How to Get Married in Prague

Maybe you fell in love with Prague during the opening scene of "Amadeus," or maybe you lost your heart to the beautiful city during a visit. In any case, you want to get married in the lovely capital of the Czech Republic, and you don't want to hire a wedding consultant to take care of all the paperwork. Here is how to make this romantic destination wedding possible.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• American Embassy
• Certificate of Marriageability
• Original copy of your birth certificate
• Certified translator
• Zlaté stránky or Czech Yellow Pages
• Notary
• Czech Foreign Ministry
• Žádost o výpis z Rejstříku trestů or Czech criminal record
• Rejstřík trestů or Criminal Records Office
• Paper number from the Criminal Records Office
• Kolky, government services stamps available at any post office or newsagent stand
• The Foreigners' Police office
• Matrika (registry) or svadba (wedding) ticket from the Foreigners' Police office
• Odbor matrik at the Prague Municipal Office
• Wedding officiant
• Translator to accompany you if you don't speak or write Czech

1. Go to the American Embassy at Tržiště 15 in Malá Strana between the hours of 9 a.m. and noon on any day that is not an American or Czech holiday with your spouse-to-be. Flash your passport at the gate, and do not get into the long line outside. Those people are trying to get visas to visit the United States. Ask the embassy personnel for a Certificate of Marriageability. This will assure the Czechs that you really are single. Have them certify your birth certificate while you are there, too.
2. Have both your Certificate of Marriageability and your birth certificate translated into Czech by a certified translator. This may take several days, depending on how busy the translator is with other cases. Official translators can be found in the zlaté stránky, or the Yellow Pages. They may also be able to notarize your documents. If not, then look in the zlaté stránky for a notař or notařka (notary).
3. Follow the directions the Embassy staff give you to the Czech Foreign Ministry. It will be located about 10 minutes away at Loretánské náměstí 5, Prague 1-Hradčany. Their phone number is ([phone]. Have the clerk notarize your Certificate of Marriageability and the statement from the Embassy that your birth certificate is genuine.
4. Obtain a Žádost o výpis z Rejstříku trestů at the Rejstřík trestů in Soudní 1, Prague 4-Nusle. They are open at 7 a.m. during the week and from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays. Get there as early as possible. Get a number from the dispenser at the front and wait to be called. The Žádost is the only document they issue, and once you are called, they can produce it for you fairly quickly. Pay for your record with kolky.
5. Validate your visa at the Foreigners' Police at Olšanská 2 in Žižkov. The phone number is ([phone], but don't expect much of an answer if you call it. Office hours are Monday to Thursday from 9 a.m to 3:30 p.m. and Friday from 9 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., but go there early in the morning to get a ticket to stand in line. Ask for a matrika (registry) or svadba (wedding) ticket. Pay for your validation with kolky.
6. Brace yourselves for the Prague 1 Municipal Office at Vodičkova 18. Their phone number is ([phone]. Some people report no problems getting their documents here (an identity confirmation, a questionnaire in Czech, affidavits that you aren't being taken advantage of or forced to get married), but others have had an interesting time. The office you need is upstairs in the Odbor matrik, and they process applications on Mondays and Wednesdays. There is no charge for this service.
7. Marry your beloved at a registry office in the presence of two witnesses. Sign your marriage license, and you are now husband and wife. Congratulations.

Tips & Warnings

• If you have been married before, bring along any paperwork to prove that your previous marriage has ended legally (original divorce decree, death certificate for previous spouse if widowed), and prepare to have it translated into Czech along with your birth certificate and Certificate of Marriageability.
• Like many countries, the civil marriage ceremony is the one that makes it all legal. You can have a religious ceremony later if you wish.