Getting married in Greece as a foreign national is legal and straightforward in principle: you assemble a set of personal documents, have them apostilled and translated into Greek, file them with the municipality where the ceremony will happen, publish a newspaper notice, hold the ceremony, and then register the marriage at the local Vital Statistics Office within 40 days. The paperwork is what takes time. Most couples need two to three months of lead time before the wedding date, because foreign documents have to travel through authentication and certified translation before any Greek office will look at them.
Who Can Marry and Which Ceremonies Count
Both parties must be at least 18 under Article 1350 of the Greek Civil Code. Greece recognizes two ceremony types, and either one produces a legally binding marriage on its own. A civil ceremony is performed by the Mayor or a designated Deputy Mayor at the local town hall and is the most straightforward option for foreign couples. A religious ceremony works too: Greek Orthodox is the most common, but Catholic, Protestant, and other recognized denominations can perform legally valid weddings. A Greek Orthodox ceremony typically requires baptism certificates from both parties, and at least one spouse usually must be Orthodox Christian.1U.S. Embassy & Consulate in Greece. Getting Married in Greece
You do not need both a civil and a religious ceremony. Whichever one you choose has to be registered afterward to be legally valid. Greece legalized same-sex civil marriage in February 2024, becoming the first majority Orthodox Christian country to do so. Two adult witnesses with valid identification must be present at any ceremony.
Documents Both Parties Need
Before anything gets authenticated or translated, gather the originals:
- A valid passport. EU citizens can use a national ID card instead.2Municipality of Mykonos. Requirements to Civil Weddings
- A certified copy of the long-form birth certificate showing your full name, date and place of birth, and both parents’ names.3National Registry of Administrative Public Services. Issue of a Marriage Licence for Foreign Residents in Greece
- A Certificate of No Impediment, meaning a sworn statement from a competent authority confirming you are free to marry. This document has a six-month validity window, so don’t obtain it too early.3National Registry of Administrative Public Services. Issue of a Marriage Licence for Foreign Residents in Greece
- Proof that any prior marriage has ended, such as a certified divorce decree or the former spouse’s death certificate.
Names must match exactly across every document. If your birth certificate shows a maiden name and your passport shows a married name from a previous marriage, you need documentation connecting the two. A small spelling discrepancy can stall the entire application.
Apostille and Certified Greek Translation
Greek authorities will not accept any foreign document until it has been authenticated and translated into Greek. This is where most of the preparation time goes.
Authentication
If your country is a party to the 1961 Hague Apostille Convention, every public document you submit needs an Apostille from the designated authority in the country that issued it.4Hague Conference on Private International Law. Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents For U.S. citizens, apostilles on state-issued documents like birth certificates come from the Secretary of State in the state that issued the document. Federal documents like FBI background checks are apostilled through the U.S. State Department’s Office of Authentications. Processing takes five or more weeks by mail, or two to three weeks if you drop the documents off in person.5U.S. Department of State. Office of Authentications
If your country has not signed the Hague Convention, documents must instead be legalized by the Greek Consulate in your country before translation.3National Registry of Administrative Public Services. Issue of a Marriage Licence for Foreign Residents in Greece Consular legalization can take longer than an apostille, so build in extra time.
Translation
Every non-Greek document has to be translated into Greek by one of three accepted sources:
- The Translation Department of the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Athens
- A Greek embassy or consulate in your home country, where a qualified translator is on staff
- A licensed Greek lawyer in Greece
Translations from private agencies are not accepted unless they run through one of these channels.2Municipality of Mykonos. Requirements to Civil Weddings Many couples arrive in Greece with apostilled documents and have a Greek lawyer handle the translations locally, which is often the fastest route.
The Extra Affidavit Step for U.S. Citizens
The United States does not issue a formal Certificate of No Impediment, so U.S. citizens sign a Single Status Affidavit (sometimes called an Affidavit of Marriage) before a consular officer at the U.S. Embassy in Athens. Most Greek municipalities require it.
The affidavit must be printed on a single double-sided page in both English and Greek and left unsigned until your appointment. You sign it in front of the consular officer. Notarization costs $50 per person, so a couple where both partners are American citizens pays $100 total. Book the appointment online well ahead of your travel; slots fill during peak wedding season. Bring your passport and apostilled birth certificate. After notarization, the affidavit must also be authenticated by the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs validation department, which requires a separate 30-euro public fee voucher (paravolo).1U.S. Embassy & Consulate in Greece. Getting Married in Greece Plan on being in Athens for at least two full days to complete both steps.
Filing with the Municipality and the Newspaper Notice
Once every document is apostilled, translated, and (for U.S. citizens) accompanied by the authenticated affidavit, you submit the complete package to the municipal authority (Dimarcheio) where the ceremony will take place.
A marriage announcement must also be published in a local daily newspaper in that municipality, and you submit the actual newspaper page showing the notice along with the application. After filing, the mayor must wait one week before issuing the license so that any third party can lodge an objection. Objections are extremely rare in practice, and the license is typically issued about eight days after your application goes in. The marriage license then remains valid for six months from the date of issue.3National Registry of Administrative Public Services. Issue of a Marriage Licence for Foreign Residents in Greece
Registering the Marriage After the Ceremony
Your marriage is not legally finalized until you register it at the local Vital Statistics Office (Lixiarcheio) in the city where the ceremony took place. This applies to civil and religious ceremonies alike.1U.S. Embassy & Consulate in Greece. Getting Married in Greece The deadline is 40 days from the wedding date.
Missing that window triggers a 30-euro fine. Waiting longer than 90 days doubles it to 60 euros.6Hellenic Republic – Greece in Sweden. Payment of a Special Fine for Late Registration of Birth, Marriage and Civil Status Change The fines are small, but an unregistered marriage is not legally valid in Greece regardless of whether you had a ceremony, so this step is not one to skip. Many wedding planners and local lawyers will handle registration on your behalf if you have already left the country.
Once registered, you receive an official Greek marriage certificate. If you need the certificate for use abroad, Greece now offers an electronic apostille (e-Apostille) through the gov.gr platform, generated in Greek, English, and French, that can be applied to certificates issued digitally through gov.gr.7gov.gr. Issue an e-Apostille
Getting the Marriage Recognized at Home
A marriage performed legally in Greece is generally recognized elsewhere, but you may need to take additional steps depending on where you live. The U.S. State Department advises American citizens to contact the Attorney General’s office in their state of residence to confirm what documentation is needed for domestic recognition.8U.S. Department of State. Marriage Abroad The U.S. Embassy in Athens does not register marriages of American citizens in Greece, so it is on you to bring the apostilled Greek marriage certificate home and file it with the appropriate local authority.
If you plan to change your name on a U.S. passport or Social Security card, you will need the original or a certified copy of your Greek marriage certificate along with an English translation. Getting the apostille before you leave Greece saves significant time later.
Timeline and Costs to Plan Around
Working backward from the wedding date, order certified copies of birth certificates, divorce decrees, or death certificates about three months out and start the apostille process in your home country, since U.S. apostilles by mail take five weeks or more. Arrange certified Greek translations six to eight weeks out, and if a Greek lawyer will handle them in-country, confirm their availability during your travel dates. Book any U.S. Embassy appointment two to four weeks out; summer slots go quickly. Submit the complete application and newspaper notice to the municipality at least eight days before the ceremony so the license can issue in time.
Administrative costs vary by municipality, citizenship, and how you handle translations. For U.S. citizens, notarization runs $50 per person, the Greek MFA paravolo is 30 euros, U.S. state-level apostilles typically run $10 to $20 per document, and certified translations, the municipal ceremony fee, and the newspaper notice all vary by provider. For a couple where both partners are American, administrative costs commonly run a few hundred euros before travel, venue, or planner fees. Couples from non-Hague countries should budget extra for consular legalization.
If you are marrying on an island like Santorini or Mykonos, keep in mind that municipal offices there keep limited hours and can have seasonal backlogs. Hiring a local wedding coordinator who handles the paperwork is common on the islands and can head off last-minute surprises at the town hall.