marriage in dom rep

[StephanieM 60]

For DR VJ members,

For those of you that got married in DR... Were you able to get married WITHOUT a birth certficate and just your passport? I know not all places require a BC, and i'm trying to go that route because i'm gonna have to translate/legalize mine in order to get married over there since i'm American. I would appreciate any info on judges who do this in DR (name, location, price). Preferably Santo Domingo and southern DR.

[amesa 9]

For DR VJ members,

For those of you that got married in DR... Were you able to get married WITHOUT a birth certficate and just your passport? I know not all places require a BC, and i'm trying to go that route because i'm gonna have to translate/legalize mine in order to get married over there since i'm American. I would appreciate any info on judges who do this in DR (name, location, price). Preferably Santo Domingo and southern DR.

I am a US citizen and my husband is from the DR. We married there last September. You have to bring your passport AND an original copy of your birth certificate, translated into Spanish, with an apostille. If you have been married before, you need to bring an original copy of your divorce certificate, translated into Spanish, with an apostille. The apostilles also need to be translated into Spanish.

Besides these civil documents, you also need to bring a letter from the marriage license office (here in the US) indicating that you are single. That also needs to be translated into Spanish.

Remember, they do things differently over there. All information will be written down in a marriage book and that will be taken to the wedding ceremony to be signed and stamped by the judge. Once that is done and registered, then you can obtain a copy of the marriage certificate about a week later.

[StephanieM 60]

I am a US citizen and my husband is from the DR. We married there last September. You have to bring your passport AND an original copy of your birth certificate, translated into Spanish, with an apostille. If you have been married before, you need to bring an original copy of your divorce certificate, translated into Spanish, with an apostille. The apostilles also need to be translated into Spanish.

Besides these civil documents, you also need to bring a letter from the marriage license office (here in the US) indicating that you are single. That also needs to be translated into Spanish.

Remember, they do things differently over there. All information will be written down in a marriage book and that will be taken to the wedding ceremony to be signed and stamped by the judge. Once that is done and registered, then you can obtain a copy of the marriage certificate about a week later.

I thought the single status letter had to be done ONLY in DR? The reason I ask about only marrying with a passport and not a BC is because it really depends on the person who marries you and SOME don't require the BC. Some places even give you the marriage certificate the same day.

I'm just trying to shop around for the best rates and least amount of work

[OneLove <3 6]

You can also post this question on DTTUSA they are more likely to have the info you are asking for (name, price etc.).

[StephanieM 60]

You can also post this question on DTTUSA they are more likely to have the info you are asking for (name, price etc.).

Yeah, I did already a while ago. I have someone to contact that someone on dttusa suggested. But the more people that respond the merrier so i can have more options to look at

Thanks

[amesa 9]

I thought the single status letter had to be done ONLY in DR? The reason I ask about only marrying with a passport and not a BC is because it really depends on the person who marries you and SOME don't require the BC. Some places even give you the marriage certificate the same day.

I'm just trying to shop around for the best rates and least amount of work

You have to do the single status letter here and take it with you. It's required by both individuals. My husband investigated several spots and got the information that I gave you. If you can find anything different, then great.

Honestly, I would rather play it safe than to get there and not have a document that they require. When I inquired about the single status letter, I went directly to the Dominican Embassy and asked. The information I gave you is what THEY told me.

[BocaChicaBabe 6]

I asked the same question on DTTUSA and was told my BC wouldn't be necessary if I find the right person. BUT when I did a search, I found that others had to have their BC and the rest of the documents that I had. Like amesa, I decided I didn't want to take chances, so I also contacted the Dominican Embassy. I got the same information from the Embassy. I also sent my husband to the JCE to ask what I'd need in order to marry there and he was given the same information the Embassy told me. I needed a notarized single status letter, but he did NOT. All documents need to be legalized at the Embassy. I used WEDO to handle all of my paperwork. I sent them my BC with the apostille and my single status letter. They do all translations and take the documents to the Embassy to be legalized and return every thing within days.

[Carlos' Wife 9]

o.k. so i contacted the dominican consulate in los angeles, california and they did all the paperwork for me. I sent them a copy of my BC WITH an apostille and a declaration of single status (notarized). They translated and certified everything for me. I thought this is what was required of a us citizen.

good luck and congratulations on your upcoming marriage!!

[StephanieM 60]

I asked the same question on DTTUSA and was told my BC wouldn't be necessary if I find the right person. BUT when I did a search, I found that others had to have their BC and the rest of the documents that I had. Like amesa, I decided I didn't want to take chances, so I also contacted the Dominican Embassy. I got the same information from the Embassy. I also sent my husband to the JCE to ask what I'd need in order to marry there and he was given the same information the Embassy told me. I needed a notarized single status letter, but he did NOT. All documents need to be legalized at the Embassy. I used WEDO to handle all of my paperwork. I sent them my BC with the apostille and my single status letter. They do all translations and take the documents to the Embassy to be legalized and return every thing within days.

Okay thanks guys. One of the things I'm confused about is the difference between legalized and notarized. BocaChicaBabe, what is WEDO?

Also I have my BC, but it is my original one from when I was born 21 years ago, so it's kinda wrinkly and worn out. If I go to city hall and request another one, will this one have the apostille? I'm assuming the apostille is that big star looking thing on my BC.

Also who writes the single status letter? Do I? Is there a format, or does the embassy do that.

thanks again EVERYONE. Your responses are greatly appreciated.

[StephanieM 60]

Okay, I gooled what WEDO is. Now the question is how much do they charge for their services, I didn't find that info on the website.

[amesa 9]

Okay thanks guys. One of the things I'm confused about is the difference between legalized and notarized. BocaChicaBabe, what is WEDO?

Also I have my BC, but it is my original one from when I was born 21 years ago, so it's kinda wrinkly and worn out. If I go to city hall and request another one, will this one have the apostille? I'm assuming the apostille is that big star looking thing on my BC.

Also who writes the single status letter? Do I? Is there a format, or does the embassy do that.

thanks again EVERYONE. Your responses are greatly appreciated.

Legalization is for civil documents. It is usually a stamp on the document authenticating that it is a real, valid document used in the country of orgin.

Having a document notorized means that there is an offical person that verifies you are the person presenting the document. This is usually for personal documents that need your signature. It confirms to the entity receiving the document that you are who you say you are.

Apostilles are separate documents. They are not stamps, but a separate document that goes attached to the birth certificate, divorce certificate. YOu have to place a separate order. You need to contact the State Department of Health of the state you were born in, or divorced in, in order to get that apostille. It only comes from Department of State. I would highly recommend that you order a new original copyof your birth certificate, with an apostille. You will most likely need to send two separate payments...I did. Once you receive those documents, you need to have each one translated for the wedding.

Like I said in a previous answer, per the Dominican Embassy, you have to go to the Marriage License Bureau in your county/city and request a single status report. They will know what you are talking about. They will also notorize it for you. This will also need to be translated. It shows evidence that from the date of the report, you are still single and free to marry and will need to be given to the judge prior to your wedding ceremony with all of your other documentation. The costay vary state-to-state, but here in Miami it cost me about $7.00. This is not something you write yourself...per the Embassy.

[StephanieM 60]

Legalization is for civil documents. It is usually a stamp on the document authenticating that it is a real, valid document used in the country of orgin.

Having a document notorized means that there is an offical person that verifies you are the person presenting the document. This is usually for personal documents that need your signature. It confirms to the entity receiving the document that you are who you say you are.

Apostilles are separate documents. They are not stamps, but a separate document that goes attached to the birth certificate, divorce certificate. YOu have to place a separate order. You need to contact the State Department of Health of the state you were born in, or divorced in, in order to get that apostille. It only comes from Department of State. I would highly recommend that you order a new original copyof your birth certificate, with an apostille. You will most likely need to send two separate payments...I did. Once you receive those documents, you need to have each one translated for the wedding.

Like I said in a previous answer, per the Dominican Embassy, you have to go to the Marriage License Bureau in your county/city and request a single status report. They will know what you are talking about. They will also notorize it for you. This will also need to be translated. It shows evidence that from the date of the report, you are still single and free to marry and will need to be given to the judge prior to your wedding ceremony with all of your other documentation. The costay vary state-to-state, but here in Miami it cost me about $7.00. This is not something you write yourself...per the Embassy.

Thanks. There is a Dominican embassy in Boston luckily. I'm glad I inquired about this early, I didn't think there was so much paperwork involved.

[NHKx2 43]

For DR VJ members,

For those of you that got married in DR... Were you able to get married WITHOUT a birth certficate and just your passport? I know not all places require a BC, and i'm trying to go that route because i'm gonna have to translate/legalize mine in order to get married over there since i'm American. I would appreciate any info on judges who do this in DR (name, location, price). Preferably Santo Domingo and southern DR.

Good luck in your wedding plans! My husband and I really wanted to get married in the DR but the translations and paperwork deterred us since we had less than three months to plan everything. Also, most resorts we looked at said we would not get our marriage certificate for 3-4 months after the wedding, and naturally we needed it immediately to apply for his visa. We got married in Jamaica instead

Maybe it's just getting married at a resort that delays the marriage certificate, but make sure whomever you are working with will get it to you in a timely manner. Don't want to add 3-4 months onto your visa timeline waiting for it!

[amesa 9]

Thanks. There is a Dominican embassy in Boston luckily. I'm glad I inquired about this early, I didn't think there was so much paperwork involved.

I would strongly recommend that you take some time next week and go to the Dominican Embassy. That is the best thing to do. They will tell you exactly what you need and how it needs to be. When I went, they gave me a contact for a translatin service whose translations are accepted by the DR. They were a HUGE help in getting all this paperworkin order. You can't go wrong by doing this.

When I did it,I just stopped in and talked to the admin person in the front. She brought someone out to talk to me and we got all squared away.

It will make your life SO much easier if you do this.

[StephanieM 60]

I would strongly recommend that you take some time next week and go to the Dominican Embassy. That is the best thing to do. They will tell you exactly what you need and how it needs to be. When I went, they gave me a contact for a translatin service whose translations are accepted by the DR. They were a HUGE help in getting all this paperworkin order. You can't go wrong by doing this.

When I did it,I just stopped in and talked to the admin person in the front. She brought someone out to talk to me and we got all squared away.

It will make your life SO much easier if you do this.

Thanks amesa, and everyone else.