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:
  1. Statutory declaration – swear your oath @ Istana Kehakiman (Palace of Justice)
  2. Apply for the certificate of single status @ JPN (NRD Headquarter)
  3. 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!