Overview
All marriages that occur in Alberta must be registered with the Alberta government. A marriage can be registered for one year from the date of marriage at no cost. After one year, the delayed registration process including fees applies.
A marriage certificate cannot be issued until the marriage is registered.
Only Alberta marriages are registered in Alberta. Marriages that occur in another jurisdiction (province or country) cannot be registered and recorded by Alberta Vital Statistics. If you were married in another jurisdiction, connect with officials in that jurisdiction for assistance with registering your marriage.
Already Married
If you are currently married, you cannot apply for an Alberta marriage licence or get married as you are already married.
If you and your current spouse got married in another jurisdiction, you cannot get married again just to get your marriage registered in Alberta.
Register a marriage
A Registration of Marriage form is a permanent legal record. When you apply for and receive a marriage licence, you will also get a Registration of Marriage form to be used at the ceremony. It is a 2-part document. The top part is a Registration of Marriage and the bottom part is the marriage licence.
The following steps must take place for your marriage to be registered:
- Give the Registration of Marriage/Marriage Licence form to the person who will be performing the marriage ceremony.
- The final information is added to the Registration of Marriage and it is signed during the marriage ceremony.
- The person who performs the marriage will keep the marriage licence portion of the form and send the Registration of Marriage portion to Vital Statistics for registration.
For special arrangements or rush service options, contact Vital Statistics.
After a marriage is registered, you can order marriage documents from a registry agent.
All the information on a marriage certificate is taken from the Registration of Marriage form.
If there are any errors on your marriage document, you will need to get the marriage record corrected.
Delayed registration of marriage
If a marriage is not registered within one year from the date of the marriage, evidence and additional fees apply to register the marriage. For full details, contact Vital Statistics.
Contact
Connect with the Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction Contact Centre:
Hours: 8:15 am to 4:30 pm (open Monday to Friday, closed statutory holidays)
Phone: 780-427-7013 (Edmonton and area)
Toll free: 310-0000 before the phone number (in Alberta)
Fax: 780-422-4225
For the deaf or hard-of-hearing:
TTY: 780-427-9999 (Edmonton and area)
Toll free TTY: 1-800-232-7215 (in Alberta)
Email: [email protected]
Mail:
Vital Statistics
P.O. Box 2023
Edmonton, Alberta T5J 4W7
Courier:
Vital Statistics
Document Reception
John E. Brownlee Building
10365 97 Street
Edmonton, Alberta T5J 5C5