Congratulations on the marriage!
Planning a wedding is extremely hectic, and sorting out the paperwork can complicate the whole process. If you are a Malaysian marrying a foreigner, you will most probably need to obtain a ‘Certificate of Single Status’ from Malaysia before you can register your marriage in a different country.
Most importantly, you must apply for the Certificate of Single Status before you register your marriage in any country.
This Certificate of Single Status can only be obtained from the National Registration Department (NRD), known as Jabatan Pendaftaran Negara (JPN). The process can be quite complicated and troublesome. To make things worse, I couldn’t find a proper updated guide online to help me with my application! After going through all the troubles and hiccups obtaining the certificate, I have decided to blog about the process in details to guide my fellow brides-to-be so you can be well-prepared!
Basically, there are only 3 steps:
- Statutory declaration – swear your oath @ Istana Kehakiman (Palace of Justice)
- Apply for the certificate of single status @ JPN (NRD Headquarter)
- Get the certificate endorsed by Wisma Putra (Ministry of Foreign Affair)
Here’s the bad news for you, if you are living overseas, then you will have to come back to Kuala Lumpur personally to get this done. I’ve seen on the website that they accept postage application, but when I tried to call them to verify, I’ve gotten different answers all the time. Therefore, I highly suggest that you come back and spend one day on this. It is quite unavoidable.
Here are some very important reminders:
1. Statutory declaration
Initially, the JPN officer told me that I could authorise my family to apply for the certificate of single status on my behalf, but I will have to do the statutory declaration in the presence of a local consular officer. I called the Malaysian Embassy in Singapore to clarify, and they confirmed that it is possible to do it at the Embassy (it was also stated on their official website that they do statutory declarations for single certificates).
I visited the consulate but returned empty-handed, as apparently they have stopped providing this service. Therefore, if you really need to do it remotely from overseas, plan well in advance. In case you are not able to do the statutory declaration, you’ll have time for a backup plan. For example, you could look for a Malaysian Commissioner for Oath, if any, in your residing country and swear in front of him/her.
2. Public holiday and closures
Though JPN is opened on Saturday, the Palace of Justice for statutory declaration is closed. You can’t proceed without swearing the oath, unless you visited a Commissioner for Oath in advance to swear in front of him/her.
Public holidays on a Thursday may be changed to the next day, Friday, to make it a long weekend. It is best to avoid a Friday near public holidays like these.
3. Address on the forms
Make sure that all your forms, including the statutory declaration, have the same address as in your Malaysian MyKad. If you apply on a Saturday, remember that the Palace of Justice for statutory declaration is closed so you’ll not be able to proceed with your application.
4. Birth certificate
Very likely, if you need a certificate of single status, then you will also need an extract copy of the birth certificate. You can conveniently apply for it after you get your certificate of single status as it is done in the same building, and will take less than 5 minutes. Moreover, the extract copy is in both Malay and English.
In addition, you can also ask the officer to make some certified true copies for you, just in case.
5. Documents Required
For the application, you will need to prepare the following documents:
1. *Form JPN.KC09 (original) – fill up section A & C only
2. MyKad (original and photocopy)
3. Passport pages with personal details of prospective spouse who is a non-citizen (photocopy)
4. **Application Letter (Letter of Reason) stating the purpose of the application (original)
5. Statutory declaration form (original)
If you are applying for an extract copy of the birth certificate, then you will need to prepare these documents as well:
1. *Form JPN.LM12 (original)
2. MyKad (original and photocopy)
*The official website states that you cannot use the online forms, but only the forms collected from JPN. I used the online forms anyway and there were no problems, just be prepared to use the hardcopy forms at JPN.
**I have confirmed with the officer that applicants can use any self-written letter. This is a letter I drafted for the application as close to the original as possible, feel free to use it or write your own letter. Otherwise, you can also collect from JPN directly.
3-Step Application for the Certificate of Single Status
Once you have everything prepared, then you can follow the steps below to obtain the certificate:
Step One: Statutory declaration – swear your oath @ Istana Kehakiman (Palace of Justice)
Basically, this step will also take you less than 5 minutes as long as you have your declaration form and MyKad ready. It is also located at Putrajaya, a 7-minute walk away from JPN.
The declaration will cost you RM4. I did this step with an external Commissioner for Oath and paid RM4 as well, though some others may charge differently.
Update 2 Aug 2022: As many readers have commented, there is now an office on the ground floor of JPN (near the ATM machine) where you can do the swearing of oath as well.
Address:
Pejabat Ketua Pendaftar
Mahkamah Persekutuan Malaysia
Aras 3, Presint 3 Istana Kehakiman
Federal Territory of Putrajaya
Wilayah Persekutuan
62506 Putrajaya
Hours:
Weekdays: 8:00am to 5:00pm
Sat / Sun / PH: Closed
Tel: +603 8880 3500
Step Two: Apply for the certificate of single status @ JPN (NRD Headquarter)
If you already have done your statutory declaration in advance, you can come ~10 minutes before the opening time. You do not need to come too early ahead as the escalator is closed and you’ll not be able to enter.
Upon arriving, head towards the escalator and stand around it. When it is the opening time, the security guard will release the escalator and you can then quickly go one level up to the 1st floor to take the queue number for the application.
When it is your turn, the officer will take around 10 minutes to process your application. After that, you’ll be asked to wait for your name to be called to collect the certificate. My name was called after about 15 minutes.
Reason to come early: The officer takes quite a really long time to process each queue number, so if you’re not rushing, by all means take your time. A good gage is approximately 15 minutes for 1 queue number.
The application costs RM5.
*Remember to apply for the extract copy of birth certificate after this step if you have not done so, it is in the same building (level 3) and will take you less than 5 minutes.
Address:
Ketua Pengarah
Jabatan Pendaftaran Negara
(Bahagian Perkahwinan dan Perceraian)
No. 20, Persiaran Perdana Presint 2
62551 Putrajaya
Hours:
Weekdays: 7:30am to 6:00pm
Sat: 9:00am to 2:00pm
Sun / PH: Closed
Tel: +603 8000 8000
Step Three: Get the certificate endorsed by Wisma Putra (Ministry of Foreign Affair)
The Consular Section at Wisma Putra only (not even at the Consular Section of Malaysian Embassy in Singapore) will need to endorse the Certificate of Single Status. I went at around 9:30am, submit the documents to be endorsed, and then received them back after about an hour.
I have also requested the original extract copy of birth certificate to be endorsed, in case the foreign marriage registry needs them to be done the same way as the certificate of single status. You’ll pay more for this, but it’s better to be safe.
The endorsement costs RM10 for the certificate of single status, and RM20 for the birth certificate.
Address:
Wisma Putra
No 1, Jalan Wisma Putra
Precinct 2 Wilayah Persekutuan
62602 Putrajaya
Hours:
Weekdays: 8:30am to 4:00pm
Sat / Sun / PH: Closed
Tel: +603 8887 4000
When I first started searching, I could not find a very detailed guide online. As a result, I’ve wasted so much time and money that could have been avoided.
Hence, I have written this guide from my experience to help more people in need of a little guidance. If you’re reading this for your marriage preparation, I wish you a smooth application process and a blessed marriage ahead!
Hello there,
Thank you so much for your detailed post and guidance !
According to JPN website, all photocopies of documents must be certified by the Registrar of Marriages and bear his signature, name, designation and official seal. May I know whether this step was required per your experience? if yes, at which step was this performed? This is because I won’t be able to fly back to KL to do this by myself so just want to make sure I have all the documents ready. Thank you !
https://www.jpn.gov.my/en/core-business/marriage/kahwin-sah-taraf-eng
Hi . I want to get married in Germany. How I can got Single certificate ? I’m Muslim.
I also in the same situation as you. Did you manage to get the certificate?
Hello dear, would you have an idea how to get a letter of no impediment from Malaysia. I tried googling but no results.
Hi. This process for non Muslim malaysian? Do you know any Muslim malaysian go through the process? I tried many times called them and via email but I received different answers and they said as Muslim there is no single certificate and they only called it letter of permission. I’m confused.
Hi Fatin, I’m in the same boat as u are too. Have u gotten any luck about how to get certificate of marital status as a Muslim? Thanks!
Hi,
Is it possible to get the single certificate without Nr 3? = Passport pages with personal details of prospective spouse who is a non-citizen (photocopy).
In our case we are not getting married but we need this certificate. Any advise?
I believe you need this passport page anyway, because the single cert will be printed with your partner’s details.
what is the difference between birth certificate and extract copy of birth certificate?
I cannot go back to Msia now. Any other way to endorse document by MFA, Wisma Putra?
Hello Beauty of defect! I have to express my greatest gratitude towards your generosity in sharing your experience in this matter. May i ask, is it possible to apply single certificate remotely without Msia representative or commissioner around? I currently happen to be in Macau (where there’s no Msia consulate) while my family will be applying it on my behalf in Msia. Thank you in advance! xxx
Hello Beauty of Defect, I wonder if you know that if we could do all the 3 steps in one day?
Hi! I’ve successfully obtained documents required. Thanks for sharing! An update for you there is swear of oath office inside JPN building ground floor near the ATM machine. So you don’t need to go to the palace of justice
Thanks Regine! Any chance you know the operating hours, or do they follow that of JPN’s? Weekdays: 7:30am to 6:00pm
My future husband is a Singaporean. When we go for Statutory declaration – swear your oath @ Istana Kehakiman (Palace of Justice), is there any sample of document that i can use?
Hello, I am applying for a Civil Partnership in Spain and I need to get this Certificate of Single Status. Do you know if the process is the same? Because I saw the form and the husband’s information is needed, but technically I am not getting married but I just need this document.
Yes, you’ll need the partner’s details because your single cert will be printed with that info.
hi may i know where can I find a sample copy of your Statutory Declaration that need to be obtained from Commissioner of Oath (Does it need to include future spouse’s passport details?) ? and also the sample copy of the letter of reason to be submitted to JPN.
I’ve shared the official stat. declaration form and a sample letter of reason inside the blog post under 5. Documents Required 🙂
Many thanks for this guide. If anyone’s interested, I managed to obtain my cert of single status during the lockdown. Steps are the same except you have to make appointments (temujanji) ahead of time.
1. Commissioner of oath for statutory declaration.
2. JPN for certificate of single status. Bring your declaration and fill up the JPN KC09 form there.
3. JLN to endorse the certificate of single status.
All steps above require appointments.
Is there a time line for the single status declaration valid? If we are planning to be married in July, can I request it now i.e Mac ?
What you mean ? Is that you help help organization to get that ?
Hi
By mistake we have entered the expired passport details in the single status cert and what is the procedure to update the same
Hi is it a must to have the single certificate for Malaysian to get married in Singapore? As I didn’t see it is required in the ROM website. I’m Singaporean and my fiance is Malaysian.
This is a common requirement from the European countries 🙂
I just wanted to express my sincerest thanks for providing this guide, it was really helpful
A big thanks to you beauty of defect without you I wouldn’t have done this… thanks a lott