Jordan Single Status Certificate Attestation

Proof of Single Status for a Wedding in Jordan

Jordan is a popular place for Jordanian-Americans to marry, and many U.S. citizens marry Jordanians there. Before a Jordanian religious court records the marriage, it will want evidence that each party is free to marry. The United States has no national marriage register and issues no federal certificate of single status, so the usual U.S. document is a sworn affidavit of single status. When signed in the U.S., it must be legalized by the Embassy of Jordan.

What the affidavit should say

The person swears, before a notary, that they have never married or that any previous marriage has ended, and gives their full name, date and place of birth, nationality, passport number, address and, as Jordanian documents commonly do, their parents’ names. If there was an earlier marriage, list how and when it ended and attach the legalized divorce decree or death certificate. Some couples add a state or county no-record-of-marriage certificate for extra weight.

Signing in the U.S. or in Amman

If you are still in the United States, sign the affidavit before a U.S. notary and have it legalized as described below. U.S. citizens who are already in Jordan may instead be able to swear a similar statement before a U.S. consular officer at the U.S. Embassy in Amman, which Jordanian courts often accept, though local practice should be confirmed. Planning ahead avoids having to send documents back across the Atlantic close to the wedding date.

Court practice

Muslim marriages are concluded before Sharia courts and Christian marriages before the courts of the relevant church, and each applies its own rules on documents and on who may marry. The court may ask for additional papers, such as a birth certificate, proof of religion or the consent of a guardian in some cases. Ask the court or a Jordanian lawyer for the full list before fixing the date, and expect the affidavit to be recent, typically issued within the last few months.

Legalization from the U.S.

After notarization, the affidavit goes to the Secretary of State of the notary’s state, then to the U.S. Department of State, and finally to the Embassy of Jordan in Washington, D.C., which generally needs around a week. Jordan does not use apostilles. The affidavit is a personal document under our Case 3 service; we file it on the Jordanian MFA system and send the copy the embassy keeps.