Can foreigners get married legally in Morocco?
Yes, but only in specific situations. The UK government says a British citizen can marry in Morocco only if the partner is Moroccan, and the French consulates in Morocco say that one or both partners must live in Morocco and be Muslim. The UK and Canadian governments add that a man marrying in Morocco must be Muslim or convert to Islam. Embassies are no way around this: the American, Belgian and Canadian missions do not perform marriages, Morocco is not on the UK's consular marriage list, and the French consulate can marry two French citizens only when one of them is domiciled in its district. For couples outside these cases, the US State Department and the UK government describe the simpler route: marry legally at home, then celebrate abroad.
Legal at home, celebration in Marrakech
The US State Department notes that some couples marry legally in the United States before or after a destination wedding, which avoids the complexity of obtaining a foreign marriage certificate and complying with local marriage laws. The UK government says a marriage abroad cannot be registered in the UK, so couples who want a UK certificate can have the legal ceremony in the UK and a commitment ceremony abroad. In practice, you marry at the town hall or registry office at home before or after the trip, then hold a symbolic ceremony in Marrakech with no legal effect, so the Moroccan formalities below do not apply and the officiant, language, format and vows are your choice. Keep the certificate from home safe: it is your proof of marriage. Mixed couples have one more step: Morocco's Foreign Ministry says Moroccans living abroad who marry under local law must register the marriage with Moroccan consular services, whose conditions include two Muslim witnesses, an Arabic translation of the certificate and, for a non-Muslim spouse, a certificate of conversion to Islam.
Marrying legally in Morocco: adouls, family court and documents
A legal marriage in Morocco is drawn up by adouls, religious notaries, once a family judge has authorised it. The US Embassy describes the path: documents are certified by Morocco's Foreign Ministry, filed with the family law section of the prosecutor's office at the Court of Appeal in the wedding city, then passed to a family judge. The US and Canadian embassies and Morocco's consular portal all ask for a medical certificate and proof that any earlier marriage ended, and the Moroccan portal adds a certificate of suitability for marriage, or an equivalent, for the foreign partner. On religion, the UK says a man must be Muslim or convert, and a woman must be Christian, Jewish or Muslim. No official page used here describes a route for two non-Muslim foreigners living abroad to marry in Morocco. The UK government states that same-sex marriages are not legally recognised in Morocco, and the UK, US and Canadian travel advice all say Moroccan law prohibits same-sex sexual relations. No page gives a total duration, and the US Embassy says the court stage varies.
British (UK) citizens: getting married in Morocco
Start with "Confirm you're free to get married in Morocco" on GOV.UK, from the FCDO. It says your partner must be a Moroccan national and tells you to check every requirement with an adoul. If you live in the UK, you need a certificate of no impediment from a UK register office. If you live abroad, you need a marital status affirmation and a certified passport copy (£75 in total), applied for online and signed at the British Embassy in Rabat or the British Honorary Consulate in Marrakech. The affirmation, issued in English and French, must be legalised by Morocco's Foreign Ministry, and the court needs all documents translated into Arabic. The page warns that some courts still want a certificate of no impediment, so ask your adoul; that you must bring the originals of uploaded documents; and that you must marry within three months of getting it or reapply and pay again. The UK recognises a lawful marriage abroad that UK law would allow but cannot register it, and Morocco is not on the GOV.UK consular marriage list.
American (US) citizens: getting married in Morocco
Start with "Marriage in Morocco" from the US Embassy and Consulate in Morocco, which warns that requirements may vary and are subject to change. US embassies cannot perform marriages, and the page says a Moroccan marriage is recognised in the United States without registration at the US Consulate General in Casablanca. At a notarial appointment, the consulate provides an Affidavit of Nationality and Eligibility to Marry, valid six months, and copies of your passport pages. The list also includes your birth certificate, proof of employment or income, a written statement of intent to marry, a US police record obtained before you travel, four passport photos, a medical certificate from a doctor in Morocco and, for men, a notarised statement of religious denomination or a conversion document to Islam. These are certified at a Foreign Ministry annex in Rabat before going to the court, and the page says its list is not exhaustive. The State Department's "Marriage" page on Travel.State.Gov suggests asking your state Attorney General's office to confirm that the United States recognises your marriage.
French citizens: certificat de capacité à mariage and transcription
Read "Mariage" on La France au Maroc, the consulates' site, and "Mariage d'un Français à l'étranger" on Service-Public.fr. Before an adoul marriage, the French partner needs a certificat de capacité à mariage (CCAM) from the consulate general covering the wedding location, and in most districts, including Marrakech, both partners must attend to file it. The consulates say the CCAM takes at least three months from a complete file, ask for documents at least three months before the date, and refuse incomplete files. The list includes a full French birth certificate under three months old, proof of nationality and residence, and for the Moroccan partner a recent birth certificate and the attestation de fiançailles requested by the adoul; anything in Arabic needs a sworn French translation. After the wedding, you request transcription by post from the Service central d'état civil in Nantes. Service-Public.fr calls it recommended rather than compulsory, but without it the marriage has no effect on third parties in France, and the consulates call it indispensable for a spouse's visa. Two French citizens can marry at the consulate only if neither is also Moroccan and one is domiciled in its district.
Belgian citizens: the CNEM from the embassy in Rabat
Start with "Certificat de non-empêchement à mariage (CNEM)" from the Belgian Embassy in Rabat, and the "Mariage" page of FPS Foreign Affairs. Belgian embassies do not perform marriages, so you marry in Belgium or before the Moroccan authorities. For a marriage in Morocco, the Family Court file must include a CNEM, issued only by the embassy in Rabat after a complete file and an interview with both partners; Belgians who are also Moroccan do not present one. The embassy's procedure sheet says the CNEM is valid six months, is not sent by email or post, and is not automatic: allow four to six working days as a guide, or three to five months if the file goes to the Procureur du Roi. The embassy recommends not setting a wedding date before you hold it. Interviews are in French or Dutch, with a sworn translator at your cost if your partner speaks neither. Afterwards, your Belgian commune can register the foreign marriage certificate, legalised or apostilled and translated if necessary. If you marry in Belgium instead, a Moroccan fiancé(e) applies for a marriage visa through TLScontact in Casablanca.
Canadian citizens: embassy affidavit or statement in lieu
Two pages apply: "Marriage outside Canada" on Travel.gc.ca and "Government of Canada services and information in Rabat, Morocco". Canadian officials do not perform marriages, and a marriage legally performed abroad is usually valid in Canada without registration. The Rabat page says the only way to marry a Muslim Moroccan citizen is an Islamic marriage via the adouls, that a Canadian man must convert to Islam, and that adouls communicate only in Arabic. The embassy issues a "Certificate of Non-Impediment to Marriage", also called an "Affidavit of Nationality and Capacity to Marry", the same day for Can$50. Moroccan authorities also want a birth certificate, an apostilled RCMP criminal record check, a divorce certificate authenticated by Global Affairs Canada if relevant, a medical certificate and a work certificate. Global Affairs Canada's general pages say Canada only issues a "statement in lieu" of a certificate of non-impediment, which some governments may not accept, so ask the adoul which document works. The Rabat page was last modified in 2022, so confirm the details with the embassy.
Documents, translations and apostilles
The US, Canadian and French lists are not exhaustive, so confirm this checklist with your consulate and the adoul. Expect a valid passport, a recent birth certificate, your country's capacity document (British affirmation or certificate of no impediment, US or Canadian affidavit, French CCAM, Belgian CNEM), proof that any earlier marriage ended and a medical certificate, plus a police record and proof of work or income for Americans and Canadians. Morocco has applied the Hague Apostille Convention since 14 August 2016, so public documents can carry a single apostille instead of being legalised. The FCDO Legalisation Office legalises UK documents such as a divorce decree with an apostille, the Canadian embassy lists an apostilled RCMP check, and Belgium accepts a Moroccan marriage certificate with a Moroccan apostille. For translations, the UK says the court needs Arabic, and the French consulates want sworn French translations of anything in Arabic. The US and French pages do not say if home documents need an apostille, so ask before ordering them.
Timeline: how far ahead to start
No official page gives a single timeline; France's foreign ministry advises contacting the consulate preferably several months ahead. The sources give at least three months for a French CCAM, four to six working days for a Belgian CNEM or three to five months if the prosecutor decides, and usually up to 25 working days plus postage for a UK paper apostille. When this guide was checked, Global Affairs Canada was processing authentication requests received 25 business days earlier, with no expedited service. In Morocco, the US Embassy says the Foreign Ministry certification takes from a few days to a few months, and the court stage varies. Do not start too early: you must marry within three months of a British affirmation, the US affidavit and Belgian CNEM last six months, and French birth certificates must be under three months old. If you marry at home, ask your town hall how much notice it needs.
Common mistakes to avoid
Treating the Marrakech ceremony as legal: a symbolic ceremony produces no marriage certificate, so the legal step must happen at home or before adouls. Fixing the date first: the Belgian embassy advises against it before you hold the CNEM, and a French CCAM takes at least three months. Ordering documents at the wrong time: several expire, and a lapsed British affirmation means paying again. Forgetting originals or translations: the British page says missing originals can stop the affirmation being issued, the French consulate in Tangier treats photocopies instead of originals as an incomplete file, and Moroccan courts need Arabic. Ignoring passport rules: UK travel advice asks for at least three months of validity after arrival, US advice six months at entry and Canadian advice six months beyond departure. Skipping registration: an untranscribed French marriage has no effect on third parties in France, and Moroccans living abroad who marry there must register it with Moroccan consular services.
Sources and date checked
Official pages used, checked on 4 October 2026. GOV.UK (FCDO): "Confirm you're free to get married in Morocco", "Getting married or registering a civil partnership abroad", "Getting married at a British embassy, high commission or consulate", "Get your document legalised", "Living in Morocco" and the Morocco travel advice. US Embassy and Consulate in Morocco: "Marriage in Morocco"; US State Department: "Marriage" and the Morocco country page, these three checked in their latest archived versions, from January and July 2026. La France au Maroc: "Mariage" and the consulates' CCAM and transcription checklists; France Diplomatie: "Se marier à l'étranger"; Service-Public.fr: "Mariage d'un Français à l'étranger". Belgian Embassy in Rabat: "Certificat de non-empêchement à mariage (CNEM)", its procedure sheet and "Légalisation de documents"; FPS Foreign Affairs: "Mariage". Travel.gc.ca: "Marriage outside Canada" and the Morocco travel advice; Global Affairs Canada: "Statement in lieu of certificate of non-impediment to marriage abroad", "Authentication of documents" and "Government of Canada services and information in Rabat, Morocco". Morocco's Ministry of Foreign Affairs consular portal: "Family code and Adoulair act", "Registration of civil marriage with consular services" and "Establishment of an act of marriage ADOULAIRE (betrothed) with the consular services". Rules change, and several of these pages say so: confirm every requirement with your embassy or consulate before you book anything that depends on a legal ceremony.
Planning from abroad? Wedding in Marrakech: the complete guide
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