Registering a Marriage Concluded in the USA or Canada in Jordan, and Its Effects
A marriage contract issued by a state in America or a province in Canada may be valid and in force there, and still be absent from Jordanian records until it is registered in Jordan: it does not appear in the family book, the children's registration cannot be built on it, and Jordanian authorities do not accept it before it is authenticated. The matter is governed by the Jordanian Personal Status Law No. 15 of 2019, which makes documentation of the marriage contract in an official document the rule and, in Article 36, assigns to Jordan's Muslim consuls the documentation of Jordanians' marriages outside the Kingdom, together with the Civil Code No. 43 of 1976, which in Article 15 subjects the marriage to Jordanian law alone whenever one of the spouses was Jordanian when it was concluded, except for the condition of capacity. Because the assessment of a contract concluded before a foreign civil authority depends on how it was concluded and on the spouses' nationality and religion, it is a review of the contract by a lawyer who specializes in Sharia cases, before any paper is submitted in Jordan, that determines whether it will be accepted as it is or needs another route.
This article covers the Sharia court system that governs the marriages of Muslims; the family matters of non-Muslims follow their own religious community councils, and this article does not cover them.
1. Why the US or Canadian Contract Alone Is Not Enough in Jordan
Article 36(b) of the Personal Status Law provides that the judge, or a person the judge authorizes, documents the marriage contract in an official document, and paragraph (g) of the same article sets a parallel route for Jordanians living abroad: the Muslim consuls of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan document the marriage contracts of Jordanian nationals outside the Kingdom, record them in their registers and send a copy to the Supreme Judge Department. A marriage performed before a civil officer in a US state or a Canadian province falls outside both routes, and it reaches Jordanian records through acceptance of its foreign document: the Civil Status and Passports Department offers a service for registering a marriage at its offices and through Jordanian embassies and consulates abroad, its service guide requires a marriage certificate or contract concluded outside the country to be authenticated in due form, and it sets additional conditions for some contracts, such as those issued by Islamic centers. Documents issued in the United States or Canada need authentication before any Jordanian body accepts them, and the lawyer checks that this has been done in line with the instructions in force; the article Power of Attorney from the USA and Canada for Use in Jordan sets out the authorities involved in this authentication in both countries. Authentication proves that the document was issued by a competent authority, and it does not by itself settle whether the marriage is valid under Jordanian law.
The Civil Code adds a second layer. Article 13 refers the substantive conditions for the validity of a marriage to the law of each spouse, and treats a marriage between two foreigners, or between a foreigner and a Jordanian, as valid in form if it was concluded according to the procedures of the country where it took place, or if the procedures set by the law of each spouse were observed. Article 15 then provides that if one of the spouses was Jordanian when the marriage was concluded, Jordanian law alone applies, except for the condition of capacity to marry. In other words, Article 15 subjects a Jordanian's marriage to Jordanian law, not to the law of the state or province where it took place. How far Article 15 reaches the form of a contract concluded before a foreign civil authority, and a marriage in which both parties are Jordanian, is a question the lawyer assesses in light of the facts of each contract.
2. How Jordanian Law Treats the Different Kinds of Marriage Concluded Abroad
Under Jordanian law, the treatment of a marriage concluded abroad changes according to the authority that documented the contract, the spouses' religion, and whether the conditions of formation required by the Personal Status Law were met:
| Kind of marriage concluded abroad | Basis in Jordanian law | What the lawyer examines | What depends on the outcome of the review |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contract documented by a Muslim Jordanian consul | Article 36(g) of the Personal Status Law | The entry of the contract in the consulate's registers and the sending of its copy to the Supreme Judge Department | Acceptance of the marriage in Jordanian records |
| Islamic contract alongside a US or Canadian civil marriage certificate | Articles 5, 7 and 8 | The offer and acceptance, the qualifications of the two witnesses, and the authentication of the document | The effects of a valid contract from its conclusion (Article 32) |
| Civil marriage only, before a government officer | Articles 8 and 31(e), and Articles 13 and 15 of the Civil Code | Whether the civil form meets the witness requirement in Article 8 | The classification of the contract, and the maintenance and inheritance that follow from it (Articles 32 and 34) |
| Marriage of a Muslim man to a woman of the People of the Book (kitabiyya) | Articles 8(b) and 281(b) | Testimony by People of the Book on the contract, and the spouses' difference of religion | Inheritance between the spouses (Article 281(b)) |
| Marriage of a Muslim woman to a non-Muslim, or of a Muslim man to a woman who is not of the People of the Book | Articles 28 and 30(a) | Each spouse's religion at the time of the contract | Whether the contract exists at all, and its effects (Article 33) |
The upshot of the table is that a civil marriage certificate is evidence of the fact of the marriage in the country where it was concluded, but it does not by itself establish that the marriage was validly formed under the Jordanian Personal Status Law, because that assessment rests on details that do not appear on the certificate itself, such as who the witnesses were and each spouse's religion, and the lawyer carries it out on the papers of each contract.
3. Civil Marriage and the Conditions of Formation in the Personal Status Law
Under Jordanian law, a marriage is formed by an offer from one of the two parties or his or her agent and an acceptance from the other or his or her agent in the contract session (Article 5), in explicit words of marrying and giving in marriage (Article 7). Article 8(a) requires, for the contract to be valid, the presence of two male witnesses, or one man and two women, who are Muslims if the spouses are Muslims, sane, adult, hearing the offer and acceptance and understanding what they mean, and paragraph (b) permits testimony by People of the Book on the marriage contract of a Muslim man to a woman of the People of the Book.
Civil ceremonies in the United States and Canada follow the rules of each state or province, and they may differ from these conditions. Article 31(e) describes a marriage without witnesses, or with witnesses who lack the qualifications required under Sharia, as a defective marriage (fasid). Whether a foreign civil form meets the witness requirement in Article 8, in light of Article 13 of the Civil Code, which looks to the procedures of the country where the marriage took place for its form, and Article 15, which subjects a Jordanian's marriage to Jordanian law alone, is a question the lawyer settles after studying the contract, and it cannot be read from the certificate alone. The two classifications differ in their effect on every right: a valid contract produces its effects from its conclusion (Article 32), while a defective one produces no effect if it was not consummated, and if it was consummated it makes the dower and the waiting period ('idda) due and establishes paternity (nasab, lineage) and the prohibition by affinity, but not the remaining rules such as inheritance and maintenance (Article 34). So if the contract is classified as defective, the wife may find herself without maintenance, and the surviving spouse may be left out of the inheritance after the other spouse's death.
That is why the lawyer starts by asking about the details of the day of the contract before any papers: who attended, how the offer and acceptance were worded, and whether an Islamic contract was concluded alongside the civil one. Choosing the right route after that, whether it is acceptance of the foreign document after authentication or bringing the marriage before the Sharia Court to prove it, varies according to the kind of contract and the spouses' nationalities and religions, which is itself a legal point that merits consultation. The article Proof of Marriage in Jordanian Law and the Lawsuit to Establish Marriage sets out the judicial route when the document is not enough.
4. Marriage to a Non-Jordanian, and Difference of Religion
In the United States and Canada, a Jordanian man or woman often marries a partner of another nationality or another religion, and here the file becomes more delicate. Article 28 temporarily prohibits the marriage of a Muslim man to a woman who is not of the People of the Book and the marriage of a Muslim woman to a non-Muslim; Article 30(a) makes both of these contracts void; and Article 33 provides that a void contract has no legal effect at all and produces no maintenance, paternity, waiting period or inheritance, whether or not it was consummated. So a civil contract that is valid in a US state may, in the eyes of Jordanian law, be a contract that never came into existence. The children's paternity, however, is governed by the law through several means that are not limited to the marital bed (firash) (Article 157), and the lawyer studies them in each file separately.
A Muslim man's marriage to a woman of the People of the Book is recognized by the law, which permits testimony by People of the Book on its contract (Article 8(b)), and the wife is owed maintenance even with a difference of religion from the time of the valid contract (Article 60), but Article 281(b) provides that there is no inheritance between people of different religions. Each spouse's religion at the time of the contract, and the documents that prove it, are among the points the lawyer examines before any application.
5. What Stalls When the Marriage Remains Unregistered in Jordan
A marriage that remains unregistered in Jordan has an effect in each of the following areas:
- The family book: Law No. 18 of 2015 amending the Civil Status Law requires a married Jordanian to apply for a family book for the first time within a set period from the date of the marriage contract, and imposes a fine for delay.
- The children's registration: adding children to the family book and issuing their national numbers are tied to the book itself, so the child's registration is affected by the registration of the parents' marriage.
- Paternity: a child's paternity is established to the father through the marital bed, through admission or through evidence (Article 157), and the marital bed presupposes an established marriage.
- Maintenance: spousal maintenance is owed from the time of the valid contract (Article 60), and claiming it before the Sharia Court presupposes a marriage that is established before that court.
- Inheritance: a defective contract does not establish inheritance between the spouses (Article 34), and a void one produces no effect at all (Article 33), while the effects of a valid contract run from its conclusion (Article 32).
This question is part of a wider picture for every Jordanian file handled from abroad, set out in the article Lawyer in Jordan for Residents of the USA and Canada.
Practical note: Each Jordanian embassy issues its own instructions for the legalization of marriage certificates and the issuing of the family book, and these instructions may change from time to time; the lawyer reviews the version in force when studying the file. The original marriage certificate or any signed statement should not be sent to any authority before confirming that the contract itself will hold up against the conditions of the Personal Status Law, a point that differs from one contract to another and merits a review of the case or consulting a specialist lawyer.
6. Frequently Asked Questions
Does Jordan recognize a civil marriage performed in the USA?
The Civil Status and Passports Department registers a marriage that took place outside the country once its certificate or contract is authenticated in due form, but the validity of the marriage itself is governed by Jordanian law alone whenever one of the spouses was Jordanian at the time of the contract, except for the condition of capacity (Article 15 of the Civil Code). Whether the civil form meets the conditions of formation and testimony in the Personal Status Law is a question the lawyer settles after studying the contract, and its classification and effects depend on the answer.
Must a marriage concluded in Canada or the United States be registered in Jordan?
Law No. 18 of 2015 amending the Civil Status Law requires a married Jordanian to apply for a family book within a set period from the date of the contract, and imposes a fine for delay. Not registering leaves the children and the financial rights without a basis in Jordanian records.
What happens to the children of a marriage that was not registered in Jordan?
Adding children to the family book and issuing their national numbers are tied to the book itself, so their registration is affected until the marriage is recorded. Paternity, for its part, is established to the father through the marital bed, through admission or through evidence (Article 157), and assessing the most suitable route depends on the status of the marriage itself.
Is a Muslim man's marriage to a Christian woman in the USA valid in Jordan?
The Personal Status Law recognizes a Muslim man's marriage to a woman of the People of the Book: it permits testimony by People of the Book on its contract (Article 8(b)), and the wife is owed maintenance (Article 60). But there is no inheritance between people of different religions (Article 281(b)), an effect that needs study if the husband has property in Jordan.
Is a Muslim Jordanian woman's marriage to a non-Muslim abroad recognized?
Article 30(a) makes the marriage of a Muslim woman to a non-Muslim void, and a void contract produces no maintenance, paternity, waiting period or inheritance (Article 33). The children's paternity, however, is governed by the law through several means (Article 157), and each spouse's religion at the time of the contract, and the documents that prove it, are a question the lawyer studies on the papers in the file.
Can the marriage be registered without traveling to Jordan?
The law assigns to Jordan's Muslim consuls the documentation of Jordanians' marriage contracts abroad (Article 36(g)), and each Jordanian embassy issues its own instructions for the family book and the legalization of documents, which the lawyer checks. If the file needs the Sharia Court, for example to prove a marriage whose document was not enough, the lawyer studies whether it can proceed without the spouses attending.
Legal Consultation
Registering a marriage concluded in the United States or Canada decides the fate of rights whose effects only appear later: on one side, a wife and children whose maintenance, paternity and civil registration depend on the marriage existing in Jordanian records, and on the other, a husband or heirs against whom claims may be built on a contract that Jordanian law classifies differently from the country where it was concluded. What is submitted first, in papers and statements, is hard to undo if it turns out that the contract is defective or void under the Personal Status Law. For specialist legal consultation in marriage and Sharia cases, or to learn how this file connects with the rules on The Paternity Lawsuit under Jordanian Law and Spousal Maintenance under Jordanian Law, you can contact Alabwini Law Firm & Legal Consultancy.
