Single Status Declaration Services in Singapore

Getting Married Overseas and Asked to Prove You're Single?

Your partner's country, or the venue's registry, has asked for a "Certificate of No Impediment", an "unmarried certificate" or proof of "legal capacity to marry". You search for how to get one in Singapore and find nothing. That's because it doesn't exist here.

The Registry of Marriages (ROM) says it doesn't issue such documents or a letter of no impediment. Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), through its Consulate-General in Xiamen, says the same about ROM, the Registry of Muslim Marriages (ROMM) and the Consulate-General. What Singapore offers instead is a two-part route:

• the ROM Search for Marriage Records, which shows whether you have a marriage registered in Singapore
• a statutory declaration of your marital status, made before a Notary Public and then apostilled by SAL

Whether the wedding country accepts these instead of a CNI is its decision. Ask the registry or your partner's embassy before you start.

From checklist to apostilled declaration, step by step

1. 1Send us the checklist. We read the wedding country's requirements, confirm the route and send an itemised quote.
2. 2Get your ROM search result. You can do this online with Singpass. We explain which version to order.
3. 3Sign your declaration before the Notary. We come to your home or workplace. Bring your passport or NRIC and any divorce or death documents.
4. 4SAL, embassy if needed, then delivery. We take everything to SAL for you, add the embassy step if your destination needs it, and courier the set to you.

Never Married, Divorced or Widowed: The Documents Each Situation Needs

Your history decides what goes with your declaration. Here's the usual set, but the wedding country's checklist always wins.

A few things surprise people:

• Divorce doesn't erase the search record. ROM keeps historical marriage data permanently and records marital status separately. So a divorced person's search result still shows the marriage, and the divorce order explains it.
• Many court orders are now digital. Singapore Courts issue Authentic Court Orders, which can be verified online at courtorders.gov.sg. This covers many Family Justice Courts orders.
• Court documents can go straight to SAL. SAL legalises Singapore court documents directly, with no notary.
• Death certificates. A Singapore death certificate is a government document, and we check whether SAL can legalise yours directly.

For certified copies of your passport or other ID in the same application, see our notary-certified copies of personal documents.

The ROM Marriage Search: Where Your Declaration Usually Starts

The ROM Search for Marriage Records covers marriages registered in Singapore from 15 September 1961. ROM suggests it for exactly this situation. It also tells applicants to check that the foreign authority accepts the search result.

• Free on-screen search: Singapore citizens and PRs get up to two free online searches in 12 months, using Singpass. The free result is shown on screen only.
• Digital copy: a downloadable search result is available for a small ROM fee and is emailed to you as an encrypted zip file.

For a wedding abroad, you'll almost always need the digital copy, because the free result is shown on screen only. We can attach the search result to your declaration as an exhibit, so it is notarised and apostilled together with it.

Why the declaration still matters: the search only covers marriages registered in Singapore. It can't show a marriage registered somewhere else. Your declaration covers the full picture.

Sign Your Single Status Declaration at Home

A statutory declaration has to be made in person. You appear before the Notary, show your ID and declare that the contents are true. No one can sign it for you, and a proxy can't make it on your behalf. Remote notarisation isn't in force for notaries in Singapore, so there's no video option.

What we can do is make it easy. Our Notary can come to your home for the signing, or to your workplace in a lunch break. If you and your partner both live in Singapore and both need declarations, one visit covers you both.

Before the Notary arrives:

• Use the wording the wedding country provides, if it gives one. If it doesn't, tell us and we'll check the options with the Notary.
• Make sure every detail matches your passport: full name, date of birth and passport number.
• Have your ROM search result and any divorce or death documents ready.

A Commissioner for Oaths can take statutory declarations for use in Singapore, but not for documents going overseas. For a wedding abroad, you need a Notary Public. Some wedding checklists say "notarize a sworn statement of single status". In Singapore, that's this declaration.

Will the Wedding Country Accept It? Apostille or Embassy

For Apostille Convention countries, such as the Philippines, Indonesia, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, the UK, the USA and most of Europe, the SAL Apostille is normally the final Singapore step. Read more on what the SAL Apostille does.

• Vietnam has been an Apostille party since 11 September 2026.
• Thailand joins on 28 February 2027. Until then, documents generally still need the Royal Thai Embassy in Singapore after SAL.
• Malaysia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Sri Lanka and Myanmar aren't parties, so they usually need legalisation by the embassy or high commission after SAL.

Some countries also want the documents translated into their language. We can arrange a notarised translation for the wedding authority.

How long is it valid? That's set by the wedding country, not Singapore. Many authorities want recently dated documents, so ask before you sign and plan backwards from the wedding date.

What it costs. Notary fees are fixed by law and are the same at every notary. SAL sets its own fees.

The prices shown above are starting prices. Your final price depends on the document type, number of pages and destination country, and will be confirmed in a written quotation before any work begins.

Example: one declaration apostilled for an Apostille country = S$40 + S$75 + S$87.20 = S$202.20 in statutory and SAL fees, plus the ROM search fee. Our document check is free. The Notary confirms which items apply to your document. See how notary, SAL and visit fees add up.

How long it takes. The declaration is signed at your appointment. SAL works over the counter at The Adelphi, 1 Coleman Street #08-06, Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 4:30pm. Our usual turnaround is 1–2 working days, plus any embassy step and courier time. Embassy timelines vary, so start early. Checked October 2026.

Who takes your declaration. Our partner Singapore Notary Public, a senior lawyer appointed to practise as a Notary Public in Singapore (how we work with our partner Notary Public).

Also Need a Name, Address or Relationship Declaration?

Wedding paperwork often brings up other declarations. We handle these in the same appointment:

• Name declaration ("one and the same person"), when your name is spelt differently across documents
• Address declaration, for overseas banks or registries
• Identity declaration, confirming who you are for a foreign authority
• Relationship declaration, for a visa sponsor or family application

Each is made before the Notary in the same way. For other documents that need your signature witnessed, see having documents signed before a Notary. After the wedding, you may need your new marriage certificate legalised too.

Single Status Questions Before the Wedding