriage, a certificate of this examination will be sent to you either by e-mail or by post. The certificate is valid for 4 months from the date of issue and has been signed with a digital signature.  

If our officiator will marry you two, you don't need to bring a certificate to the marriage ceremony. If the marriage ceremony is carried out by another officiator, you must submit the certificate to them before the marriage ceremony, otherwise you cannot be married. 

Do the following

First check if your marital status information has been entered in the Population Information System Check your personal data or by contacting us. 

Our marital status information is contained in the Population Information System  

1. Fill in and submit the form below electronically in the lomake.fi service. Using the electronic form requires a Finnish ID and a strong identification from both spouses. You will not be notified of the sending of the form by e-mail, but it will appear on the lomake.fi service as sent in your own information. If the form is only displayed as saved, you will still need to send it to us.  

Fill out the form in the lomake.fi service 

You can also fill in the form below and send it to us by post at the Digital and Population Data Services Agency, P.O. Box 1003, 00531 Helsinki or by e-mail at marriage ceremony @ dvv.fi. 

 Form for a request for the examination of impediments to marriage 

2. Once you have received the certificate of examination, please check that the certificate is correctly marked with the surnames after the marriage ceremony and that the certificate is valid on the day of the marriage. 

There is no marital status information for one or both spouses in the Population Information System 

1. Obtain a certificate of your marital status from the authorities of your State of residence/citizenship.  

2. Find out whether the certificate must be legalised or translated.  

See separate instructions for legalisation 

3. Please complete and print the form below. 

Form for a request for the examination of impediments to marriage 

4. Send us a mail to the Digital and Population Data Services Agency, P.O. Box 1003, 00531 Helsinki 

• original certificate of your marital status 

• its translations and legalisations, if needed  

• the form above 

• a copy or photo of the passport of the spouse whose data is not available in the Population Information System. 

You can also visit any of our service locations. Make an appointment with our appointment service. You can also bring documents into a service location mailbox. In such a case, write your contact details in the envelope and that the documents are related to the examination of impediments to marriage. 

5. Once you have received the certificate of examination, please check that the certificate is correctly marked with the surnames after the marriage ceremony and that the certificate is valid on the day of the marriage. 

Frequently asked questions and answers