Getting married in Brazil as a foreigner: the civil process, step by step
A legal wedding in Brazil runs through a registry office: a habilitação file, apostilled and sworn-translated documents, two witnesses and a certificate that lasts 90 days.
A civil marriage in Brazil is a legal act performed by a civil registry office (*cartório de registro civil*) after a preliminary file called the *habilitação*, and a foreign couple can marry under the same rules as Brazilians once their foreign documents are apostilled and translated by a Brazilian sworn translator. Everything in this guide comes from the statute or from the Conselho Nacional de Justiça (CNJ), linked where it is stated. Registry fees are set state by state and are not quoted here; ask the registry office you choose for its current table.
Two ways to have a Brazilian wedding
Most foreign couples choose between two routes, and the photographs look different for each:
| Route | Legal effect | Where it happens | What it suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Civil marriage at a Brazilian registry office | A marriage under Brazilian law, recorded in Brazil | At the registry office, or at another building the officiant agrees to | Couples who want the legal act in Brazil |
| Legal marriage at home, symbolic ceremony in Brazil | None in Brazil; the legal act happened at home | Anywhere the venue allows: beach, pousada, garden | Couples who want freedom of place and time |
A symbolic ceremony is the more common choice for destination weddings, because it has no paperwork in Brazil at all. The rest of this guide is about the first route, for couples who want the legal act itself to happen in Brazil.
The habilitação: what the registry office checks first
The Código Civil, article 1.525, lists the documents that go with the request, which both partners sign:
| Document | What it proves |
|---|---|
| Birth certificate or an equivalent document | Identity and parentage |
| Declaration by two adult witnesses, relatives or not | That they know the couple and know of no impediment |
| Declaration of marital status, domicile and residence | Of both partners and, where known, of their parents |
| Death certificate of a former spouse, or the annulment or divorce decision | That an earlier marriage has ended |
| Written consent of parents or guardians | Only for partners who are still minors |
The registry office will also ask for each partner's passport. Many offices ask foreign partners for an official document from their own country confirming they are free to marry; what that document is called, and who issues it, differs by country, so ask your own civil registry or consulate what it can produce.
Where to file
The Lei de Registros Públicos, article 67, says the request goes to the registry office of the district where one of the partners lives. A couple who lives abroad should therefore ask the registry office they have in mind, in writing, whether and how it will accept their file before booking flights. Since a 2022 amendment the same article lets the documents be presented electronically, publishes the notice of the marriage electronically, and has the officer issue the certificate within up to 5 days once the documents are in order.
How long the certificate lasts
The certificate of habilitação is valid for 90 days from the day it is issued, under article 1.532 of the Código Civil. The ceremony has to happen inside that window, and article 67 allows it to take place before any civil registry office the couple chooses, not only the one that issued the certificate.
Foreign documents: apostille first, translation in Brazil
Brazil joined the Hague Apostille Convention through Decreto nº 8.660/2016, so a birth certificate or divorce decree from another member country needs an apostille instead of consular legalisation. Two details from the CNJ's apostille FAQ decide the order of work:
- The apostille is issued in the country that issued the document. Brazilian authorities apostille only Brazilian documents.
- The sworn translation is done in Brazil. A foreign document, even apostilled, only produces effects in Brazil with a sworn translation, and the CNJ states that this translation can only be made in Brazil.
Translating documents for a registry office is one of the tasks reserved to the sworn public translator (*tradutor e intérprete público*) by article 26 of Lei 14.195/2021. The same article covers interpreting before a public body for a person who does not speak Portuguese, which is why a registry office will usually require an interpreter at the ceremony when one partner does not speak it.
A country that is not a party to the convention still goes through consular legalisation, as before 2016.
The ceremony itself
The Código Civil, article 1.534, sets the frame. The ceremony happens at the registry office with the doors open and at least two witnesses present. With the officiant's agreement it can be held in another public or private building, and then the doors stay open during the act and the code calls for four witnesses. The witnesses can be relatives or not.
The officiant asks both partners whether they marry of their own free will, declares them married in the words of article 1.535, and the record is signed by the officiant, the couple, the witnesses and the registrar. Since 2022, article 67 also lets the couple ask for the ceremony to be held by videoconference, as long as the free consent of both can be verified.
Same-sex couples
CNJ Resolução nº 175/2013 forbids the competent authorities from refusing the habilitação, the celebration of a civil marriage, or the conversion of a stable union into marriage between people of the same sex. A refusal has to be reported to the supervising judge. A same-sex foreign couple follows exactly the same file as everyone else.
Having the marriage recognised at home
A Brazilian marriage certificate is a Brazilian public document. To use it abroad, the couple usually needs it apostilled in Brazil by a registry office authorised by the CNJ, and translated in the destination country if that country requires it. Ask your own civil registry what it needs before you leave Brazil, because getting a second copy from abroad takes longer.
What this means for the photographs
A registry office ceremony is short and the room is small, so an elopement usually covers it, with portraits afterwards somewhere with more light. Couples who marry at the registry office on a weekday and hold a larger celebration later often book the full wedding day for the celebration only. Couples already married at home who want a ceremony in Brazil are, in practice, booking a vow renewal.
For the cost side of each option, read what a wedding photographer costs in Brazil. If the celebration will be in Bahia, the Trancoso wedding guide covers access, venues and timing.
Frequently asked questions
- Can foreigners legally get married in Brazil?
- Foreigners can legally marry in Brazil at a civil registry office after the habilitação process, presenting a birth certificate, proof of marital status, two witnesses and passports. Foreign documents need an apostille from the issuing country and a sworn translation made in Brazil.
- How long is a Brazilian marriage habilitação valid?
- The certificate of habilitação for a civil marriage in Brazil is valid for 90 days from the day it is issued, under article 1.532 of the Código Civil. The ceremony can take place before any civil registry office the couple chooses within those 90 days.
- How many witnesses does a civil wedding in Brazil need?
- A civil wedding in Brazil held at the registry office needs at least two witnesses, relatives or not, under article 1.534 of the Código Civil. When the ceremony is moved to a private building with the officiant’s agreement, the code calls for four witnesses and the doors stay open.
- Can same-sex foreign couples marry in Brazil?
- Same-sex couples, foreign or Brazilian, can marry in Brazil: CNJ Resolução 175/2013 forbids registry offices from refusing the habilitação or the civil marriage of two people of the same sex. The documents, witnesses and 90-day validity are the same as for any other couple.