Process of getting Unmarried Certificate Apostille in India
Get your Unmarried Certificate apostilled in India through the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) for international use. Professional document verification, MEA apostille processing, and secure delivery across India.
- UPDATED A MONTH AGO
Unmarried certificate is a Certificate issued by the state government, it informs that you are currently Unmarried or Bachelor and that you are eligible to Marry anyone of any Nationality.
Unmarried certificate is a mandatory document for anyone who is marrying abroad or marrying anyone of different nationality.There are different government bodies that issue Unmarried certificates at different levels.
Unmarried Certificate is also known as Single status certificate / Bachelorhood Certificate / Certificate of No impediment for Marriage certificate and CENOMAR ( Certificate of no Marriage ) Different countries use different names for the same certificate.
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Below are the departments where you can get Unmarried Certificate
- Tahsildar office / Municipality – If you are living in Cities, Municipality is the responsible authority to issue the certificate
- Gram Panchayat – For people living in Villages or having a village as a permanent address you can get the Certificate from Gram Panchayat office
- Court – There is a provision to get an Unmarried certificate through court. ( Municipality and court are interlinked to issue the certificate we will explain later )
- Unmarried certificate Affidavit – Issued by the Notary and counter signed by the Sub divisional Magistrate.
The easiest way to get the unmarried certificate is through Notary and counter sign it by any SDM.
When do we need Unmarried Certificate
You need unmarried certificate in the following situations
- If you are Marrying anyone outside India you need to produce Bachelorhood certificate to Authorities
- In some countries in order to obtain a job you need to show the authorities that you are not married.
- To Register yourself in foreign country.
For all the above purposes you need an Unmarried Certificate with Apostille Attestation.
Apostille attestation is an International Attestation where your documents are made legal for foreign countries specifically for Hague Nation Countries. Countries that are not part of Hague Nation, Embassy attestation is needed to make the Unmarried certificate legalised.
How to get an Unmarried Certificate in India ?
The best and the easiest way to get an Unmarried Certificate is to get it through an Unmarried certificate affidavit.
In this case the Unmarried certificate is a Self declaration affidavit, where you Declare that
“You have never been Married and that you are eligible to marry anyone of any nationality”
The details of the affidavit should match your passport details exactly
Details like Name, Father Name, Mother Name, Address Signature, date of birth and place of birth.
Please find the the Format of Unmarried certificate affidavit in the link
Below steps are valid for those who are never Married and those who are divorced. For divorce the additional document that needs to be presented to authorities is Divorce certificate with apostille.
Steps to Get Unmarried Certificate affidavit
- Edit the above given sample Affidavit with your details Exact as per the Passport
- Goto a Notary Public near you, put the affidavit content on a 100₹ Stamp paper / Affidavit ( First party and second party and purchased by, all these Should be under Your Name.
- Get Notary Attestation for all the Pages
- Fill the online registration form
- Send / Courier / the affidavit to address given by the Authorities
- Receive the Unmarried Certificate with Apostille
Process to get apostille for Unmarried certificate
Process listed below happens after you submit the document for Apostille / Embassy Attestation
- Notary Attestation – The first step in Apostille / Embassy attestation for unmarried certificate is to get Notary attestation again on the document. The authorised Notary public will cross verify the documents and supporting documents to verify the claims made in the document.
- SDM Attestation – in the Second step, After Notary the unmarried certificate is deposited in the Sub Divisional Magistrate office to get the SDM Attestation. Here the SDM verified the Details of the signatures made on the document.
- MEA Attestation – In the third step the document is submitted to Ministry of External Affairs to get MEA Attestation.MEA is a central government body which looks after the apostille process for the documents issued in India.
Above are the common steps for the legalisation process for the whole world. The next steps are specific to specific group of countries
When it comes to the legalisation process the world is divided into 2 categories
- Hague Convention Countries – Countries that are listed in Hague Nations – Apostille Process is needed for Unmarried certificate.
- Non Hague countries – Countries that are not listed in Hague Nations – Embassy Attestation Process is needed for Unmarried certificate.
So step 4 depends on which country you are travelling
For Hague Countries
Step 4 for Hague countries – Apostille Attestation – After MEA attestation is done the document is submitted to the Ministry for the final Apostille Attestation. Apostille is a square sticker pasted on the backside of the document. Apostille Sticker have following details
- Issued to – Your Name
- Signed By
- Authorised by
- Apostille Date
- Unique ID
Once the apostille is done then you can use this Unmarried certificate in any of the Hague Nations. In Total there are 117 Hague nations.
If you want an Unmarried certificate in Non Hague Nations then step 4 will be Embassy attestation.
Note : Embassy attestation is country specific, Meaning you cannot use one country’s embassy attested document in another country.
Step 4 for Non Hague countries – Embassy Attestation – Once the Step 3 MEA Attestation is done then the document is submitted to the country embassy they are travelling to. For example if you are travelling to UAE then the document is submitted to UAE Embassy in India. If you are travelling to Malaysia then it is submitted to Malaysia embassy attestation. Likewise for Thailand, Taiwan, Qatar Etc.
Once the Embassy attestation is done you can use the Unmarried certificate in that particular country only.
Process of getting Unmarried certificate by through Court
This is the government prescribed process, However this involves lengthy court proceedings. This process will take at least 30 – 45 working days just to get the court approval and another 20 working days 20 get the document in hand. In total 60 working days or 3 months.
Both court issued and Affidavit issued by Notary are valid.
Below is the process of getting an Unmarried certificate through court proceedings.
- Find a good lawyer and file a petition on the court to issue you a unmarried certificate
- Court will give a hearing and you should be sworn in front of the judge saying that you are unmarried and that you are eligible to marry anyone of any nationality.
- The judge will give an order to do a background verification on you, to check whether you are actually unmarried or not
- After the verification and if all things are true the police will give a report to Judge saying that the verification is done and that you have not married or you are legally divorced and not remarried
- After going through the report the court will give an order to the Tahasildar office to.issue you a single status certificate.
- You need to take this order to the Municipality. The Municipality will issue you a single status certificate after consulting the marriage registrar.
After receiving the document you must get the document either apostilled or attested by the embassy. If you are marrying a foreigner in India or outside India.
What is the Validity of the Unmarried Certificate ?
The generally accepted validity of the Unmarried certificate is 6 months from the date of issuing. However each country has its own rules regarding the validity of the document. So consult the authorities to whom you are submitting the document.
What is the cost of getting the Unmarried certificate Apostille?
Cost of getting an Unmarried certificate depends on the issuing state, Travelling country, the process you are using to get the certificate, either Notary or the court issued.
Court issued single status will be costlier since it involves court, lawyers and police.
Getting Unmarried certificate apostille or embassy attestation is a complex process. It’s always better to consult the Unmarried certificate apostille attestation to get the work done quickly and efficiently.
Unmarried Certificate Apostille — FAQs
Get clear answers to the most common questions about Unmarried Certificate (Single Status) and its apostille process.
What is an Unmarried Certificate and why is it needed?
An Unmarried Certificate is issued by the state government and confirms that you are currently unmarried (bachelor/spinster) and legally eligible to marry anyone of any nationality. It is a mandatory document for anyone marrying abroad or marrying a person of a different nationality.
What are the other names for an Unmarried Certificate?
The Unmarried Certificate is known by different names across countries:
- Single Status Certificate
- Bachelorhood Certificate
- Certificate of No Impediment for Marriage
- CENOMAR (Certificate of No Marriage)
Different countries use different names for the same certificate.
When do I need an Unmarried Certificate?
You need an Unmarried Certificate in the following situations:
- If you are marrying someone outside India, you must produce a Bachelorhood Certificate to the authorities.
- In some countries, you need to prove you are unmarried in order to obtain a job.
- To register yourself in a foreign country.
For all of the above purposes, the Unmarried Certificate must be apostilled or embassy attested.
Where can I get an Unmarried Certificate in India?
Depending on your location and preference, you can get an Unmarried Certificate from:
- Tahsildar Office / Municipality — for people living in cities.
- Gram Panchayat — for people living in villages or with a village permanent address.
- Court — through formal court proceedings.
- Notary + SDM — via a Notarized Unmarried Certificate Affidavit counter-signed by the Sub-Divisional Magistrate.
The easiest and fastest method is the Notary + SDM route.
What is the easiest way to get an Unmarried Certificate?
The best and fastest way is through an Unmarried Certificate Affidavit. This is a self-declaration affidavit where you declare: "You have never been married and that you are eligible to marry anyone of any nationality."
Steps to get the affidavit:
- Prepare the affidavit with details exactly matching your passport (Name, Father's Name, Mother's Name, Address, DOB, place of birth).
- Get it printed on ₹100 stamp paper (First party, second party, and purchaser must all be under your name).
- Visit a Notary Public and get notary attestation on all pages.
- Fill the online registration form.
- Courier the affidavit to the provided address.
- Receive the Unmarried Certificate with apostille.
Note: The same steps apply for divorced applicants — the additional requirement is a Divorce Certificate with apostille.
What is the apostille process for an Unmarried Certificate?
The process has 4 steps:
- Notary Attestation — The authorised Notary Public cross-verifies the document and supporting papers.
- SDM Attestation — The document is submitted to the Sub-Divisional Magistrate office, where signatures are verified.
- MEA Attestation — The Ministry of External Affairs (central government body) verifies the document.
- Final Step — Depends on the destination country:
- Hague Convention Countries → Apostille (square sticker with Issued To, Signed By, Authorised By, Apostille Date, Unique ID).
- Non-Hague Countries → Embassy Attestation of the destination country (e.g. UAE, Malaysia, Thailand, Qatar embassies).
There are currently 117 Hague nations. Embassy attestation is country-specific — a document attested for one country cannot be used in another.
Can I get an Unmarried Certificate through court?
Yes. It is the government-prescribed process, but it involves lengthy court proceedings — approximately 60 working days or 3 months in total (30–45 days for court approval + ~20 days to receive the document).
The court process involves:
- Filing a petition through a lawyer.
- Appearing before the judge and swearing you are unmarried.
- Background verification ordered by the judge (police report).
- Court order directing the Tahsildar to issue a Single Status Certificate.
- Taking the order to the Municipality to obtain the certificate.
- Getting the certificate apostilled or embassy attested.
Both court-issued and Notary-issued affidavits are legally valid.
What is the validity of an Unmarried Certificate?
The generally accepted validity is 6 months from the date of issuance. However, each country has its own rules regarding validity — always confirm with the authority you are submitting the document to.
What is the cost of getting an Unmarried Certificate Apostille?
The cost depends on several factors:
- The issuing state
- The destination (travelling) country
- The method used to obtain the certificate (Notary vs. Court)
Court-issued Single Status Certificates are more expensive because they involve court fees, lawyers, and police verification.
Is it better to use a professional apostille service?
Yes. Getting an Unmarried Certificate apostille or embassy attestation is a complex, multi-step process involving Notary, SDM, MEA, and (for non-Hague countries) embassy coordination. It is always safer and faster to consult an apostille attestation specialist to get the work done quickly and efficiently, without rejection or delays.
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