You might need a certificate of custom law (certificat de coutume) if you’re getting married in France.
You should check with the local Mairie to confirm whether you need this or not.
There’s more information on getting married in France on our Paris Embassy website.
If you live overseas you can obtain a certificate of custom law through your nearest British consulate.
If you live in the UK you should apply for one through our office in London.
Download certificate of custom law form
Ensure you include all the original documents that are asked for on the checklist. We recommend you send us your application via special or recorded delivery. We CANNOT accept personal callers - all applications are dealt with by post
We’ll return your documents and send you an acknowledgement letter within 20 working days (four weeks).
The application will then be sent on to our Embassy in Paris who will issue your certificate. From this point, it can take between 1-3 weeks for you to receive your certificate. Please allow enough time when submitting your application.
The certificate will be in French and will be valid for six months prior to your marriage, though you should check this with your Mairie.
You can choose whether you wish your certificate to be sent to an address in the UK or in France. Please note that your certificate will be delivered significantly quicker to an address in France.
We recommend you either:
Failure to include a Special Delivery envelope or additional payment will mean your passport and birth certificate are returned to you by untracked, standard mail. We strongly recommend paying for Special Delivery as we cannot accept any liability for any lost documents in the postal system.
The current fee is £65.00 per certificate requested. This is subject to change.
You can pay by postal order or bank draft, made payable to ‘The FCO’. We can’t accept personal cheques. We also accept online card payments (see below).
You can now make payments for our services by credit or debit card. When submitting your application, make sure you include a print out of the Barclaycard payment confirmation page which gives details of your payment reference and date and time of payment. Without this information we will be unable to process your application. Please see the full terms and conditions.
Card payments are only valid for applications being made in the UK. If you are applying directly to your local British Consulate overseas, you should not use this payment method. Please contact your local British Consulate for payment instructions.
Please take care to fill in the correct application form with full information, and to submit your application with all documents requested allowing good time for the application to be processed and your certificate to be returned to you.
Incomplete applications will be returned, and we will not be held responsible for any resulting inconveniences.