Marriage and Divorce (Registration) Ordinance
פקודת הנשואין והגירושין (רישום)
Unofficial English translation — for reference only. It may contain errors or omissions and cannot be relied on as a legal text. Only the Hebrew text published in Reshumot is legally binding.More
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Despite these checks, it may contain errors, omissions, or imprecise renderings of legal terminology and cross-references, and it may not yet reflect the latest amendments. It cannot be relied upon as a legal text.
The Hebrew text as published in Reshumot (ספר החוקים) and on the Knesset website is the sole authoritative and legally binding version. In any discrepancy, the Hebrew text prevails.
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An Ordinance making provision for the registration of marriages and divorces.
Short Title§
This Ordinance shall be called the "Marriage and Divorce (Registration) Ordinance".
Interpretation§
In this Ordinance the following term shall have the meaning set out below, unless the context otherwise requires –
"the Registering Authority" means the officer solemnising the marriage ceremony, in the case of a civil marriage; the Imam, in a marriage according to the religion of Islam; the priest, in a marriage according to the Christian religion; the Rabbi, in a marriage according to Jewish law; and the Sheikh of the tribe, in a marriage according to the Druze religion.
Place of Registration for Marriage of Jewish Spouses§
Jewish spouses who wish to marry may register for marriage with any rabbi appointed as a marriage registrar under section 2(6) of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel Law, 5740-1980, regardless of their place of residence or the place where the marriage is to be solemnised.
Registration of Marriages§
The Registering Authority shall register every marriage at the time of the solemnisation of the marriage ceremony by recording the following particulars in four copies, each of which shall be signed and stamped by the Registering Authority –
Disposition of Copies of Each Marriage Registration§
With respect to the four copies of each marriage registration, the Registering Authority is required –
Sending Notification to the Couplehood Registry§
The person in charge of the district shall send to the Registrar of Couplehood, as defined in the Couplehood Covenant for Persons without Religion Law, 5770-2010, a monthly notification of marriages registered in that district during the preceding month.
Registration of Divorces§
The procedure prescribed in sections 3 and 4 shall apply to the registration of divorces, except that there shall be no requirement to register the particulars required under section 3(b).
Right to Obtain a Copy of the Registration§
Any person may obtain a copy of his or her marriage or divorce registration upon submitting an application to the office of the person in charge of the district [in the original: the Governor of that district] and paying a fee of fifty pruta.
Offence§
Any person who fails to ensure the registration of his or her own marriage or divorce, or the registration of a marriage or divorce that he or she solemnised for another, shall be liable to imprisonment of two years.
Prohibition of Advertising§
A marriage registrar rabbi as referred to in section 2a shall not, directly or indirectly, advertise his practice, except in accordance with Regulations prescribed by the Minister for Religious Services, with the consent of the Minister of Justice and the President of the Chief Rabbinical Council.
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