Celebration of Marriage

Your marriage can be celebrated in Hong Kong at a marriage registry by a Registrar or at a licensed place of worship by a competent minister.  You may also appoint a civil celebrant of marriages to celebrate your marriage at any hour and any place in Hong Kong other than the office of the Registrar and a licensed place of worship.

Marriage Ceremony

Before celebration of your marriage by the Registrar or a civil celebrant, each of you will sign a written declaration before the Registrar or the civil celebrant for the acknowledgement of the monogamy and legality of the marriage. If any party of the marriage doesn’t know Chinese or English, the declaration shall be interpreted to such party in his or her own language before the Registrar or civil celebrant. The person interpreting the declaration should subscribe his or her name to it as interpreter.

No matter where you celebrate your marriage, the marriage shall take place before two or more witnesses. The certificate of marriage will be signed in duplicate by the Registrar, the officiating minister or the civil celebrant, by the parties and two witnesses aged 18 or above. The original certificate of marriage will be delivered to the marrying parties after the marriage ceremony and the duplicate will be filed by the Registrar.

Other Points to Note

Marriages Taken Place at a Marriage Registry

• On the wedding day, both of you should attend 15 minutes before the time arranged with the Registrar.
• You should bring your Hong Kong identity card or valid travel document and two adults aged 18 or above to act and sign as witnesses.
• Relatives and friends may be invited to the marriage ceremony.
• Rings may be exchanged between the parties at the ceremony.

Marriages Taken Place at a Licensed Place of Worship

• If you celebrate your marriage at a licensed place of worship, the ceremony will be held by a competent minister according to the rites or usages of marriage observed in such church, denomination or body.
• No marriage shall be celebrated in the absence of a Certificate of Registrar of Marriages.

Marriages Celebrated by a Civil Celebrant of Marriages

• Only practicing solicitors and notaries public who meet the statutory criteria may be appointed as civil celebrants.
• If you appoint a civil celebrant of marriages to celebrate your marriage, the ceremony can be held at any hour and any place in Hong Kong other than the office of the Registrar and a licensed place of worship. You should inform your civil celebrant of your wedding plans as early as possible before the proposed date of marriage.
• Before you engage a civil celebrant of marriages, you should obtain the Information Leaflet for the Marrying Parties and Code of Practice for Civil Celebrants of Marriages from the civil celebrant and note the contents.
• No marriage shall be celebrated in the absence of a Certificate of Registrar of Marriages.

Registration Fee

For Marriage Solemnized at the Marriage Registries

• during normal office hours HK$715
  (from Monday to Friday and on Saturday morning, except a General Holiday)
• outside normal office hours HK$1,935
  (Saturday afternoon* (not being a General Holiday) and Sunday)
  * Saturday afternoon marriage solemnization services are only provided in the City Hall Marriage Registry.

Payment can be made by cash, EPS, crossed cheque or cashier's order in Hong Kong dollars payable to "The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region".  Post dated cheques will not be accepted.

For Marriage Solemnized by Civil Celebrants

Other than the prescribed fee of HK$305 for filing notice of intended marriage to the Registrar of Marriages, the law makes no provision regarding the fee charged by a civil celebrant. It is up to you and the civil celebrant to agree on how much you pay. The civil celebrant should let you have a written notice of the fee before agreeing to act for you.