Most couples plan a wedding around the banquet and treat the registration of marriage as paperwork. The paperwork has its own calendar, though, and it is stricter than any restaurant's. This guide is built on the National Registration Department's (JPN) own marriage service pages, which JPN says were updated against its service schedule dated September 2026, plus its marriage FAQ and the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) marriage report.
It applies to non-Muslim marriages under the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 1976 (Act 164). Since 1 March 1982 every non-Muslim marriage in Malaysia must be registered under that Act, and JPN's FAQ is blunt that a marriage solemnised outside it is void. Muslim couples marry through their state Islamic religious department, which has its own rules and fees.
Most people in Malaysia call this ROM, short for registration of marriage. JPN does not use the abbreviation on its own pages, so if you are searching its portal or filling in a form, the term to look for is registration of marriage under Act 164.
What it costs at a JPN counter
The standard civil marriage, which JPN calls registration without a licence, has two fees:
- RM10 for the certificate for marriage (Perakuan Perkahwinan)
- RM20 for registering the marriage on the day of the ceremony
That is RM30 in government fees. You need form JPN.KC02 (original forms only, free at every JPN office), your MyKad, and one colour passport-sized photo on a blue or white background for each of you. JPN's FAQ adds that part D.2 of the form is a statutory declaration, sworn before a Commissioner for Oaths, a Justice of the Peace or a magistrate, and that both of you must attend together. The Commissioner for Oaths' own charge is not a JPN fee and is not listed by JPN.
You can start the application online at oskc.jpn.gov.my and check approval at semakoskc.jpn.gov.my, but the ceremony itself still happens in person.
The calendar that catches people out
Three rules set the timing:
- Apply where your MyKad says you live. The application goes to the JPN office for the address on your identity card. The ceremony can then be held at any JPN office you choose.
- The 21+1 day notice. Your application is displayed publicly for 21 days plus one, and the ceremony can only happen after that, on a date JPN has free.
- The six-month window. The application is valid for six months from the date it is accepted. Miss that and you start again. JPN and the government service portal both count the six months from acceptance; section 18 of Act 164 anchors it to the date the notice is published, which is the same day in practice. Either way, if the ceremony has not happened by then, the notice and everything built on it is void and you file fresh.
In practice, that means applying no later than about four weeks before the date you want, and no earlier than six months before it. For a popular date, the free slot is the constraint, not the law.
If you genuinely cannot wait 21 days, section 21(1) of Act 164 lets you apply for a licence that dispenses with the notice, on form JPN.KC01C. It costs RM100 if approved, is valid for one month, and approval rests with the Chief Minister, Menteri Besar or a JPN director.
The RM500 licence for a ceremony at your venue
Many couples want the registrar at the banquet or a hotel ballroom. JPN allows it, but only through a special licence on form JPN.KC01E, costing RM500 if approved and valid for one month. The conditions on JPN's page are worth reading before you tell the venue:
- Applications are accepted only at JPN headquarters in Putrajaya or a state JPN headquarters, depending on where the ceremony will be.
- The place must be suitable and safe, and approval depends on officer capacity and the purpose of the ceremony.
- The registrar's time is tied to the duty roster, and the registrar will solemnise within two hours for any one ceremony.
So a ceremony at your venue adds a RM500 licence to the paperwork, and the application can be refused.
The temple, church or association route: RM20
A marriage can also be solemnised at a temple, church or religious association where JPN has appointed an Assistant Registrar of Marriages. The fee is RM20, paid at a JPN counter, and JPN's FAQ says the receipt is issued in the groom's name. Two conditions matter: only Malaysian citizens can use this route, and at least one of you must follow the religion or custom of that place of worship. You still go to JPN first so your marital status can be checked. JPN publishes a search of appointed premises at semakanppp.jpn.gov.my.
The two witnesses you have to bring
JPN's fee pages do not mention them, but the Act does. Section 22(5) of Act 164 says every marriage "shall be solemnized in the presence of at least two credible witnesses besides the Registrar" — the registrar does not count towards the two.
They are not only there to watch. Under section 25, immediately after the ceremony the registrar enters the particulars in the marriage register, and that entry must be attested by the two of you and by the two witnesses who were present, before the registrar signs it. The prescribed words the registrar reads out under section 23 say the same thing: you are consenting to be married "before these witnesses here present according to law". Section 25 names the witnesses separately from the parties, so they are two people besides the couple and besides the registrar.
The Act sets no age, citizenship or relationship requirement for a witness. "Credible" is the only word it uses, so treat the age or MyKad rules you may see on wedding blogs as unverified and ask the JPN office you are registering at. What is certain is that two named people have to be in the room and sign, and JPN charges nothing for them — so put them in the plan alongside the RM30.
Age rules
- 21 and above: apply normally. JPN's standard civil registration page is written for applicants aged 21 and over who are single, divorced or widowed.
- 18 to under 21: you need written consent from a parent (or the mother, adoptive parent or guardian, depending on circumstances) on form JPN.KC01B. There is no fee, and the consenting person must appear before the registrar. Without such a person, consent comes from the High Court.
- A girl of 16 to under 18: a licence under section 21(2) on form JPN.KC01D, RM10, approved by the Chief Minister, Menteri Besar or a JPN director. JPN asks for proof of both partners' income.
If one of you is not Malaysian
A foreign partner must have been in Malaysia for seven consecutive days and can only apply on the eighth. They need a valid passport and visa showing their arrival date, a marital status letter from their own government and a birth certificate, with translations by an accredited translator. JPN will not accept applicants holding a temporary visit work pass. Couples applying at a JPN office other than Putrajaya headquarters or a state headquarters also need a separate in-country marital status letter, which is issued free.
Married overseas
A marriage registered abroad must be re-registered under Act 164 within six months of the wedding, or within six months of returning to Malaysia, on form JPN.KC06 for RM20. Late applicants pay RM100 for the first year and RM50 for each further year or part of one. Certificates from ten countries, including Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, India and the Philippines, must first be endorsed by that country's embassy and then by Wisma Putra.
Other fees worth knowing
- Caveat (objection) to a marriage: RM20
- Marital status letter for use abroad: RM5, valid six months
- Extract of the marriage register: RM50
- Search of the marriage register: RM5 for each year searched
- Licence for a marriage within prohibited relationships: RM2 if approved
- Correcting a mistake in the marriage register: RM2 to apply plus RM6 if approved, on form JPN.KC08 at any JPN counter. Only the people named in the register can apply, or the next of kin if they have died. Bring your MyKad, passport, the original register or extract, and documents that prove the correct detail.
JPN's FAQ also lists the penalties: up to three years' jail or a RM3,000 fine, or both, for giving false particulars, and up to ten years and RM15,000 for anyone who solemnises a marriage without being appointed a registrar.
How many couples do this
DOSM's report released on 20 November 2025 counted 52,709 non-Muslim marriages in 2024, up 8.8% from 48,438 in 2023. Johor Bahru district registered the most (4,055), ahead of Petaling (3,865) and Klang (2,440). The next DOSM report is due on 19 November 2026.
