The marriage act in Morocco

What the Family Code (Moudawana) says about the conditions of marriage, the file to prepare and the steps to the act. A summary of the official texts, to check with the adouls and the court in your city.

Updated 28 October 2026

The conditions

• Age: full capacity to marry comes at 18 (Article 19). Under 18 is an exception only the family judge can allow, by a reasoned decision, after hearing the parents and ordering a medical report or a social inquiry (Article 20).
• Consent: the marriage is formed by an offer from one and acceptance from the other (Article 10), in the same sitting, with no condition or time limit (Article 11).
• The adouls: two adouls hear and record the spouses' offer and acceptance (Article 13).
• The wali: marital guardianship is the woman's right; an adult woman concludes her own marriage or delegates it to her father or a relative (Articles 24 and 25).
• The sadaq (dower): it cannot be agreed away (Article 13).

The marriage file

Under Article 65 of the Family Code, the file is lodged at the registry of the family section where the act is made, and holds:

1. the authorization request form set by the Minister of Justice;
2. a copy of the birth certificate;
3. an administrative certificate for each fiancé;
4. a medical certificate for each fiancé;
5. an authorization in some cases: marriage under 18, polygamy, a person with a mental disability, marriage of converts to Islam or of foreigners;
6. for a foreigner, a certificate of capacity to marry or a document in its place.

The prenuptial medical certificate is done at public hospitals: 40 dirhams, within 7 days, with a copy of the ID card, according to the official Idarati portal. The court or the adouls may ask for other documents (photos, ID copy): ask for the list before you file.

Idarati: prenuptial medical certificate (in French)

The steps

1. Lodge the file at the court's family section.
2. The judge in charge of marriage stamps the file and authorizes the adouls to draw up the act (Article 65).
3. The two adouls receive the offer and acceptance and draw up the act.
4. A summary of the act goes to the civil registrar of the spouses' place of birth within 15 days (Article 68).
5. The original act goes to the wife, a copy to the husband (Article 69).

The sadaq

• Its value is first moral and symbolic, not material (Article 26).
• The law sets no amount; it recommends keeping it modest (Article 28).
• It belongs to the wife, who uses it as she wishes; the husband cannot demand furniture in return (Article 29).
• It can be paid at once or later (Article 30).

If one of you is a foreigner

The file needs a judge's authorization and the foreign fiancé's certificate of capacity to marry (Article 65). A Ministry of Justice circular (No. 46 S 2, 2006) adds, among others, the passport, a residence certificate, four photos, a nationality certificate, a criminal record and a certificate of occupation and income, and the judge may order an inquiry. The Code (Article 39) lists among temporary impediments the marriage of a Muslim woman to a non-Muslim man, and of a Muslim man to a non-Muslim woman unless she belongs to a religion of the Book.

Ministry of Justice: circular on the marriage of foreigners (PDF, in Arabic)

Source

Family Code, version updated 29 July 2021, Ministry of Justice (PDF, in Arabic)

This guide summarises the official texts read on 28 October 2026. It does not replace advice from the adouls, the court or a lawyer.