As a destination wedding location, Vietnam is fantastic. Because it stretches along the Pacific Ocean it has picturesque mountain ranges, beaches, rice fields, and islands perfect for your dream ceremony. And as a hotspot to tie the knot, it’s unbelievably affordable.

If you’re planning a destination wedding in Vietnam or if you’re an expat residing within the country, there are a few things to know before the big day. If you want to worry less about the bureaucracy and enjoy more of your wedding, then make sure you know exactly what paperwork you need and where you need to submit it so you can get a marriage license in Vietnam.

The Who

This guide is for foreign nationals who are intending to wed another foreign national within the borders of Vietnam. If you are a foreign national betrothed to a Vietnamese national this is not the step-by-step process for you. This outline is applicable to anyone who’s government states that “marriages legally performed and valid abroad are also legally valid.” You can find out if your country will accept a valid marriage license from a foreign country by emailing your local consulate or searching your government website. We know that the process has worked for us in Da Nang as Americans and for two of our friends, one from Sweden and one from Malaysia.

Listed below are the locations specific to Da Nang, but the process is applicable to all of Vietnam. The only thing that changes about the process is where you file the paperwork. Whatever district you live in and are registered in (registration doesn’t have to be long term stay it can be your hotel/homestay) is where you will file your documents.

The What

There is a wedding and there is a marriage. A wedding is the ceremony, the celebration and festivities, where as the marriage is the binding contract of two people coming together (religious or otherwise). Then there is the marriage license which means that in the eyes of “the government” the marriage is legitimate. This is the step-by-step guide of getting a marriage license in Vietnam.

If you don’t require a marriage license, you can have a civil ceremony. A civil ceremony allows for the flash and dance of a wedding, but without all the bureaucracy of making it legitimate on paper. Many couples choose a civil ceremony for their destination wedding because the required paperwork to get married in a foreign country can be overwhelming. There is also the issue of time. Many couples don’t have weeks to spend either before or after the ceremony in the country waiting for a marriage license. We had a civil ceremony in Santorini, Greece and then acquired our marriage license three years later in Vietnam. So if you’re looking for your marriage to be official on paper, then read on.

The Paperwork

This is the checklist from the Ngu Hanh Son People’s Committee building (Da Nang) on what documents they require to approve your marriage license. These are not listed in the order in which you’ll acquire the documents, but they are listed in the order in which the government office would like to have them as you turn in your full application.

1 ) Government marriage application filled

One application per couple
Application is supplied by your district’s committee building. If you live in the An Thuong area you are part of the Ngu Hanh Son District
Complete with 2 passport size photos (1 of each applicant)
2 ) Affidavit of single status valid within six month stating applicants are not already married
One affidavit for each applicant
The affidavit form for Americans can be found HERE. Print and fill out everything EXCEPT for the signature which you need to leave blank. Only sign when you are before a notary and “swearing” your single status. Otherwise, they’ll make you fill out the paperwork again.
You must receive a notary stamp from your embassy. You can make an appointment at an embassy or check their website to see if they’re doing any consular outreach visits to major cities if you’re not in Ho Chi Minh / Hanoi.
Send the affidavit with your embassy’s stamp to Hanoi to get their official red stamp. You can go to the Office of Foreign Affairs in your city and they will help send your affidavit to the correct office in Hanoi. Da Nang’s Office is 19 Lê Hồng Phong.
The office of foreign affairs will need a copy of your passport and visa to submit with your affidavit.
This takes 3-7 working days

3 ) Confirmation of authorized medical organizations valid within six months stating that applicants are not diagnosed with mental illness or other mental behavior.

One health check for each applicant
Visiting your city’s mental hospital you’ll apply for a Giấy chứng nhận sức khỏe (Health certificate)
If you don’t speak Vietnamese, invite someone who does because part of the mental health exam is strictly in Vietnamese.
The exam includes a series of obscure questions about the current day in history, the weather, where you are, and how you feel. You’ll be asked to solve math problems (simple addition / subtraction) follow instructions on how to fold paper a certain way, and then take a Rorschach inkblot test (where you look at images and describe what you see). The exam isn’t as intimidating as it sounds, just obscure.
Upon approval from a doctor that you’re of sane mind to get married, you’ll submit 2 passport size photographs for your health certificate (2 photos for each applicant) and wait for the red stamp.
Our visit took 3hrs including waiting for the red stamp

4 ) Copy of your passport and copy of your valid visa

5 ) Copy of your divorce history if any

6 ) Copy of police registration with your local ward

One for each applicant
You can request a copy of your police registration from your landlord (Đơn xin xác nhận tạm trú), but make sure you get the red stamp.
This takes 2-3 working days

What The Paperwork Looks Like Filled Out

The Process

The whole process for us to get a license took four weeks. However, after our trial and errors, we were able to help two others get their marriage license in just 12 days.

After collecting all the necessary paperwork (listed above) documents need to be submitted to your local government building. This is similar to a courthouse and every district will have a different building usually called a “People’s Committee” building. If you live in the An Thuong area in Da Nang, you will go to the Ngu Hanh Son People’s Committee building.

It is very important that if you don’t speak Vietnamese, you invite someone to come with you who does. They help to represent you and ensure you have everything you need. You’ll apply for your marriage license at the People’s Committee building. Once your paperwork has been checked, double checked, and triple checked, they’ll give you a receipt and a date to return to pick up your license (5-10 working days).

When you return to pick up your license, they will perform a legal ceremony before you can sign your marriage license. The ceremony is in their court room, where the equivalent of a mayor oversees the ceremony. You’ll be asked to affirm your choice to marry one another (I do) and then you’ll sign the registry book for the district and all copies of your marriage license (at least 1 for you to keep and 1 for the government to keep).

You’ll pay for the copy of your marriage license at the very end.

Once you have your marriage license and copies in Vietnam, you’ll probably want to have documents translated into English. The US embassy states that it’s not required to submit your license to the USA for recognition. However, if you leave Vietnam it’s likely you’ll want authorized copies of your marriage license translated into English. To do this, contact the Office of Foreign affairs translation office for translation services. From here you can either have your English translation notarized again via another visit to your embassy or you can just have the English translation as is.

What Does it Cost

The cost will differ from city to city and even during the year. Everything was billed in cash, no one accepted credit card.

Here is the breakdown of what it cost for us to get a marriage license in Da Nang, Vietnam:

1 Affidavit of Single Status notary stamp $50

1 Affidavit of Single Status Vietnam stamp $21

1 Certificate of Health $22

1 Police Registration $20 (some landlords will waive this fee)

2 official copies of the Marriage License $53

1 Translator to accompany us on 2 of visits to the People’s Committee Building $21

2 copies of the marriage license translated into English $5

Advice We Wish We Would Have Known

If possible, invite or hire someone who speaks Vietnamese to accompany you on your visits to government buildings. We noticed that clerks tended to avoid calling our number or assisting us because we didn’t speak Vietnamese—fair. It’s a whole lot easier if you have someone to help. We didn’t, and the process took a lot longer.
Assume any visit to a government building will require you to dress professionally. This means a collared shirt, pants, and closed toed shoes for men and a dress or skirt and blouse for women. We were turned away once and reminded twice that we needed to dress professionally if we wanted to enter the People’s Committee Building.
Always take more cash than you think you need.
Have plenty of passport sized photographs for applications.