Status issues and civil registry
Issuance of a certificate from civil records in diplomatic-consular missions
Citizens of the Republic of Serbia who live abroad may obtain a certificate from civil records in diplomatic-consular missions of the Republic of Serbia.
A diplomatic-consular mission may issue a certificate from civil records from any registration area of a municipality or city in Serbia and the city of Belgrade, as well as from diplomatic-consular mission, on basis of data contained in a Register of Civil Records.
Following records may be issued: Register of Births, Register of Marriages and Register of Deaths, along with citizenship certificate, regardless of the place of entry in the records on citizens of the Republic of Serbia.
Citizens of the Republic of Serbia staying abroad who need a certificate should contact the nearest diplomatic and consular mission of the Republic of Serbia for additional information regarding the submission of a request for the issuance of the necessary document.
The list of diplomatic and consular missions of the Republic of Serbia can be found in the following links.
Issuance of a certificate from civil records in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
In the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Department for Consular Affairs, Group for Legalization and Civil Records), birth, marriage and death certificates can be obtained for all persons registered in civil records that were previously kept in diplomatic and consular missions.
The request for the issuance, can be submitted by the persons to whom the data refer, the spouse, a blood relative in the direct line, a person who is in the second degree of blood relationship in the collateral line, an adoptive parent or guardian, as well as an authorized person.
Public hours: Monday-Friday, 9:00 - 13:00
Contact the Group for legalization and civil records.
Notifying the birth of a child born abroad
If a child is born abroad, notification of the birth for registration in the civil records in the Republic of Serbia, may be submitted at a diplomatic-consular mission by at least one parent who is a national of the R. of Serbia at the time of the child’s birth.
It is necessary for the request to contain the birth certificate from competent authority of the state where the child is born. Mentioned certificate should be in an International/Multilingual Form or on the form used in the country of birth, if that country is not a signatory of the international convention according to which multilingual birth certificates are issued.
A diplomatic-consular mission shall obtain ex officio the proof that the child is born in marriage, ie the marriage certificate for the parents, unless the party explicitly states that it will obtain it itself.
Upon receiving the birth application, the diplomatic-consular mission submits it to the competent registry office in the Republic of Serbia, for the purpose of registering the child’s birth in the Birth Register.
You should contact the diplomatic-consular mission for information on whether and what kind of legalization (verification by a foreign body) of birth certificates is required, regardless of whether you will register the birth at the diplomatic-consular mission, or personally submit it to the competent registry office in Serbia.
Recognition of paternity
If a child was born out of wedlock, and the father is known and willing to recognize paternity, he may do so in the relevant consulate if he is a national of the Republic of Serbia. A father who is a foreign national will make a statement recognizing fatherhood before the authorities of the country whose citizenship he holds. The presence of both parents is necessary on that occasion while the presence of the child is necessary only if he/she is over 16 years of age.
On the basis of the signed statement on the recognition of fatherhood, the child’s birth is notified.
Notification of marriage that was performed by a foreign authority
A marriage concluded abroad becomes verified, ie valid when it is recorded in the Register of Marriages in the Republic of Serbia.
Notification of a marriage that you concluded abroad can be submitted to the competent diplomatic and consular mission on whose territory the fact occurred, that will forward it to the competent registry office in the Republic of Serbia, for the purpose of recording the fact in the Register of Marriages.
When filing the request, it is necessary to submit a marriage certificate issued by a competent state authority on an International/Multilingual Form or on the form used in the country where the marriage is concluded, if that country is not a signatory of the international convention according to which multilingual marriage certificates are issued.
You should contact the diplomatic-consular mission for information on whether and what kind of legalization (verification by a foreign body) of marriage certificates is required, regardless of whether you will register the marriage at the diplomatic-consular mission, or personally submit it to the competent registry office in Serbia.
Marriage concluded before a diplomatic-consular mission
Citizens of the Republic of Serbia may conclude a marriage before an authorized diplomatic-consular mission of the Republic of Serbia, if the state in which that mission is located does not oppose it or if it is provided by an international agreement.
According to the Law on Civil Records, the diplomatic-consular mission, which is authorized to conclude a marriage between citizens of the Republic of Serbia, keeps a Register of Marriages and the fact that the marriage is concluded is recorded in it.
Diplomatic and consular missions of the Republic of Serbia in which marriage can be concluded are:
- Embassies of the Republic of Serbia in: Brussels, Sofia, Minsk, Athens, Rome, Tripoli, Budapest, Skopje, Oslo, Warsaw, Bucharest, Moscow, Bratislava, Ankara, Beijing, Zagreb, Sarajevo, Prague, Paris, Berlin, Cairo, The Hague, Stockholm, Podgorica, Abu Dhabi and Pretoria;
- Consulates General of the Republic of Serbia in: Thessaloniki, Milan, Trieste, Timisoara, Istanbul, Shanghai, Vukovar, Rijeka, Frankfurt, Munich, Hamburg, Stuttgart, Dusseldorf and Herceg Novi;
- Consulate of the Republic of Serbia in Strasbourg.
Dissolution of marriage
Marriage is dissolved before the court on the basis of the court’s decision on dissolution. If a marriage has been dissolved before a foreign court, the concerned national of the R. of Serbia will apply to a Serbian court for the recognition of the effective and enforceable foreign judicial decision (must be duly legalized and translated into Serbian by an authorized court interpreter). Only after the recognition by the Serbian court of the foreign judicial decision can the dissolution of marriage be registered in the registers kept in the R. of Serbia.
Notification of death that occurred abroad
If a citizen of the Republic of Serbia died abroad, the fact of death must be notified in order for it to be recorded in the Register of Deaths in Serbia.
The fact of death can be notified via diplomatic-consular mission of the Republic of Serbia on whose territory the fact occurred or directly before the competent registry office in Serbia.
The fact of death is recorded in the Register of Deaths according to the place of the last residence of the deceased in Serbia, and if the last residence is unknown - according to the place of birth.
The request is submitted by a close family member (spouse, children ...) and it should be accompanied with a death certificate from the register of deaths of a foreign authority on a multilingual form, or on a form used in the state where the death occurred, if that state is not a signatory of the international convention according to which multilingual certificates are issued.
Before notifying the fact of death (regardless of whether you will register the death at the diplomatic-consular mission, or personally before the competent registry office in Serbia), we advise you to contact the diplomatic-consular mission for information on whether and what kind of legalization of death certificates is required.