Spain is one of the favourite wedding destinations for the British public: climate, a Mediterranean-flavoured ceremony, the ability to marry on private property (something tightly restricted in the UK) and an accessible legal framework for foreigners. But the paperwork is not trivial: the Spanish Civil Registry asks for apostilled and translated British documentation with tight deadlines, and a procedural mistake can push the wedding date back by weeks.
The core document: the Certificate of No Impediment
The most characteristic document in the file is the Certificate of No Impediment to Marriage (CNI), called certificado de capacidad matrimonial in Spanish. It is issued by the General Register Office or by the council where the party is registered. It certifies that there is no legal impediment (already married, prohibited kinship, etc.) to entering into marriage.
Validity period: 6 months from issue before the Spanish Civil Registry. Request it too soon and it expires; too late and you miss the appointment. The ideal window is two to four months before the planned wedding date.
Documents to file
For a civil marriage between a British citizen and a Spaniard, or between two British citizens in Spain, the Civil Registry typically asks for:
- British passport in force.
- Certificate of No Impediment, apostilled and translated into Spanish.
- Long-form Birth Certificate, apostilled and translated.
- Padrón certificate in Spain (if resident) or passport and proof of stay (if coming from the UK).
- Decree Absolute if previously divorced, apostilled and translated.
- Death Certificate of a prior spouse if widowed, apostilled and translated.
- Application and forms of the specific Civil Registry.
Apostille first
All British documentation enters Spain with The Hague Apostille (the UK is a signatory). The Apostille is issued by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) in Milton Keynes. After that, the document is translated — including the Apostille itself, which is text signed by a foreign authority.
Practical rule: apostille first, sworn translation afterwards. Translating before apostilling means the later Apostille also needs translation, doubling the cost. More detail at The Hague Apostille.
Where the ceremony is held
For residents, civil marriage is processed at the Civil Registry of the municipality where one of the parties is registered, or at the Justice of the Peace in smaller municipalities. Notaries can also perform civil weddings (since the 2015 reform). In Alicante: Registro Civil de Alicante (Pardo Gimeno street), Benidorm, Torrevieja, Dénia, Elche and so on. The choice often depends on which has the most reasonable wait time.
Recognition back in the UK
A wedding held in Spain is not automatically "registered" in the UK — the British system has no central registry for marriages held abroad. What does happen is that the Spanish marriage certificate is recognised as valid evidence in the UK provided it is translated into English (sworn translation into English for use of the document outside Spain).
If the British party later needs to update their passport or their residence in other countries, what counts is the Spanish certificate properly translated into English. We handle that reverse pair (ES→EN) as well.
Common mistakes
- Requesting the CNI too soon so it expires before the appointment.
- Bringing a short-form Birth Certificate. The Civil Registry wants the full Long Form, not the extract.
- Apostilling after translating.
- Forgetting the Decree Absolute when there is a previous marriage. The file stops without it.
- Bringing a UK "certified translation". A translation valid in Spain must be signed by a MAEC-accredited sworn translator, not a UK certified colleague. How to verify: Verifying an official sworn translator.
In short
Getting married in Spain as a British citizen is perfectly feasible, but the calendar needs care: FCDO apostille takes 1-2 weeks, sworn translation happens in parallel, and the Civil Registry typically issues an appointment 2-3 months out. At Textualia we translate the Certificate of No Impediment, Birth Certificate, Decree Absolute and the rest of the UK file into Spanish to a closed turnaround: signed PDF in 24-72 hours and physical copy by certified courier within 1-2 business days anywhere in Spain.