Civil wedding in Helsingborg: how to book at the Rådhuset

Getting married in Helsingborg: how to book, step by step

• Order the certificates from Skatteverket

  You apply for the marriage eligibility check (hindersprövning) and receive a certificate of eligibility and a marriage certificate by post. It can take a few weeks, and both must be valid on the day of the ceremony.

• Book a time in the e-service

  The service needs an e-ID, such as BankID. You book at the earliest four months and at the latest two weeks before the ceremony. If you have no e-ID or email address, contact the city's contact centre.

• Name two witnesses

  You arrange them yourselves, and they must be at least 15 years old. That is the age the city's page gives, so ask if you are unsure.

• Pay the fee

  For the Rådhuset you pay when you book. The fee is not refunded if you cancel, and to rebook you must cancel first and then book and pay again.

• Print the certificates

  If you received them digitally, for example in Kivra, print them and bring them. Without valid certificates the ceremony cannot go ahead.

• Arrange an interpreter if needed

  You arrange this yourselves, for example a friend or relative. The spouses cannot interpret for each other. For sign language, Tolkcentralen i Skåne can help.

Civil wedding in the City of Helsingborg: fee, days and times

Check the fee and the times on the City of Helsingborg's page when you book, so you have the ones that apply then. The page is in Swedish.

The ceremony at the Rådhuset: how the day goes

You bring valid ID, the printed certificates and your two witnesses. The officiant at the Rådhuset is scheduled, so you do not choose one. Ten people can attend, and the officiant, the two of you and the witnesses make up five of them, which leaves room for five guests. Dogs cannot come in, except guide dogs and assistance dogs.

During the ceremony a fixed text written by Per Anders Fogelström is read. Outside the Rådhuset you may throw rice or confetti, as long as it is not made of plastic. The ceremony takes ten minutes, so the rest of the day needs a plan. The guide to the wedding day timeline shows how to lay it out, and the general guide to a civil wedding in Sweden covers the wording of the ceremony.

Getting married outside the Rådhuset in Helsingborg

If you want more than ten guests or a longer ceremony, the City of Helsingborg recommends requesting an officiant for a place you choose yourselves. You do this as a booking request in the city's e-service, where you can ask for a particular officiant. The city's page lists the officiants.

If you marry on private land, the landowner's permission may be needed. On municipal land, such as a beach, a pier or a park, a permit for the location may be required, and questions about that go to markupplatelse@helsingborg.se. The fee is paid once the booking is confirmed, and it is 1,200 kronor if the ceremony is held outside Helsingborg municipality.

Couples from Denmark and others not registered in Sweden

The City of Helsingborg writes that foreign citizens should contact Skatteverket about the rules that apply to them. Anyone who is not registered in Sweden sends documents from foreign authorities showing that nothing stands in the way of the marriage under Swedish law. The eligibility check is valid for four months and cannot be extended.

Skatteverket also writes that an eligibility check from another Nordic country is valid in Sweden, so a couple from Denmark does not always need a new one. The city's page mentions no special rules for Danish couples. The fee is 1,200 kronor if you both live in another municipality, and you can ask the contact centre if you are unsure.

After the ceremony: the party and getting there

Most couples have dinner or a party somewhere else, often with more guests than the five who fitted in the wedding room. On a wedding page you add the ceremony and the venue separately, each with a time, an address, a note and a link to the map. The programme has its own list with a calendar link, and if guests need a bus between the places, the times go in a list of their own.

In the RSVP guests say which places they are coming to, so you know how many are at dinner even if only a few were at the Rådhuset. The example sites show how such pages can look.

From the Rådhuset to the party

With Lysela you add the ceremony and the venue under Venues, each with a time, an address, a note and a link for directions. The programme has a calendar link, buses sit in a list of their own, and in the RSVP guests say which places they are coming to and which buses they want a seat on. All of it is in every tier, from Bas.

You start without an account and pay once, SEK 795, SEK 1,795 or SEK 4,900 including VAT, and the site stays up for 12 months.

What usually goes on a wedding website, and what one costs, is in the checklist.

Frequently asked questions