Marriage Divorces Registration

Marriage and Divorce Registration:

Foreign authorities issue marriage and divorce contracts or court rulings in accordance with their respective laws. These documents are implemented for Iraqi citizens in the civil status records in accordance with the legal conditions set forth in Article (38) of the Civil Status Law No. (65) of 1972, as amended. Every Iraqi residing outside Iraq must notify the embassy or consulate of marriage, divorce, annulment, or separation events related to them, for registration in the Civil Status Directorate. In order to register, the husband must take the following actions:

1. Translate the marriage contract or divorce ruling if it is in a foreign language by the Iraqi Translators Association or the College of Languages at Baghdad University exclusively.
2. Authenticate the marriage contract or divorce ruling from the consular department / authentication section.
3. The husband must submit a copy of the marriage contract or divorce ruling, along with the Arabic translation mentioned above, and a certified copy of the civil status identity cards of both the husband and wife to the Civil Status Directorate that issued the civil status identity of the husband, in order to record the marriage event and open a new page for the couple, separate from the family. The divorce event will also be recorded if applicable.

Note: The embassy or mission cannot provide the citizen with a confirmation of single status (whether male or female) until a copy of the civil status record is provided from the Civil Status Directorate during the issuance of the confirmation. A citizen residing abroad can grant a special power of attorney to someone in Iraq, authorizing them to visit the Civil Status Directorate to obtain a copy of the civil status record (Directorate of Civil Status Affairs letter, Events Department No. 6927, dated 9/9/2008).