How to get Married in the Dominican Republic

Missed it, was told they were gone at about quarter to 5p.

We did it!!!! Goal obtained! We're married!!!!!!!

Question, how does the bride get her last name changed???

Congratulations!

With your official marriage documents she goes and changes her cedula and her passport if she has one.  She knows how to do that and she know who to ask for help.

@planner

My partner and I would like to get married in DR. I am Dominican and she is US American, her question is if it is a must to carry my last name or she can just keeps hers and they do in USA as choice?

Thanks in advance.

@planner

She isn't familiar with any of this, but I have her trying to obtain the info.

    @plannerMy partner and I would like to get married in DR. I am Dominican and she is US American, her question is if it is a must to carry my last name or she can just keeps hers and they do in USA as choice?Thanks in advance.        -@FranciscoCornelioJaquez

Hello, hopefully I have some answers to this possibly tomorrow. It may be a different day however. I'm encountering the same scenario, me being the American and her being the beautiful dominican queen; wanting to have her accept my last name. I wish I remembered to ask on the day of ceremony. Be prepared to wait 10 buisness days for marriage certificate after ceremony.

I believe someone had informed me that a name change can be done in the USA after-the-fact as well. To answer the question partly for now.

You all need to stop babying these Dominican women. They know well how to get this information and who to ask.  I see this often and you are setting a precedent you may not be happy with.

As to names, I know many Dominican women who did not change their names.  I have to assume that is legal.

@planner

lol, that's right. That's why I said I have her obtaining the info;)

I'm definitely someone who teaches a person to catch fish rather than to keep catching it for them. However, in this matter, I don't care who gets the info, we just need it so it can be done, it's new to each of us. So, if I end up having to babysit this one a little bit, to make sure money doesn't get wasted doing things wrong or on misinfo, etc. I will end up doing that. USCIS is not something to take chances on. You know what they say, if you want something done right.....

Teach first, correct after, or do it myself to avoid money and time loss, and for the seriousness of any uscis situation. Other than that, there won't be much babying. Help, yes, baby, no.

I could use some pointing in the right direction to find apartment rentals in santo domingo however, difficult search online thus far. plus any mention of the word rent comes up with temp rentals now. airbnb, vrbo, etc.

Best way is to walk the neighborhoods you want to live in.  Look for signs in the window or on the side of the building.  Have her call, not you!

Most of what is online is short term or higher end rentals.

Warning for renting in Santo Domingo, you will need a guarantor or fiador for the contract.  That is normal! Be ready.

As promised, here's what I did on my journey to successfully complete a marriage in the 1st quarter of 2024 (for historical reference), forgive the way it is formatted/written. Please pick through it for the notes that are relevant to you and have confidence on your journey after following mine, which I was very nervous about:

Me:

previously married and divorced

U.S. citizen

child living at home

Male

active passport holder

Her:

never married

children living at home

DR citizen

did not have a current passport at the time

She:

Got a new passport for herself. later on obtained children's birth certificates, and marriage certificate when ready. Just this week went to submit a name change, keeping each original name and adding mine with a de "????" at the end.... which I didn't exactly like as much and could've sworn that a name or two would be dropping from her original full name. That part is still in discussion as of today on if we will ask for any alternating to the submitted application. I will try to find out the name of the place she went to for the name change...I forgot to ask until right now. I sent her the money to pay for the ceremony to be performed, which needed to be paid first and to secure a date or else get moved out to the next month. It was either the RD10K or RD$15k, I don't recall which, but you can see which one suits your circumstance in order to know which amount to pay. She booked the appointment at the "Oficialia Civil De La Sexta Circunscripcion" in Santo Domingo. We arrived early about 15-20mins before opening, and waited an hour or less total. The ceremony was about maybe 20-30mins, seemed short though, not long. There was a moment where her mom answered a question on her behalf (just naturally) and they did not like this, fyi. I didn't understand much, but I knew how to sign and place that ring on her finger and tell her I loved her. *name change was submitted at Junta Centrar Electoral. Currently working on children's passports. Current time frame for them is 1 month, and the price is a little more expensive at RD$3500ea

ME:

I did lots of research on doing all of this and was still a little lost, or just not confident enough because of the risk in making a costly mistake that would cost both precious time and money.

I had to grab a few items to complete my outfit. I don't know if she needed it but she had to pick up a non-real bouquet. But while we were waiting, I had a nice trick up my sleeve to have a beautiful bouquet delivered to her on the spot...however, I was getting this done on the spot, so the timing was critical, and the delivery man missed the ceremony and I do only by about 5-7mins, her family missed the delivery as well. Everyone had to get to work. I had the most beautiful bouquet delivered, shout out to Amorossa, and although I ultimately did not order from them due to the distance and time, Shout out to Bloom Store as well. They both were trying to make it all work for me. I did not ask for a translator (kinda) for the service...I did ask about having a translator, but...did not try to request one. The flower arrangement was done 98% in secrecy until the last message or two when she seen a pic of the bouquet. This was all done through whatsapp, and they wrote to me in their language and I translated. The place is on a dead end business plaza, busy with cars, motorbikes, and people, plus difficult to reverse out, fyi.

I had both rings purchased by myself from the states and brought with me. On the day of, I brought with me the previously (state) translated originals of Birth cert, Divorce Decree, and letter of single status which read: "I '?????' am writing this letter to confirm that I am of single status, and legally and lawfully able to marry in any state or country without issue." That's all, added my name and the date and wrote in plain and simple, I may or may not have added that I was intending to marry "?????", I can't recall now, and they kept all of the original papers that I brought with me; so don't expect to receive any back.

Each of these were then taken to be apostilled. However, I had someone very nice work with me who started on my paperwork from the copies I sent over, and I went to get my originals apostilled, then went to pick up the translated documents due to the closing times of both business. I literally just made it for the apostille service, they turned the next person away, and was so disgustingly rude about it.

Because I read that they would want to know the date, time, and name of the person who officiated my previous marriage, I was having this document translated as well, but it could not have an apostille done where I loved because it was from another state. Ultimately, I did not receive the translated marriage cert back in time for my trip, but I had the original with me, which was in English of course. They accepted everything as I brought it, I was asked no questions, nor needed clarification.

One of my questions here was apostille then translate, or translate then apostille?? In my case it's a little difficult to say, thus I still do not know. It took some time to translate the docs, and I left without the lesser important one. Since the originals are the ones that need to be apostilled, I would say that these are treated as 2 steps in relation but unrelated...as in you complete them separately and will need your originals for each. The apostille can be done same day, I was the last customer, and they are sticklers for the cut off time. 3 documents, and I was out of there in maybe 30mins or so.

Now, I must fill out the I-130 for her and her kids, and the I-130A also for her which is no additional cost from what I'm told, as it goes along with the I-130 for the spouse.

We:

After marriage went to get the marriage cert, and register the marriage, whichever comes first, lol. But we were told that it would be 10 business days, and it was 10 business right down to the day when ready. I don't know if the name change could have come up sooner, it was forgotten in the moment/day of. Afterwards, we (stopped at home loosened clothes up a little ) and went to enjoy the colonial zone, we had a date day basically. We ate at a cafe, took pics along the way to and at each spot, walked along the Conde (name of a street) and could not find the horse or electric carriage:(, supposedly we missed it, ended about 4:45p fyi; and we also did not find a street artist to draw us personal pics:(. Traffic after 5p took 2hrs to get back home...which was normally I think 30 or so mins.

That's all I have for now. I may share the rest of the document journey after, and if I do I willll try to document it better, as the above was all from memory really.

Congratulations and thanks for sharing!

This thread was started 10 years ago.  There's so much information here that I can't get through it all.  I'm sorry if this was addressed, but....

I'm a US citizen planning to marry a Dominican at some point in the future.  I have my residency in the DR (pensioner).  I was married twice before and divorced.  I'm not sure what papers I need for that.... the divorces.  I have to show proof to the DR government that I'm legally able to marry, right?  That would be by showing my divorce decrees?  In the "US citizen" information posted on page 1 of this thread in 2014, it says:

    Sworn declaration before a notary public, of being single and eligible to marry; the sworn declaration then needs to be legalized at the Offices of Procuraduría General de La República. If the Sworn declaration is done before a U.S. notary, it then needs to be legalized at the closest Dominican Consulate in the U.S. .....U.S. citizens needing to comply with this requirement should instead present themselves to a Dominican notary –as specified above-.)

So, do I need my divorce decrees notarized in the US or in the Dominican Republic?  A notary in the US is only witnessing your signature of some document at the time you sign it.  They're not certifying a document.  What does it mean to have a document "legalized" at the Offices of Procuraduría General de La República or the closest Dominican Consulate in the US.  What does "legalized" mean?

Do I need to have the divorce decrees translated into Spanish and apostilled?  Both or just the most recent divorce?

I'm just confused.  I need to prove to the DR government that I'm legally able to marry, right?  How do I do that?  I've been living in the DR but took some time to come back to the US for some other things and am hoping to get this paperwork sorted out here (whatever it is I need to do, if anything, with the divorce documents).

Also, what is the CURRENT web site where I can find this information for myself.  I found a web address somewhere in here but it appears to be old and doesn't work.

I apologize in advance for any redundancy or frustration.  I'm hoping to avoid another trip back to the US just because I forgot something, or didn't do the papers right.  I want to get everything done that I need to on this trip.

@SandyS_retired

You can read all of my post, questions, replies, and follow ups. It's the very latest example, it's still so fresh that I am only sending i-130 forms tomorrow,  finally. I've looked thru a ton of info and still had a ton of questions. So you can check the responses to my questions and between all of this, starting with my 1st post, you should be squared away. Only difference is that I held no DR residency as you do. If you start from the bottom you will see my very long post on everything I did, physically, once I got past all of the questions, and that I succeeded in marrying my bride. I even listed some places. You can start there, then go to the beginning post of mine to fill in any blanks. I want to say that my experience should cover all that you need to do in your situation in 2024.

I did all certifications, notaraizations, apostilles in u.s. for ease. Altho I found hardly any of this that easy. Some was, technically, but the how to, what to, where to...should be made much simpler. But, there are those who's job is to deter you. But I say, always let love win your war. Give no man or entity the power to steal live from you, no matter what, find a way. Easier said than done, but when it comes to love, stand firm on this one.

Pray to God, poke your chest out, and say, "no one shall keep us from being happy, being together, nothing is stro"ger than our love". I swear to you, this was my attitude, my goal, my level of determination... idk what the heck I'm doing with this international stuff, but I know love and happiness means the world to me. I thank this forum very much for helping to clarify and organize me thru the steps. I'm definitely an example and success story. And will follow up again once I submit these forms and get an answer back, because people like you and I will keep coning along with the same questions and seeking the absolute clearest directions, all the way sown to lamens terms.

You should see the stack of papers I'm submitting. Doesn't like like pics can be attached here, but...you'd be blown away. Trying not to miss a beat.... almost forgot to get payment ready. Taking new passports style photos to include tomorrow then...its up to the mail courier to do their part, which I'm super nervous about. Way too many papers to keep a copy of for myself (I do have 98% saved electronically tho), especially because I had to make copies x3...and that's not all. But more to come after;). Please just wish me speed, luck, and smooth processes, if you will. Thank you.

On a seperate note:

Seeing that you live in DR, are from U.S., and go back and forth... if you know of have any knowledge of or connections for any of the following: opportunities to work from u.s. and live abroad for u.s. citizen non-billingual; work within santo domingo  for DR citizen, and (safe area) apartments, please let me know. You can send me a private message if so.

@Shestheone  First, thank you for the huge amount of info you provided.  I'm sure I'm not the only person who will need it.  Second, I am not familiar with the Santo Domingo area and cannot advise on apartments, houses, etc.  Sorry!

Now for my own info and questions:

Him:  Dominican, has DR passport but has never traveled; never married but has one child that lives with the mother, and we're not planning to move the child yet... we want to get ourselves situated first.  Now, he did live with the mother for 16 years, and I understand there is a 'common-law marriage' sort of thing.  So I'm guessing he'll need to get a statement of being single and able to marry?  We'll probably do that anyway just to cover all bases.

Me:  American, has DR "Residencia Inversion".  (I got my residency by my pension, but they call it "investment.")  I had to submit my birth certificate, translated and apostilled, for the immigration process so the question is:  since I am a legal resident and have a cedula, will I need to submit copies again?  I mean, I'm a DR resident.  That should count for something... it should knock out some of the paperwork on my side, right?  DR resident/DR born (him) marrying a DR resident/foreign born (me).

Still a little foggy on the divorce decree, whether I need to have it translated and apostilled, or do I just need a notarized statement in the US saying I'm legally able to marry.  I guess I'll get it all done anyway, just in case.  I'm trying not to waste money, but if I do it wrong the first time, it'll cost more time and money to fix it in the long run.  It also looks like I need to have the marriage certificate from the last marriage translated because they want to know the date, time, and officiate.

@Shestheone  You talked about having your translated copies of birth certificate, divorce decree, and statement of single status with you "on the day of", and that these documents were taken somewhere to another office to be apostilled.  Are you saying that, when you went to your ceremony appointment, you had only translated copies of these (not yet apostilled) and they were then apostilled in Santo Domingo during your ceremony appointment?

For now, I will just pay the money and get everything I can think of translated and apostilled.  I need to find someone who can do this quickly - maybe an online service?  I was last married and divorced in another US state, so I'd rather not try to figure that out.

Thanks again to everyone who have posted so much information regarding the process.

@SandyS_retired

You're very welcome, my pleasure. Just adding to the foundation already laid, in my own little way. He will need the statement of being single regardless, both of you will. Idk about the common law marriage thing for there, but I suppose it would be similar to the states whereas if you do not claim to be common law married, it is not forced upon you either. If 2 people want to be bf and gf for 16yrs, well...neither of them saw fit to marry the other, or they never got to work all of the kinks out, and thus no title changes. Someone in this forum that lives there may be able to provide a more accurate answer perhaps. But I would say to google how does common law work in the dr, then your answer should sprout from there.

With you having a cedula, I'm not sure on that one. I'm sorry, I'm not familiar with anything resident related, and all of this is still new to me as well. My opinion is...I feel that your cedula should suffice, add in your translated and original divorce decree, apostilled, the statement of being single is separate so it must be added in with this other required docs. Mine was a very simple couple of sentences that I wrote in my post, from what I remembered. It was a little bit off but it was that simple and very short and to the point. I touched on all parts, imo, stating that I was was free to and legally able to marry in any country etc. etc. I really wish we could upload things on here, I feel visuals are so very important with the more confusing the task and goal is.

Divorce decree was apostilled and translated, yes. You will have to also provide the original marriage info as far as the person who certified the document..? If I'm saying that right? And the date and time. Now where I was confused was that they did not indicate how they want to receive that info, nor did I get an answer to that question on here when asked. So, I just brought the whole thing, and it wasn't even apostilled due to it being from another state, my state couldn't apostille it. But I had it translated and notarized. I didn't want to take a chance. Beware, the people at the apostille offices can be brutal, rude as heck, and straight cold. From.what I've seen in that that, and thank God I made it within mins....they either hate their jobs or love not having anyone makensure they were doing them, or caring, or actually wanted to help people. This is why I want to work in such places, because I care, and these clowns don't. I felt so bad for this lady next to me, and whomever had paperwork in the guy's hands...he did not give 2 craps about anyone. Anyways....sorry, it was that memorable and heartbreaking.....just ne warned they could be like that, show up with time left, try not to forget a single thing, if anythingmake sure anything you jave that may be needed is accessible by your email or photo scans and not just your PC at home or on a table. That way all you'll need is access to be able to print. Don't give them a chance to not help you. Don't forget a bank check, and look on the counter or elsewhere for the info to wrote the check out to, because they hardly even want to point it out to you.

The apostille didn't cost too much, so I was comfortable getting anything I could get apostilled, and what things could notnget apostilled got a notarization, certified, etc. Nothing was provided without something extra along with it. The cheapest route for me was the state office. Oh, check the max they can do in person before going, because they may have a limit like mine. Mine was 3 docs max, anymore than that required a drop off. It took between 30-60mins maybe? Was $6ea. I lucked out by the grace of God with the translation part, some person whom I did not know did me a very solid and translated 3 or 4 docs for me...$0, and they worked at the Consulate. I haven't heard from them them since their trip and a little before that, and I sure hope they didn't get it to any trouble or anything. But we were fast friends for a few weeks and then....they were gone. It's very interesting and mysterious indeed. Only God could've set that up for me. Because it was more money I barely had, especially with mailing the docs today new prices $675ea for I-130, I have 3. So what was saved then affected now. That woman was an angel, straight godsend.

I believe the Consulate route was going to be the cheapest option as well. You have to be careful who you have do the translations, because there were requirements or something, like it had to be done by a place that is within the state you're in... some places sent the docs elsewhere to be translated, so....tricky. to answer your question, no, I had everything taken care of in the states and came ready with it in hand. Everything was accepted and kept, I got nothing back. I had extra copies of things before I got started just in case. So, nothing was done in dr, I didn't want to risk that, and don't speak the language, and if I needed something it would've been back home in the states, thus unable to provide. So my only option was, "ready, or not." Every step of the way I made sure that I could not be turned away, and thus I was not.

Married and divorced in another state? My divorce was in my state altho the marriage was not. So I was able to get the decree done, but the marriage cert could  ot be apostilled. But turns out it didn't need to be. But you will have to see if your divorce decree can be apostilled in your state or not, I think it may have to be done in the divorcing state. Remember, bring originals and the translations and apostilles of them. And they will be kept. So whatever your order, get dupes, for 2 reasons...so you're not left without any for yourself, and just incase another part of the process requires it. Some states have a bit of lead time on these things too, so check with them now to find out.

Planner,

Quick question, regarding my birth certificate and divorce certificate. Do I need to have those legal translations done in the US. Or do I need to have the vital copies and they will be translated in the DR by the Embassy? We will be performing a civil marriage.

You need to translate there. The embassy doesn't do that.

@planner Thank you so much!