In order to become legally effective in Germany, foreign divorce decrees must be recognized by the Higher Regional Court.

In North Rhine-Westphalia, the Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf is responsible for these recognition procedures.

 

All relevant information about the conditions and the exact procedure of a recognition process can be found in the Guidelines for the recognition of foreign divorces. PDF-Dokument, öffnet neues Browserfenster / neuen Browser-Tab (237 KB) (in German)

If you wish to make a request for recognition of a foreign divorce, you will find the appropriate application form. PDF-Dokument, öffnet neues Browserfenster / neuen Browser-Tab (55 KB) here (in German).

 

In our Country Section  you finally find additional information on the documents required for the recognition of a divorce distinguished by the respective countries.

 

Please accept our apologies for the provided material being only available in German. If you need a professional linguist for this material, you can search our database for a suitable translator.

 

Office hours – please note:

Please note the special office hours for the affairs of the recognition of foreign divorce decrees and in matters concerning the procedure to verify the conditions for marriage:

Mondays to Fridays between 8:30 am and 12:30 pm

and additionally on Thursdays from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm.

You can contact the office during opening hours by calling +049 211 4971 741.