The Legal Service Team is made up of:
(1) Legal practitioners
(2) Clergies
(3) Marriage counsellors

Book an appointment with the Legal Service Team through:
imclegaladvice@gmail.com
legalservice@intergovernmentalmarriagereg.org
Or call:
+234(0)8098433074
+234(0)7043322091
+234(0)8160529479
+234(0)8129534402

You shall be meeting with them in the city of Abuja or Lagos State.

Inter-Governmental Marital Committee.

For information about IMC, click here >>>>> or go to About us.

You can reach IMC through the Local Government Marriage Registrar nearest to you or where your marriage was celebrated or the State Programme Monitoring Supervisor who will contact IMC on your behave.

Yes. Some have even contacted IMC several times on the marriages that are not clear to them.

State Programme Monitoring Supervisor.

There are three types of marriages that are legally recognized in Nigeria. However there are many types of marriages that presently exist in Nigeria.

They are
(1) Marriage under the Act/Statutory Marriage
(2) Native and Customary Law Marriage
(3) Islamic Law Marriage.

Intestinally and legally too, the three types of marriage command the same degree of legal recognition in Nigeria. Hence no one is superior or inferior to the other.

This is a type of marriage that is purely regulated by some statutory provisions of the marriage act in view of the regulations of this type of marriage by the provisions of the marriage act. It is also generally regarded as Statutory Marriage.

The Statutory required for the celebration of marriage under the act are
(1) Notice of Marriage
(2) Marriage Registrar Certificate
(3) Marriage Certificate.

The Notice of Marriage is the first statutory Form one of the parties to the marriage under the act must fill and complete indicating his or her intention to celebrate marriage under the act.

Any of the parties to the proposed marriage can freely fill and complete the Notice of Marriage.

Yes it is possible to celebrate marriage under the act without giving Notice of Marriage in Nigeria. This is only possible to the extent that such marriage has been granted approval for a special marriage by the Hon. Minister of Interior Affairs.

A special marriage is not a type of marriage on its own. It is still marriage under the act that has expressly received the approval of the Hon. Minister of Interior Affairs to be celebrated. This type of marriage does not require Notice of Marriage and Registrar Certificate.

The Notice of Marriage is statutory given for twenty one (21) days

The Registrar Certificate is the statutory document issued by the Marriage Registrar after the expiration of the 21 days notice of marriage to the intending couple, indicating his or her approval for the proposed marriage stating date and place of the marriage celebration.

A Marriage Certificate is a certificate of marriage and also a legal documentary proof of marriage.

The Marriage Certificate is statutory authorized to be signed by the five signatories among whom is the
(a) Marriage Registrar
(b) The signature of the couples
(c) An ordained pastor; that is when the marriage is taking place at the religious place of worship (church)
(d) Any other two witnesses.

Marriage under the act can be celebrated in any of the following places
(1) The Local Government Marriage Registries or the Marriage Registrar�s Office
(2) A licensed place of worship (church)
(3) Any other specially designated place as permitted in a special license.

A Licensed place of worship is a church that has received the state government official permission to celebrate marriage under the act.

The mosque does not enjoy the permission to celebrate marriage under the act in Nigeria. The mosques are excluded from applying for license to celebrate Islamic marriage in the mosque or anywhere else.

The Native or Customary marriage is the marriage that is celebrated according to the native tradition and customs of the people of a given area in Nigeria.

The requirement for the celebration of native and customary marriage varies from one tribe to another tribe in Nigeria. However among the basic requirement that cut across every tribes is the payment of bride price.

The Islamic marriage is a Marriage that is celebrated purely on Islamic doctrines and injunctions. This type of marriage is also popularly regarded as Nikkaih by the Muslim faithful.

Among the requirements for Islamic marriage is the payment of bride price also known as sadaquat, including the consent of the parties to the marriage.

The Islamic marriage can be celebrated at the mosque or the bride family�s house.

The Islamic marriage may also issue a marriage certificate by the Ustas as an evidence of marriage.

There are other avenues available to the couple of any of the three types of marriage to proof their marriage. This is the legal window provided through registration of marriage.

The registration of marriages is the legal provision by the Nigerian law that every marriage must be registered within sixty (60) days of its celebration in Nigeria.

The registration of marriage can be done through the Local Government Marriage Registry.

The Local Government Marriage Registry will direct and ensure the proper registration of the marriage on the right platform

There is nothing like court marriage in Nigeria. Marriage under the act is not a court marriage. It is important to state here that court does not have the power to celebrate marriage in Nigeria. What is been erroneously classified as court marriage is known as Registry Marriage.

The matrimonial causes of act is a piece of legislation enacted to regulate the dissolution of marriage under the act.

The implication of this is the commission of crime, called bigamy in law and the legal consequent of this crime is seven (7) years imprisonment.

Parental consent is not a pre condition to celebration of marriage under the act, however where the parties to the marriage are under age, parental consent will be necessary.

Yes it is absolutely necessary to register the marriage celebration at the marriage registry or licensed place of worship again. Hence there are clear difference between marriage celebration and registration.

For the authentication of your marriage. Anybody can come up with a certificate claiming to be married. IMC can only defend the marriages that are confirmed in the Unified Marriage Data Bank when contacted.

No. IMC neither conducts nor dissolves marriages.

The visa issuing office will do what it deems fit. It can resort to calling IMC to inquire of the said marriage or otherwise.

You need the following documents:
(1) Valid international passport: This is the first paper that should be gotten when applying for a visa. The embassy needs to be sure the applicant has gone through the necessary processes of having a valid international passport before applying for a visa.
(2) Marriage certificate: This is the legal document showing the married person has been joined by law to his or her partner. In fact, married people applying for visas to join their partners should prepare this document as it is considered to be the second most important document after the procurement of the international passport.
(3) Documents proving the applicant is free to enter a civil partnership: Married people applying for visas need to tender their marriage certificate. But in a situation whereby they are no longer married to the partners as in the case of death, a document showing they are free to marry or enter a civil partnership again has to be attached to their documents. This is to help them reduce the chances of them being stressed or harassed at the embassies during the visa interview. In a case where the other partner is dead, a death certificate has to be tendered as part of the supporting documents.
(4) Statement of account: The embassy of the country you are applying to wants to be sure you can fend for yourself and have enough to cover the cost of your trip. Independent applicants are often granted visas as they are sure they would improve the economic situation of the country they are visiting. It is important you get the statement of account from your bank to prove you can take care of yourself while in the foreign land.
(5) Documents showing where you would live: A married person applying for visa needs to provide a document showing where he or she would live or stay during the course of the visit. In most cases, the inviting partner has to send a letter of invitation in order to help the applicant if he or she is visiting. It is important for applicants to put their plans of getting and paying for a hotel on hold till their visas have been approved.
(6) Documents showing the receiving partner can take care of you: The applicant in addition to presenting the statement of account showing he or she has enough to cover the cost of the trip, the partner who resides in the country to be visited also has to send in documents showing he or she is capable of hosting the applicant.

No. your marriage data is intact. As a result of the website upgrade, there is a need for you to re-update your marriage data for you to be able to have access to it continually. This will save you from unnecessary embarrassment.

It depends on how long it takes you to satisfy all the requirement for confirmation.

No. you have to register your marriage online and you do not need to post a photocopy of your marriage certificate to Abuja again.

The number on the top of your Marriage Certificate, by the right hand side where you have Section 24. It used to be black in colour but now red in colour. The number corresponds with the number on your Global Marriage Data Card given to you.

The money you paid at the Registry or liceneed place of worship is for the celebration/registration of your marriage of which you were issued a marriage certificate. The money you are to pay to IMC is the administrative charge for the following services:
(1) Gazetting of your Notice of Marriage online for a minimum of 21 days and maximum of 3 months, within the period marriage can be conducted after legal Notice, the online gazette page list of names is available to view by the general public and objections to the marriage will be forwarded to the Marriage Registrar, to refer same to the State High Court for summary determination
(2) Capturing of your fingerprints, passport photograph and other information, to enable for the investigation and confirmation of the eligibility of the couples for the marriage within 21 days of Notice.
(3)Registering of your marriage on the Unified Data Bank online- your marriage information will be stored, however you can access the marriage data with the input of your data anywhere in the world for references at the Embassies, offices or personal use.
(4) Sending of sms and e-mails concerning your marriage anniversary and eligibility to participate on approved Marriage Retreat anniversary events.
(5) Publishing of your marriage information in the National Marital News Paper, thereby fulfilling one of the requirement of marriage publication in a National Newspaper or for references
****However, if you made payment in favour of: Intergovernmental Marital Committee as one of the payments you made at the Registry or liceneed place of worship, email evidence of payment to: admin@intergovernmentalmarriagereg.org or inter_govtmaritalcommittee@yahoo.com so as not to make double payment.

All modes. Provided there is an evidence of payment which can be traced to the depositor.

Text the payment details:
(1) Name of bank paid to
(2) Name of depositor
(3) Date of payment
(4) Marriage Certificate Number
to any of these numbers: 08098433074, 07043322091, 08160529479, 08129534402, admin@intergovernmentalmarriagereg.org or inter_govtmaritalcommittee@yahoo.com . Once the payment is verified with the bank, you shall be sent a text message/email that will enable you continue with the registration for your marriage confirmation.

Text the payment details:
(1) Name of bank paid to
(2) Name of account where the transfer was made and the discription
(3) Date of payment
(4) Marriage Certificate Number
to any of these numbers: 08098433074, 07043322091, 08160529479, 08129534402, admin@intergovernmentalmarriagereg.org or inter_govtmaritalcommittee@yahoo.com . Once the payment is verified with the bank, you shall be sent a text message/email that will enable you continue with the registration for your marriage confirmation.

Your marriage certificate number first then your name. Eg: Depositor's Name:404040 - Martins Johnbull Prosper.

No. You are entitled to only one Marriage Certificate which has been issued to you. You can print out your Marriage Confirmation page and add it to your documents.

Once completed, you shall be sent a text message/email to that effect.

Yes. If IMC finds out the information you provided in the course of your registration are false.

No. That is a criminal act which IMC can even carry out against you.

No. Except the person you allow to have access to your marriage certificate number.

All the time but most active on work days (Monday to Friday) from 9:00am to 4:00pm.