Karnataka – Marriage Registration

It was on the 25th of June, we got our marriage registered and we sighed a breath of relief for getting over with this task. Me and my wife both belong to Maharashtra but I have been residing here in Bangalore for over 3 years now. Having accomplished this task I thought of sharing the experience for all those aspiring to procure their marriage registration certification. For those who are unaware “Marriage registration is made mandatory as per Law in India”
The first thing to note is that you have to find the registration office which maps to your locality. We stay in CV Raman Nagar and the registration office we visited was K R Puram office. So getting started with what all documents are required. Documents need to be photocopies which are submitted with the application.

1. First you need to fill up a form, which can be obtained at the registration office itself. It’s a simple form asking you to fill details like your fullname, fathers name, mothers name, your current residential address, name and details of you witnesses. There are 3 witnesses required.

2. Proof of address for both Bride and Bridegroom. This might be challenging for few people like us who don’t have a permanent residence in Bangalore. So here is the list of acceptable documents
a. Passport mentioning your current address.
b. Driving license
c. Electricity bill.
d. Telephone bill (Landline. We submitted Airtel bill so it is not mandatory that it has to be BSNL)
e. Gas connection proof.
f. Ration Card
g. Voters ID
h. A letter from your company HR.
i. Rent Agreement copy.
j. Bank statement showing your address.

Things to note:
Just the Rent agreement alone will not suffice and is not accepted. You will need to provide atleast 2 of the address proof documents in case you are submitting the Rent Agreement or Letter from your HR stating your current address. In our case we submitted a letter from HR along with Airtel Landline bill.

Another important point is that you would need address proof for both Bride and Bridegroom separately.

All the documents need to be in English, Hindi or Kannada.


3. Date of Birth proof for Bride and Bridegroom. The following documents will be acceptable.
a. Passport
b. Date of Birth Certificate
c. Driving license
d. School / College leaving certificate
e. Voters ID

4. Invitation card in original.
5. 5 Copies of 2B size photo. A 2B size photo means a joint photo of Bride and Bridegroom.

Procedure

Step 1:
Fill the form with details and get it verified with the clerk. There will be 2 copies of the form. Attach the photograph on both the forms and both of you should sign on the photographs. The clerk will cross check all the documents attached and then ask for signature of both Bride and Bridegroom on each and every document submitted. After the verification the clerk will stamp on the form.

Step 2:
Take the stamped form to the Marriage Registrar. He will again verify it and sign it.

Step 3:
Take the form to the operator who would enter the details in the registration database and give 3 copies of the certificate. Please ensure that all your spelling and details are correct and then sign a draft before printing the final certificate.

Step 4:
Take the printouts to the clerk. Paste the remaining 3 photos on the 3 certificates and submit it back to the clerk.

Step 5:
The clerk will acknowledge the receipt and you’ll have to sign in the register.

Step 6:
The clerk will then get the certificate stamped and signed from the Marriage Registrar.

Step 7:
Give a broad smile as the work is completed.

Additional details:
- First and foremost, both the Bride and Bridegroom must be present to complete the whole procedure.
- 3 witnesses signature is required. The witnesses need not be in blood relation (We requested a family who had come for their own work to sign for us). The witnesses just need to sign the form and no documents are required of the witnesses to be submitted.
- The whole procedure costed us 2 hrs of our time and 115 Rs. Official fees for registration.
- You need not hire an agent as it is fairly simple to get the work done. Agents typically approach you and may ask anywhere between 500 – 1500 Rs.
- You will receive 2 original copies of the marriage certificate.

I hope the above details help and in case you have doubts you can also mail me on krantiashish@gmail.com and I’ll be glad to help.