How to register your marriage in Ghana: customary, church and court

Ghanaian law recognises three kinds of marriage: customary marriage, marriage under the Marriages Act (often called an ordinance marriage, done in a church or at a registry), and Islamic marriage. Many couples do two of them, usually the traditional engagement and then a church wedding. This page explains the paperwork. Rules and fees are set and applied by your district, so treat this as a map and check every step with the marriage registry where you will marry.

Customary marriage: registration is optional, but worth doing

The traditional engagement is a full marriage in its own right. The Customary Marriage and Divorce (Registration) Law of 1985 (PNDCL 112) first required couples to register it. A 1991 amendment (PNDCL 263) made registration optional, and legal commentators say there is now no fixed deadline.

Register anyway. A certificate is what banks, embassies, employers and insurers ask for, and it is far easier to get while the families and witnesses are still around. Either of you, or both, apply in writing to the registrar of the district where the marriage took place. Expect to need:

• Ghana Cards or passports for both of you
• Passport photos
• Details of the ceremony: the date, the place and what was presented
• Representatives of both families, who may be asked to confirm the marriage

Church or registry wedding (Marriages Act, Cap 127)

This is the marriage most couples mean by “signing”. The steps registries describe are:

• Give notice. You file a notice of marriage at the marriage registry. It is displayed for 21 days so that anyone with a legal objection can raise it.
• Get the certificate. If nobody objects, the registrar issues the certificate after the 21 days.
• Marry within three months. If the marriage is not celebrated within three months of the notice, the notice expires and you have to file again.

Two checks matter more than any other. The church or place must be licensed for marriages, and the minister must be gazetted (authorised by the state) to conduct them. Registrars have warned that many marriages are invalid because one of these was missing. Ask your church for both before you print invitations. A registry wedding at the district office avoids the question altogether.

Fees differ by district. One district assembly listed a notice fee, a certificate fee and a signing fee that together came to a few hundred cedis; your registry will give you its current figures.

Islamic marriage

Islamic marriages are registered under the Marriage of Mohammedans Ordinance. The imam who officiates should be registered for it, and the registration is done with the district. Ask the imam and the registry what they need.

Planning the dates

• Count back at least four weeks from the church date to give notice.
• Do not give notice more than three months before the church date.
• Register the customary marriage soon after the engagement, especially if either of you lives abroad.

The checklist in My wedding has these as tasks with due dates worked out from your own dates.

Sources: Accra Metropolitan Assembly and Asokore Mampong Municipal Assembly marriage registration pages; La Nkwantanang Madina marriage procedure (2023); Graphic Online, “Registrar raises red flag about invalid marriages”; Mondaq, “Customary marriages in Ghana and its registration”. This page is general information, not legal advice.