Marriage and civil partnership

Please submit your application four months before the date of your intended marriage or PACS ceremony.

Your witnessed statutory declaration(s) should be dated less than six months before the intended date of your ceremony.

Your application is not complete until we receive hard copies of your questionnaire, statutory declaration(s), and all supporting documentation.

For Irish citizens resident in France, who wish to marry in France, the Embassy may provide a Certificate of Freedom to Marry (Certificat de Coutume et de Celibat).

This is a multi-lingual document including French text, with a validity of 180 days.

There is a fee of €66 for this application. This payment must be made online at the time of your application.

How to apply (Marriage)

Online Questionnaire

To apply for a Certificate of Freedom to Marry (Certificat de Coutume et de Celibat), you must complete an online questionnaire about yourself and your upcoming marriage.

When filling out the questionnaire, please note:

• When asked for your ceremony date, if you are not sure of the date yet, please enter your intended date of ceremony.
• Wherever an address is to be filled in, the full postal address must be entered.

Once the questionnaire is filled out, the online system will generate an MP1 form with your application number. You must download, print and sign this document, then send it to the Embassy with supporting documents as outlined below.

The application fee is also paid in the online system. Please keep a copy of the receipt that is delivered by email.

Statutory Declaration

As part of the application, a statutory declaration is required, in which the applicant certifies their current marital status.

Based on your responses in the online questionnaire, you will be presented with one or more statutory declarations to complete and submit with your application.

• MP2A for applicants who are single.
• MP2B for applicants with a divorce or dissolution outside Ireland.
• MP2E for applicants with a divorce decree or dissolution issue Ireland.

Note when filling out an MP2B form:

• Cross out the options that do not apply to your situation on the form e.g. permanently/indefinitely, divorce/civil partnership.
• Provide full addresses for yourself and your previous partner. It is not sufficient, for example, to write just the name of a city. If you cannot recall an address due to the passage of time, please fill the address out to the best of your knowledge. Note that, as the document is a statutory declaration, the onus is on the applicant to provide correct information.

Note when filling out an MP2E form:

• Cross out the options that do not apply to your situation on the form.

Your statutory declaration must be witnessed in France by a notary public or solicitor, or by a diplomatic officer of Ireland.

If you wish to have your form witnessed at the Embassy in Paris or Consulate in Lyon, please contact us for an appointment.

If you choose to have your statutory declaration witnessed at the Embassy or Consulate, there is an additional €40 fee for this service (payable by cash or French cheque at the Consulate; payable by cash, bank card or French cheque at the Embassy).

Your witnessed statutory declaration(s) should not be dated more than 6 months before the intended date of your ceremony.

Supporting documents

A checklist will be made available to download during the online application process. This checklist will tell you exactly what supporting documentation you will need for your application. Required supporting documentation will include:

• Your original long-form birth certificate
  • While making your statutory declaration, this certificate should be signed on the reverse side with the letter ‘A’ and your signature.
• A photocopy of your current Irish passport.
  • Please ensure that you have filled in your signature on page 3 of your passport. A passport card is not accepted.
• Receipt of online payment.

Requested supporting documents may also include:

• The petition and final decree of your divorce, if applicable.
• A court order, if you are under 18 years.
• If you are widowed, the death certificate of your previous spouse.
• Your foreign birth certificate, if applicable.
• A deed poll, if applicable.

The Embassy will return your birth certificate, divorce papers and any other original documents by post.

Translating your documents

If your original supporting documents are not in English or Irish, you must submit certified translations of supporting documents.

Apply now

Start Your Online Application for a Certificate of Freedom to Marry

Advice for the online application process:

• The payment for your Certificate of Freedom to Marry is made online. Please have your debit/credit card details.
• Gather the required supporting documents ready before you begin your application.
• Print and sign the MP1 questionnaire that is generated as part of the online application.*
• Print the relevant statutory declaration(s).*
• Print the checklist that will be made available for download during the application process.*
• Complete the statutory declaration(s) in the presence of a witness. Eligible witness are noted on the declaration form.

* Important note: Print off or save each form as soon as you complete online questionnaire. It is not possible to retrieve them later.

Submitting your finalised application

For postal applications, send your completed application to:

Ambassade d’Irlande – Consular Section, 4 rue Rude, 75116 Paris.

or

Submit your documents in person at the Embassy during our public opening hours (Monday to Friday, 9.30am – 11.30am).

PACS applicants should not apply for a Freedom to Marry Certificate.

For Irish citizens resident in France who wish to enter into a Pacte Civil de Solidarité (PACS), the Embassy may provide a Certificat de Celibat.

This document is in French with a validity of 180 days (6 months).

A town hall may request both a Certificat de Celibat and a Certificat de Coutume for PACS applicants. However, the Embassy can only provide a Certificat de Celibat to those entering into a PACS. When issuing this certificate, the Embassy can also issue a letter (A Qui De Droit) to state Ireland’s policy in this regard.

There is a fee of €66 for this application. Payment for PACS-related applications are not made online. Payments methods are as follows:

• PACS applications submitted in-person at the Embassy: payments can be made by cheque, cash or bank card.
• PACS applications submitted by post: only payment by cheque is accepted.

How to Apply (Pacte Civil de Solidarité - PACS)

To begin your application, please download and complete the following form:

Application form/questionnaire (MP1) for PACS

When filling out the questionnaire, please note:

• When asked for your ceremony date, if you are not sure of the date yet, please enter your intended date of ceremony.
• Wherever an address is to be filled in, the full postal address must be entered.

Statutory declaration

As part of the application, a statutory declaration is required, in which the applicant certifies their current marital status.

• MP2S for applicants who are single.
• MP2B for applicants with a divorce or dissolution outside Ireland.
• MP2E for applicants with a divorce decree or dissolution issue Ireland.

Note when filling out an MP2B form:

• Cross out the options that do not apply to your situation on the form e.g. permanently/indefinitely, divorce/civil partnership.
• Provide full addresses for yourself and your previous partner. It is not sufficient, for example, to write just the name of a city. If you cannot recall an address due to the passage of time, please fill the address out to the best of your knowledge. Note that, as the document is a statutory declaration, the onus is on the applicant to provide correct information.

Note when filling out an MP2E form:

• Cross out the options that do not apply to your situation on the form.

Your statutory declaration must be witnessed in France by a notary public, solicitor, or diplomatic officer.

If you wish to have your form witnessed at the Embassy in Paris or Consulate in Lyon, please contact us for an appointment.

If you choose to have your statutory declaration witnessed at the Embassy or Consulate, there is an additional €40 fee (payable by cash or French cheque at the Consulate; payable by cash, bank card or French cheque at the Embassy) for this service.

Your witnessed statutory declaration(s) should not be dated more than 6 months before the intended date of your ceremony.

Supporting documents

Along with your completed MP1 form, and statutory declarations, please include the following with your application.

• A covering letter which includes:
  • A statement that you wish to apply for a “Certificat de Celibat in order to enter into a Pacte Civil de Solidarité (PACS)”.
  • Your daytime phone number.
• Your original long form birth certificate
• A photocopy of your current Irish passport (please ensure that you have filled in your signature on page 3 of your passport ; passport card not accepted)
• Fee of €60 (for applications sent by post, payment can be made by cheque to ‘Ambassade d’Irlande’)

If you wish to have your Certificat de Celibat and documents returned by registered post, please enclose a self-addressed envelope plus a fee of €6.00.

Further supporting documentation may also include:

• Petition and final decree of your divorce, if divorced
• Death certificate of your previous spouse, if widowed
• Your foreign birth certificate, if applicable
• A deed poll, if applicable

The Embassy will return your birth certificate, divorce papers and any other original documents by post.

Translating your documents

If your original supporting documents are not in English or Irish, you must submit certified translations of supporting documents.

Submitting your application

For postal applications, send your completed application to:

Ambassade d’Irlande – Consular Section, 4 rue Rude, 75116 Paris.

or

Submit your documents in person at the Embassy during our public opening hours (Monday to Friday, 9.30am – 11.30am).

My name on my birth certificate and passport are different. Is this an issue?

Your birth certificate name will appear on certificates issued by the Embassy.

If your name on your birth certificate and passport are different, the Embassy can provide you with a document (A Qui De Droit) that states that you are one and the same person.

Applicants may wish to check with their town hall if this document is required. There is a charge of €40 for an A Qui De Droit.

What documents do I need to provide as an applicant with a foreign divorce?

If you have had a divorce or dissolution before, you will need to provide us with the relevant petition(s) and final decree(s). These must be the original documents, accompanied by a translation if not in English or Irish.

Your solicitor or the court where the petition was lodged may be able to provide you with the above documents.

Amicable divorces or "divorce par consentement mutuel" will differ to the above.

I am a resident in Ireland. Do I send my application for a Certificat de Coutume et de Celibat to the Embassy in Paris?

Applications for a Certificate of Freedom to Marry (Certificat de Coutume et de Celibat) must be made in your country of residence. Please consult the top of your MP1 form for guidance.

How do I apply for replacement supporting documents?

The Embassy requires original documents (except for the photocopy of your passport) to process your application.

If you do not have the original Irish certificates, you can order a replacement via the following link: Order a Certificate - HSE.ie

French authorities will often ask you to submit certificate (for example, a birth certificate) that was issued within the past three to six months. In this case, you need to request replacement/re-issued certificates. Check with the relevant authorities regarding certificate validity periods.

For births, marriages or deaths in France, the relevant town hall will issue the appropriate certificate. In some cases, you may need to prove that you have the right to obtain the certificate. For example, for a death certificate, you may need to show that you are a relative of the deceased. The local town hall will advise you of its specific requirements.

I am in a PACS with the same partner that I intend to marry. Do I need to state this on the online questionnaire?

The following questions appear on the MP1 online questionnaire:

• Did you ever enter into a Marriage previously, and
• Did you ever enter into a Civil Partnership previously.

In France, the PACS is dissolved automatically when entering into a marriage with the same person. For this reason, if you are currently in a PACS, and intend to marry the same person, you should answer “No” to the civil partnership question above.

However, if you have been in a PACS, and you intend to enter into a new PACS or you intend to marry a different person, you should answer “Yes” to the civil partnership question above.