Duplicate marriage certificate from the Czech Republic with apostille
How do I get a duplicate marriage certificate from the Czech Republic?
It is certainly possible to get a duplicate marriage certificate from Czech republic ("Oddací list"). However, this must be done directly in the country – more specifically, at the local civil registry office where the marriage was originally registered. Unfortunately, there is no any embassies or consulates abroad that handle this matter; it can only be done within the country itself.
The duplicate can be obtained either by a spouse at the relevant Czech civil registry office (a physical visit is required) or through a representative (remotely, without your physical presence, but a power of attorney from at least one spouse is required). We assist in obtaining duplicates of Czech marriage certificates. A power of attorney can always be arranged – we will prepare the correct wording and guide you on how and where to notarize it.
It is important to note that while the document is formally called a "duplicate", it looks exactly like the original. The only difference is that it has the current issuance date (while the original marriage date remains unchanged). In fact, it is equivalent to the original, just issued at a later time.
The document is always issued in the Czech language and can be apostilled (see below for details).
Civil Registry Office documents from Czech republicHow to apostille a marriage certificate from the Czech Republic?
A marriage certificate from the Czech Republic can be apostilled, but this must be done only within the Czech Republic. There are no authorities outside the country that can issue an apostille for this document. This means the document must be physically brought to the country and processed locally at the relevant government offices.
The apostille itself is issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, specifically their office in Prague. However, the marriage certificate must first be certified by the regional or municipal administration where it was originally issued (in addition to the civil registry office’s certification). Without this step, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will not proceed with the final certification.
An apostille can be placed on either the original marriage certificate or a duplicate which, as mentioned earlier, can be obtained at the Czech civil registry office where the marriage was registered. To arrange this, you will need someone person in the country who can visit the necessary government office and obtain the duplicate.
As you can see, we assist with apostilling Czech marriage certificates. Please note that NO power of attorney from the spouses is required for the apostille process itself – the power of attorney is only needed when requesting a duplicate if document. If you already have the document in any form, any third party can handle the apostille procedure on your behalf without the power of attorney.
The process is relatively quick, typically taking just 1-3 business days. In our experience, the most time-consuming aspect is actually delivering the document to the country, but even this can be optimized with the right logistics.