Marriage registration

1. The Registration Department with its eleven offices of Civil Registrars-Cum-Sub-Registrars one each in each Taluka and Office of the State Registrar, -cum-Head of Notary Services at Panaji, and two offices of the District Registrars of North Goa and South Goa ,basically deal with recording and preserving evidentiary matters relating to contracts, status, testamentary dispositions, etc., of individual citizens, like marriages, legitimations, adoptions, documents relating to contractual obligations, property transactions, Firms, Wills, Succession deeds, Societies, appointment of Notaries and similar.

The Departmental work deals principally with the formal aspects of the transactions and creates or registers records with the special duty to permanently preserve the same for making authentic certified copies there from in future.

Part of the work connected with the Personal law of the Goans, is peculiar to Goa, the registers in several cases requiring authentication by judicial Authorities and some work like Succession Deeds, Wills, etc., which is the exclusive domain of Courts and High Courts outside Goa, being also dealt with by these officers.

2. Here bride is British national and groom is Goanese since without registration a marriage is not legally recognised in Goa. Exception: a Roman Catholic marriage with prior clearance by the Civil Registrar. Let us know bride's religious inclination. Goa Civil Law enjoys special Status.

3. Unfortunately, the legal process for foreigners getting married in Goa, which has its own Civil Code, is even longer and more onerous. There’s a 30 day residency requirement for both the bride and groom, who will need to obtain a residence certificate from the local municipality. In order to get married, the couple (along with four witnesses) must apply before a Goan court, which will grant a provisional wedding certificate allowing the marriage to go ahead.

This certificate is taken to the Civil Registrar, who’ll affix a Public Notice inviting objections within 10 days. If none are received, you can then get married. If you’re leaving Goa before the 10 days expire, it’s possible to get the period waived by applying to the Assistant Public Prosecutor. This will enable you to get married right away.

4. The procedure to register Marriage is explained in annexed PDF file Annexure 1.

Sorry slipped annexing Annexure 1