How to Apply for Court Marriage Online in Delhi

Delhi has moved much of its marriage paperwork online, and a court marriage can begin on the e-District portal rather than at a counter. That saves a trip and a queue, but it also means the details you type at home are what the marriage officer will check, and the date your notice is recorded starts the legal clock. This guide walks through the online application for a court marriage in Delhi, from creating an account to the day you marry.

Before you open the portal

A court marriage under the Special Marriage Act has rules that the portal will not explain. Settle these first:

1. Is a court marriage the right route? If you already had a valid religious wedding, you need registration, not court marriage. See registration vs court marriage.
2. Which district? At least one of you must have lived in the district for 30 days before notice. See the 30-day residence rule.
3. Are you both eligible? Ages (21 and 18), no living spouse, capacity to consent, not within prohibited degrees.
4. Are your documents consistent? Names and dates must match across every document.

What to have ready

Scan these in colour, both sides where relevant, and keep them within the size limit shown on the portal:

• identity proof for both partners;
• age proof for both partners;
• address proof, including proof of 30 days’ residence for at least one partner;
• notarised affidavits from both partners on marital status, age, nationality and prohibited degrees;
• passport-size photographs;
• divorce decree or death certificate if either partner was previously married;
• foreign partner’s passport, visa and embassy certificate, if applicable.

Prepare a text file with every name, date, address and ID number, copied exactly from the documents. See documents for court marriage.

Step 1: Create or log in to your e-District account

Register as a citizen user with a mobile number you will keep for the next few months. OTPs and updates go to this number. One partner usually holds the account; both partners’ details go into the application.

Step 2: Choose the Special Marriage Act service

From the Revenue Department’s list of services, choose the marriage service under the Special Marriage Act. This is the step where couples most often go wrong, by choosing Hindu Marriage Act registration instead. If you are unsure, stop and check.

Step 3: Select the district

Choose the revenue district where the partner who meets the 30-day residence rule lives. The address proof you upload must fall within this district.

Step 4: Fill in the notice details

The form asks for details that make up the notice of intended marriage:

• full names, as on identity documents;
• dates of birth and ages;
• marital status: unmarried, divorced or widowed;
• occupations;
• permanent and current addresses;
• how long each partner has lived at the current address.

Read every field twice. The notice will be displayed at the office with these details, and the marriage officer will match them against your documents.

Step 5: Upload documents

Upload each document into its slot. Check each file opens correctly before uploading. Upload both sides of identity cards and every page of multi-page documents.

Step 6: Pay the fee and save the acknowledgement

Pay the government fee online. Save the payment receipt and the acknowledgement as PDFs. The acknowledgement carries your application number, which you will need for tracking, for the office visits and for the certificate.

Step 7: Appear for verification

Delhi offices usually require both partners to appear with original documents to verify the notice. The office may give you a date, or you may be asked to visit within a set period. Bring originals and self-attested copies of everything you uploaded, and the original affidavits.

Step 8: Publication and the 30-day period

Once the notice is accepted, it is entered in the Marriage Notice Book and displayed at the office. If either partner lives in another district, a copy is sent there for publication. For 30 days, objections may be made on legal grounds. Track your application on e-District during this period. See the 30-day notice.

Step 9: Book the marriage date

After the 30-day period, book a date with the office within three months of the notice. Arrange three witnesses with original identity and address proof, commonly a Delhi address.

Step 10: The marriage day and the certificate

On the booked date, both partners and three witnesses appear before the marriage officer, sign the declaration, say the words of acceptance and sign the Marriage Certificate Book. The certificate is issued after approval and can be downloaded or collected. See what happens on court marriage day.

Online vs offline application

Point	Online through e-District	At the office
Filling the form	At home, at your pace	At the counter
Uploading documents	You scan and upload	Office or CSC scans
Fee payment	Online	At the counter
Verification	Still in person	In person
Tracking	On e-District	Ask at the office
Risk of errors	Typing mistakes at home	Operator mistakes

Preparing affidavits for an online notice

Affidavits are scanned and uploaded with the online notice, and the originals are checked at verification. Each partner’s affidavit should state, consistently with the notice form:

• full name, parent’s name and address as on the identity document;
• date of birth;
• marital status: unmarried, divorced (with the decree details) or widowed;
• that the partners are not within the prohibited degrees of relationship;
• nationality;
• that the details in the notice are true.

Print each affidavit on non-judicial e-stamp paper, sign it before a notary, and scan the notarised original in colour. Keep the originals safe and bring them to verification. See affidavit format.

What to do if the notice is returned

If the office returns your online notice with a remark, read it carefully. Common reasons are an address outside the district, a missing affidavit, an unreadable scan or a name mismatch. Fix the issue and follow the instruction, which may be to upload a document or to bring it to verification. If the problem is jurisdiction, you will usually need to give notice in the right district instead, which restarts the timeline.

Common online mistakes

• Choosing Hindu Marriage Act registration instead of the Special Marriage Act.
• Selecting the wrong district.
• Typing names differently from identity documents.
• Uploading blurred phone photographs.
• Not noting the date of notice and missing the three-month window.
• Changing mobile numbers during the process and losing access to the account.

Worked example

Kunal and Mariam give notice online in the East Delhi district, where Kunal has lived for two years. They upload passports, Aadhaar cards, Kunal’s registered rent agreement, affidavits and photographs, pay the fee and save the acknowledgement. They appear for verification the following week. The notice is displayed, and since Mariam lives in Gurugram, a copy is sent for publication there. After 30 days, they book a date and marry before the East Delhi marriage officer with three friends as witnesses.

After you submit: what to watch

Check the application status on e-District every few days. You are looking for three things: confirmation that the notice has been accepted and entered, the date from which the 30-day period runs, and any remark asking for a document or correction. Respond to remarks the same day if you can.

Key terms on the portal

• Notice of intended marriage: the formal notice under Section 5 of the Special Marriage Act that starts a court marriage.
• Marriage officer: the officer, usually the SDM, who receives the notice and solemnises the marriage.
• Marriage Notice Book: the register in which your notice is entered and which the public may inspect.
• Date of notice: the date from which the three-month validity window runs.

Getting the online application right

The online form is quick to fill and slow to fix. WedProof’s free document check reviews your details and documents before you submit, so the notice is accepted the first time and your dates do not slip.