Marriage ceremony 

Marriage can be a church or a civil marriage. Legal marriages are made by the Evangelical Lutheran and Orthodox churches and registered religious communities entitled to do so. We and the District Court carry out civil ceremonies. 

The marriage ceremony can take place on the premises of the agency during office hours or at the venue of your choice outside office hours. 

We marry spouses of the same or different gender at our service location, i.e. the Local Register Office, in accordance with the marriage ceremony script of the Marriage Decree. The officiator is a district registrar or a notary public.  

Both spouses must be personally present in the marriage ceremony. 

In addition, at least two witnesses of 15 years of age or older must be present in the marriage ceremony. Witnesses can be close relatives. Read more about the marriage facilities.  

We can marry you at your preferred venue outside office hours. Such a wedding ceremony will cost 250 euros + the officiator's travel expenses. Please propose a suitable time and place for you by sending us a message to [email protected]

Registration of marriage and surname in the Population Information System 

We register marriages and surename changes made to the Population Information System in Finland, if the marriage ceremony has taken place at us, in a District Court or in a registered religious community on the basis of a notification made by the officiator. In contrast, the officiators of the Evangelical Lutheran and Orthodox Churches register the marriage and changes in the surname themselves in the Population Information System. So you can ask the parish directly about registrations if you are married in a church. 

Do the following

1. Ask for an examination of the impediments to marriage before the marriage ceremony.  The  certificate is valid for 4 months from the date of issue. 

Please check that the certificate is valid until the marriage ceremony and that your surnames after the marriage ceremony are correctly marked on the certificate. 
 

2. Book a appointment for the marriage ceremony.  

Online booking

You can book a marriage ceremony during office hours from an online appointment service to a maximum of six months before. You can also book an appointment by phone or e-mail .  

Celebrations of marriage are not a daily occurrence in our service locations. Instead, ceremonies take place on certain dates. For information on the service location's ceremony days and spaces, see our website.

If you would like a marriage ceremony outside office hours, please send us the form below or a free-form request by e-mail to [email protected].  

Enquiry about the date and time of marriage ceremony 

3. Arrive at the marriage ceremony in person. 

Remember to take with you  

  • your valid ID 

  • Certificate of the examination of impediments to marriage when the examination has been carried out by a parish 

  • two witnesses of at least 15 years old. 

Price 

A marriage ceremony that can be performed at our service location is free of charge during the office hours (weekdays at 9.00-16.15). 

A fee of 250 euros is charged for all wedding ceremonies officiated after office hours. In addition, the travel expenses of the officiator to your marriage venue will be added to the fee. 

During office hours, marriage ceremony outside our service location costs €150. In addition, the travel expenses of the officiator to your marriage venue will be added to the fee. Please note that it is not possible to arrange a marriage ceremony for most service places outside the office during office hours. 

Laws related to the matter

Marriage Act 

Marriage Decree (in Finnish)

Frequently asked questions

Contact us

Email

Please use secure email if your message contains personal or otherwise confidential information. Choose [email protected] as the recipient. ​​​​​

Send secure email

Telephone

Telephone service number is +358 295 536 244

Service hours: Mon–Fri 9–15

Postal address 

Digital and Population Data Services Agency, P.O. Box 1003, FI-00531 Helsinki

Service locations

Service locations