Tallinn Vital Statistics Department contacts and office hours

Address Pärnu maantee 67 

Reception times: 

Mon 09:00-13:00 and 14:00-17:30
Tue 13:00-17:00
Wed, Thu 09:00-13:00 and 14:00-17:00
Fri 09:00-13:00

23.12.2024 reception times 09.00-13.00
24-26.12.2024 closed
31.12.2024 no reception times
01.01.2025 closed

Email: [email protected]
Marriage helpline +372 645 7483

To enter into a marriage, you must submit:

• a joint written declaration: Version 1, Version 2;
• identity documents;
• birth document, in case the birth details of a prospective spouse are not in the population register;
• in the case of a second or subsequent marriage or cohabitation, a document stating that the previous marriage or registered cohabitation has ended or been declared invalid, if the data is not available in the population register;
• certificate of legal capacity to contract marriage in case the prospective spouse’s place of residence is in a foreign country or he/she has lived in Estonia less than six months;
• document confirming marital status, if the the prospective spouse’s residence has been registered in Estonia for more than six months, but there is no information on the marital status;
• document proving the legality of a foreigner staying in Estonia in case he/she is not an European Union citizen;
• a document proving the payment of the state fee;
• if necessary, a document certifying that any other obstacle to the marriage has been removed.

Requirements for foreign documents

An original document or a copy certified by a notary shall be submitted to the registry office.
Foreign documents must be legalised or certified by an apostille unless an international agreement provides otherwise. 
A document in a foreign language must be translated into Estonian, Russian or English, unless the document is in Russian or English. If the documents have been translated, the original document must be accompanied by a translation certified by a notary, consular officer or sworn translator.

According to Regulation (EU) 2016/1191 of the European Parliament and of the Council (Regulation 2016/1191), many public documents will no longer require an apostille for submission to other EU countries as of 16 February 2019. When submitting a document to another EU country, it is no longer necessary to apostille documents certifying, for example, birth; death; name; marriage, including marital capacity and vital statistics; divorce, legal separation or marriage annulment; parenthood; adoption; permanent location and/or residence.

Tallinn Vital Statistics Department accepts the documents mentioned in the Regulation in Estonian, Russian and English, so no translation is required for documents in these languages. If the document is drafted in another language, it must be translated if it is not accompanied by a standard multilingual form.

Birth certificate

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A spouse whose birth record is not available in the population register must submit a birth certificate (Vital Statistics Registration Act § 38).
In order to enter the data in the Estonian Population Register, you must submit a birth certificate with the parents' details.
 

Previously married person

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A person who has been previously married must present a document certifying the end or annulment of the marriage (divorce certificate, death certificate, together with the marriage certificate).
A foreign divorce document must include the identities of the divorcees, the authority that issued the divorce decree, the date of the decree, the date on which it took effect and, if possible, the date and place of the divorce.
Please note! It is important that extracts from foreign court decisions contain all the information requested above.

In the case of a divorce decreed after 01.03.2005 by a court of a member state of the European Union, it must be accompanied by the certificate provided in the EU Council Regulation (EC) No. 2201/2003 (Annex I). Regulation in English. Adding the certificate ensures that you have full information about the divorce and that the judgment has entered into force. The judgment does not need to be certified by apostille in this case.

Divorces decreed by a court in an EU Member State before 01.03.2005 must be certified by apostille.
Divorce decrees by courts in non-EU countries must be apostilled or legalised. 

If the previous marriage ended in the death of the spouse, the death certificate of the spouse must be submitted, together with the marriage certificate. 
 

Certificate of marital capacity

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A certificate of marital capacity is a document issued by a competent authority of the country of residence or nationality of the spouse certifying that there are no impediments to marriage under the law of the country of residence or nationality. 

A person's place of residence is their place of residence entered in the population register (Vital Statistics Registration Act §9, p. 5¹⁾).

• The certificate of marital capacity must be submitted by a person whose place of residence is abroad or who has lived in Estonia for less than six months immediately before submitting the marriage application.
• A certificate of marital capacity does not need be submitted by a person whose place of residence is in Estonia for at least six months immediately before submitting the marriage application and whose vital statistics (marital status) data are recorded in the population register.
• If the spouse's place of residence has been registered in Estonia for more than six months, but there is no information on vital statistics (on marital status) in the population register, a document confirming the vital statistics (marital status) or a certificate of marital capacity must be submitted.

This certificate is valid for the period stated thereon but for no more than seven months from the date of issue. The certificate must be valid at the time of the marriage.

Please note! Documents that state only a person's vital statistics (marital status) information, documents that for a certain period have no record of a person's marital status, and unauthorised declarations of no impediments confirmed by a notary are not considered as valid certificates of marital capacity.

If no certificate of marital capacity is issued in the foreign country, you have the right to apply to the court (Harju County Court, Lubja 4, Tallinn) for permission to marry without a certificate of marital capacity under § 39, p. 5 of the Vital Statistics Registration Act. The permission is valid for six months.

Property rights of spouses

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At the time of the marriage, the spouses must choose, at the time of the application, the most suitable property regime for them:

• jointness of property
• set-off of assets increment
• separateness of property

If the spouses do not indicate their choice, they will be deemed to have opted for the jointness of property regime.
Read more about spouses' property rights from the Eesti.ee portal. 

If the spouses opt for a set-off of assets increment or a separateness of property, the Vital Statistics Department will forward the application together with the entry for registration to the marital property register. A marital property registry page is then opened, and a notification is sent to the spouses by the marriage register. 
 

How soon can you get married?

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According to subsection 41(1) of the Vital Statistics Registration Act, marriages cannot be concluded earlier than one month and later than six months after the date on which the parties to the marriage have lodged an application for marriage with the Vital Statistics Department.
 

At what age can you get married?

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Only persons of legal age may get married.
 

Name after marriage

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When getting married, a person can choose a new surname or keep the existing one.

A new surname may:

• be shared with the spouse (the last surname of one of the spouses before the marriage);
• consist of the surname last entered before the marriage followed by the surname of the spouse hyphenated.