No Record of Marriage for Egypt

Strengthening an Egyptian Marriage File with a No-Record Search

An affidavit of single status is your own sworn word that you are not married. Some Egyptian notarization offices, and some lawyers preparing a marriage file, also like to see official evidence from a U.S. government office. A no record of marriage, a certified statement that a state or county search found no marriage recorded under your name, provides that evidence and makes the file harder to question.

Where the search is done

U.S. marriage records are kept locally. Some states keep a statewide index that the vital records office can search and certify. In others, only the county clerk or recorder where a marriage license would have been issued holds the records. Find out which office covers your state or county before ordering, and whether it issues certified “no record” statements at all. Where none is available, the affidavit has to carry the file alone.

Making the search convincing

A no-record statement proves only what was searched. Ask for the search to cover the period from age 18 to the present, in the place where you have lived longest or most recently as an adult. Include every name you have used, and every common English spelling of Arabic names, because Egyptian names are often transliterated in several ways, such as different spellings of “Mohamed” or of a family name. A search under one spelling may not reassure an Egyptian reviewer.

Legalizing it for Egypt

A no-record statement is a public record. You send the certified original, signed and sealed by the registrar or clerk, and it is never notarized. The state that issued it adds an authentication certificate, after county-level certification in states that require it. The U.S. Department of State then authenticates the state certificate, and the Egyptian Embassy, or the consulate covering that state, legalizes it. Egypt does not accept apostilles. In Egypt, the statement is translated into Arabic and filed with your affidavit of single status and other marriage documents.

Timing

Egyptian offices prefer recent evidence. Order the search close to the marriage date, but leave enough time for the legalization chain, which typically takes several weeks. Ordering the search and preparing the affidavit at the same time lets both documents be legalized together.