Requesting a Civil Marriage Ceremony
The City of Ottawa offers Civil Marriage Ceremonies at Ottawa City Hall, 110 Laurier Avenue West and in Orleans at 255 Centrum Boulevard. Our ceremonies are simple and dignified and available in either English or French (bilingual ceremonies are not offered). The solemn service lasts approximately 20 minutes.
City Hall ceremony bookings are held weekly Monday to Fridays at 9 am, 10 am, 11 am, 1 pm, 2 pm and 3 pm with the exception of statutory holidays. Our Orleans Client Service Centre offers ceremony bookings on Fridays at 9 am, 10 am, 11 am, 1 pm, 2 pm and 3 pm. All ceremony bookings are offered on a first-come, first-served basis.
There are only 10 people permitted in the room at one time for the ceremony. This includes the officiant, the couple, 2 witness and then you can have 5 additional guests.
Note: Our officiants are not available for off-site private ceremonies. To find an officiant please visit the Service Ontario website.
Want to know more?
For more information about civil ceremonies contact 3-1-1, option 6.
Getting a marriage licence
A marriage licence is required to get married in Ontario.
- The licence is valid for 90 days from the issued date.
- The licence is valid for use anywhere in the province of Ontario.
Expired licences
Important: The Province has extended the expiry date for marriage licences. For more information please visit the ServiceOntario webpage.
Date issued
Valid until
December 1, 2019 to July 24, 2020
July 24, 2022
July 25, 2020 to September 30, 2020
3 months from the date issued (not extended)
October 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020
February 10, 2023
January 1, 2021 to June 4 2021
June 4, 2023
November 1, 2021 to February 24 2022
February 24 2024
Note: The validity period for foreign divorce authorizations issued by the Office of the Registrar General has also been extended for the same duration as the extended marriage licence validity periods noted above.
Registering a death
Effective April 20 2020, registering a death can only be done electronically . Funeral operators must e-mail the following documents to deathregistration@ottawa.ca:
- Statement of Death
- Medical Certificate of Death
There may only be one registration per e-mail and funeral operators must include a contact number in the body of each e-mail.
Once e-mailed, funeral operators have 5 business days to drop off hard copies at the exterior drop box located at 580 Terry Fox Drive.
Documentation will be processed on the next business day.
What is a death registration?
A death registration is a permanent, legal record of death. A funeral director or family member is authorized to complete the Statement of Death. A physician or coroner present at the time of death will complete the Medical Certificate of Death, which contains details about the cause of death. The funeral director usually handles this process on behalf of the deceased person's family.
Requirements
Both the Statement of Death and the Medical Certificate of Death are necessary to obtain a burial permit. Once registered, a Burial Permit and Acknowledgement of Death Registration form will be issued.
The fee to register a death in the City of Ottawa is $49.11 (2022). All death registration fees will be billed monthly, with no opportunity to pay directly.
After-hours
All burial permits are handled through the Client Service Centres. However, where the immediate issuance of a burial permit is required due to an emergency, religious beliefs or other similar reasons, death registrations and burial permits may be obtained after-hours by following the same process notes above. e-mailing deathregistration@ottawa.ca. The 3-1-1 Contact Centre will be monitoring this e-mail box after-hours.
Special circumstances
- If a death occurred in Ontario but the burial or disposition of remains is to take place outside the province, you must still obtain an Ontario burial permit.
- If a death occurred outside Ontario but the burial or disposition of remains is to take place within Ontario, you must obtain a permit from the appropriate jurisdiction for burial, transit or removal.
For more information, please call 3-1-1 and choose option 6.