Court Marriage Registration Services in Delhi & Across India

Court marriage in India is a legal process where two adults can register their marriage directly with a government registrar, without any religious ceremony. The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 applies to same-religion couples, and the Special Marriage Act, 1954 applies to inter-religion or inter-caste couples. We handle both types.

Court marriage in India is the legal registration of a marriage before a government Marriage Officer. There are two routes. Under the Special Marriage Act, 1954 (SMA), the marriage is both solemnised and registered by the state without any religious ceremony — this is the route for inter-faith couples and anyone who wants a purely civil marriage. Under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (HMA), the couple first completes a Hindu, Arya Samaj, Sikh, Jain or Buddhist ceremony and then registers it with the SDM to obtain the government certificate.

The practical difference matters for your timeline. The SMA requires a mandatory 30-day public notice before the certificate is issued, so it takes roughly 45–50 days. The HMA route has no notice period, so once the ceremony is done the registration is usually completed within a couple of weeks. We assess your religion, documents and deadline and recommend the faster legal route for your specific case.

To marry legally in India both partners must meet a few conditions: the groom must be 21+ and the bride 18+, both must be of sound mind and capable of giving valid consent, neither should have a living spouse, and they must not fall within the degrees of prohibited relationship. NRIs and foreign nationals are also eligible with the correct passport, visa and single-status documents.

For an SMA court marriage the flow is: file the notice of intended marriage with the Marriage Officer of the district where either partner has resided for 30+ days; the notice is displayed publicly for 30 days for objections; if there is no valid objection, the marriage is solemnised before three witnesses; and the Marriage Officer issues the certificate. For the HMA route we register the completed ceremony directly and collect the certificate. We handle the paperwork, appointment booking and witness coordination end to end so nothing gets rejected.