Get married: marriage preparation and ceremony
Couples wishing to marry in the City of Zurich first go through the marriage-preparation procedure at the civil registry office: they submit an application with the required documents, and the office checks their capacity to marry. After preparation is complete, the ceremony takes place before two witnesses of legal age; finally the office issues the marriage certificate.
Process compass
Structural diagnosis of this procedure — derived from the model, not legally binding information.
Responsibility
- Civil registry office of the City of Zurich
Burden on citizens
- 3 required documents
- 1 decision point
- Media breaks: In-person visit, Postal mail
Assessment: digitalisation & user-centricity
Indicators met: 100% (4 of 4)
Derived metadata — not an authoritative statement. Each indicator is either deterministically computed from the process model or evidenced from the official source. Without evidence or derivation an indicator stays "unknown" — it is never guessed.
8 indicators unknown — not assessed for lack of evidence (not counted as "not met").
Digitalisation · No known indicators yet
Online application availableunknownEvidence
No evidence on file — flagged as unknown, not as not met.
Strategic basis: Strategien Zürich 2040, S. 31directly anchored«Städtische Angebote und Leistungen stehen der Bevölkerung und den Unternehmen online zur Verfügung.»
Online payment availableunknownEvidence
No evidence on file — flagged as unknown, not as not met.
Übersetzung ausstehend — Voraussetzungen
- Both persons are eligible to marry (of legal age and capable of judgement) and not already married or in a registered partnership.
Common concerns that lead here
Digital maturity & simplification
Online maturity:Partly digitalStatus: ObservedMedia breaks
- In-person visit
- Postal mail
Data already on file (once-only)
Residence and civil-status data are already held by the authorities. With full register linkage, the proof of residence and civil-status document would not need to be obtained separately.
Pain points
- The application and the ceremony require appearing in person at the counter.
Improvement ideas
- Online pre-registration of the marriage preparation with automatic reuse of register data.
Impact & metrics
- Share online: Information online, Verfahren am Schalter
User groups
Couples who are Swiss citizens · Couples with foreign nationality
Steps (textual)
- Decision to marryStartCouple to be married
- Submit the marriage-preparation request to the registry officeInputCouple to be married
The couple files the request at the place of residence of one partner. Foreign nationals need additional proofs.
The registry office checks whether both persons are eligible to marry and whether the documents are complete.
- Foreign nationals without secured residence?
Übersetzung ausstehend — Verbindliche Werte (Fristen & Gebühren)
Übersetzung ausstehend — Verbindliche Zahlen stehen bewusst nicht im Diagramm — sie gelten nur so, wie sie in der amtlichen Quelle stehen. Jeder Eintrag verlinkt auf die exakte Stelle.
- Requirements for capacity to marry (minimum age, capacity of judgement)(retrieved 2026-06-27)
«Die Ehe kann von zwei Personen eingegangen werden, die das 18. Altersjahr zurückgelegt haben und urteilsfähig sind.»
- Validity period of the marriage-preparation procedure (window for the ceremony)(retrieved 2026-06-27)
«Die Trauung kann innerhalb von drei Monaten stattfinden, nachdem der Abschluss des Vorbereitungsverfahrens mitgeteilt wurde.»
- Fees for marriage preparation and the ceremony(retrieved 2026-06-25)
«Wir berechnen alle Gebühren für die Ehevorbereitung und die Hochzeit und teilen Ihnen den Gesamtbetrag mit.»
Legal basis
Sources
- Stadt Zürich – Zivilstandsamt / Heirat(retrieved 2026-06-22)