Civil Status
This branch deals with the registration and issue of copies of Acts of Birth, Marriage and Death. The Section deals with all annotations to these Acts. Statistical data is also regularly supplied to Government departments.
Services
Public Registry
Registry issues birth/death/marriage certificates according to personal information supplied by clients. These certificates can either be formal or informal.
Who is elegible?
The general public.
What is the procedure?
The clients supply the office with personal details and the certificate is issued accordingly.
What documents are required?
1. Name
2. Surname
3. Date of birth, marriage or death.
What are the fees/charges?
€ 2.60 - Informal certificate
€ 10.25 - Full certificate
Marriage Registry
The Marriage Registry was established on the 12th August 1975, the year in which the Marriage Act was enacted. The Act regulates all marriages in the Maltese Islands and also introduced civil marriages.
The process as regards formalities in preparation for marriage is as follows:
Religious Marriages
Between three (3) months and six (6) weeks before marriage date, the couple should make a request for the publication of marriage banns at the Public Registry. Couples are requested to call for an appointment on telephone number 22156381.
The couple should provide:
1. Birth certificates (In case of applicants whose birth is not registered at the Malta Public Registry);
2. Identity cards and copies thereof; and
3. A photocopy of the identity cards of the witnesses.
The Marriage Registrar should be given the following information:
1. The church or place where the marriage will be held;
2. The date of marriage;
3. The name and surname of the priest who will celebrate the marriage ceremony; and
4. The surname which the bride will be using after marriage (her maiden surname, her husband's or, in the case of widows, possibly that of her predeceased spouse).
Ten days prior to the marriage date the couple are to collect three documents prepared by the Marriage Registry and submit them to the Parish Priest of the place where the wedding ceremony will be held.
After the Nuptial Mass, together with the witnesses and the priest who administered the Marriage Sacrament, the couple should sign their Marriage Certificate; the bride should sign using her maiden surname, or if she is widowed, her late husband’s surname.
Maltese nationals who plan to marry foreigners or persons who have lived abroad for a period of time, should request more information from the Marriage Registrar.
One has to apply at the Marriage Registry for these types of marriages.
Civil Marriages
The Marriage Registry provides also services for Civil Marriages. Those couples who opt for a Civil Marriage have to satisfy the same obligations and formalities requested for a religious marriage.
A Civil Marriage may take place at the Marriage Registry Office, or at any other public place that is accepted by the Marriage Registrar.
Other Services offered by the Marriage Registry:
• As regards women who have completed procedures for Legal Separation, the Marriage Registry annotates the change to their maiden surname;
• Legitimation of children born out of wedlock, when the parents marry each other.
Contact Information
Contact: Dr. Joseph Attard
Telephone: 22156383
Opening Hours
Monday to Friday from 8.00am to 2.00pm
N:B Any full certificate (i.e. Births, Deaths or Marriages) registered at the Public Registry of Malta prior to 1st January 1995 cannot be obtained from the Public Registry of Gozo. Such copy of a full act certificate can be ordered either online from certifikati.gov.mt or by visiting the Public Registry of Malta during opening hours.