Marriage
The Revised Family Code (Federal Proclamation No. 213/2000, in force since 4 July 2000) governs marriage in Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa. It recognises marriage before an officer of civil status, by the rites of a religion or by customary rites (arts 1 to 4), and requires all three forms to meet the same essential conditions (arts 26(2) and 27(2)). The 1995 Constitution guarantees the right to marry from the age 'defined by law', with equal rights at entry, during marriage and at divorce, and only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses (art. 34(1) and (2)). The regional states legislate for themselves, so a wedding in a region follows that region's family code.
Article 7(1) fixes the age at 18 for men and women alike. The Minister of Justice may, on the application of the future spouses or of the parents or guardian of one of them and for serious cause, grant a dispensation of not more than two years (art. 7(2)), which Norway's Landinfo reads as allowing marriage from 16. A marriage concluded under 18 without it is dissolved on the application of any interested person or the public prosecutor, but no longer once the age is reached (art. 31). Consent must be free and full (art. 6); a marriage resting on a fundamental error, such as error about the spouse's identity or about an incurable or hereditary disease, or on consent extorted by violence, can be dissolved if the court is asked within six months of the discovery or of the end of the violence and in any case within two years of the wedding (arts 13, 14, 35 and 36).
The Code forbids marriage between ascendants and descendants, between a man and his sister or aunt and between a woman and her brother or uncle (art. 8), between a man and his wife's sister or a woman and her husband's brother (art. 9(2)), and for anyone still bound by an earlier marriage (art. 11). A woman may not remarry until 180 days after her previous marriage ended, unless she has given birth, remarries the same husband, shows by medical evidence that she is not pregnant or obtains the court's dispensation (art. 16). Both spouses must be present at the ceremony; representation needs the Ministry of Justice's permission for a serious cause (art. 12). A marriage celebrated abroad under the law of the place is valid in Ethiopia if it does not contravene public morals (art. 5).
For a civil wedding the future spouses tell the officer of civil status at least one month ahead; the officer is the one of the place where a spouse, or an ascendant or close relative of one, has lived continuously for at least six months (arts 22 and 23). Opposition must be made in writing within fifteen days of the notification and is decided within five days, and a refusal to celebrate can be taken to court (arts 19 to 21). The ceremony is public, with two witnesses for each spouse, an oath that the essential conditions are met, a declaration of free consent and signatures in the register, after which the officer pronounces the couple married and issues the certificate (art. 25). Failure to follow art. 25(3) or (6) is not a ground for dissolving the marriage (art. 39).
Marriage must be registered whatever its form (art. 28(1)). Proclamation No. 760/2012 requires every vital event other than birth to be registered within 30 days (art. 18(1)); couples married by religious or customary rites bring the evidence given by the religious institution or the elders, naming the spouses, their ages and residences, the date, the place and the witnesses (arts 31(2) and 33), and each spouse receives a copy of the certificate (art. 47(2)). Failing to declare is punishable by up to six months' simple imprisonment or a fine of Birr 500 to 5,000 (art. 66(1)(a)). The head of the Ethiopian Women Lawyers Association told Landinfo in May 2016 that very few couples register and that most do so only when an official certificate becomes necessary, for instance for family reunification abroad.
The Criminal Code (Proclamation No. 414/2004) punishes whoever concludes a marriage with a minor outside what the Family Code permits by rigorous imprisonment of up to three years where the minor is 13 or older and up to seven years where under 13 (art. 648). Intentionally solemnising a forbidden marriage, or contracting, permitting or witnessing one, carries simple imprisonment of up to three years or a fine of up to Birr 5,000 (art. 647), but no prosecution under arts 646 or 647 can start until the marriage has been annulled (art. 649).
Key points
| Governing text | Revised Family Code, Proclamation No. 213/2000 (Addis Ababa, Dire Dawa); each region has its own code |
|---|---|
| Forms of marriage | Civil, religious or customary, all subject to the same essential conditions (arts 1 to 4, 26 and 27) |
| Minimum age | 18 for both sexes; Minister of Justice dispensation of at most 2 years for serious cause (art. 7) |
| Notice for a civil wedding | At least 1 month before the ceremony (art. 23); opposition within 15 days (art. 19) |
| Witnesses | Two for each future spouse (art. 25(1)) |
| Waiting period for a woman | 180 days after the previous marriage ended, with four exceptions (art. 16) |
| Registration deadline | 30 days (Proclamation No. 760/2012, art. 18(1)) |
| Failure to register | Up to 6 months' simple imprisonment or a fine of Birr 500 to 5,000 (art. 66(1)(a)) |
| Marriage with a minor outside the Code | Rigorous imprisonment up to 3 years (minor 13 or over) or up to 7 years (under 13) (Criminal Code, art. 648) |
In practice
- File the notice with the officer of civil status of the place where one of you, or an ascendant or close relative of one of you, has lived for at least six months, no later than one month before the date you want, and let the officer fix and publicise the day (arts 22 to 24).
- Bring two witnesses for each of you: you and they swear that no essential condition is violated, and everyone signs the register before the officer issues the certificate (art. 25).
- For a religious or customary wedding, ask the officiant or the elders for written evidence of the marriage with names, ages, residences, date, place and witnesses, and present it to an officer of civil status within 30 days (Proclamation No. 760/2012, arts 18, 31(2) and 33).
- If a spouse is under 18 for a serious cause, apply to the Minister of Justice for the dispensation before the wedding (art. 7(2)); if one of you cannot attend, representation also needs the Ministry's permission (art. 12(2)).
Recent changes
The 2019 Mini Demographic and Health Survey, published in 2021, found that 66% of women aged 15 to 49 were married or living with a partner, 26% had never married, 6% were divorced or separated and 2% widowed, and that 75% of women aged 15 to 19 had never been married against 2% of those aged 45 to 49.
Where to go
- The officer of civil status, who celebrates and registers civil marriages and registers religious and customary ones (arts 2, 28 and 29; Proclamation No. 760/2012, art. 31).
- The court, for an appeal against a refusal to celebrate (art. 21) and for any request to dissolve a marriage concluded in breach of the essential conditions (arts 31 to 36).
- The Ministry of Justice, for the age dispensation and for marriage by representation (arts 7(2) and 12(2)).
Worth knowing
A religious or customary wedding is valid only if it also meets the Code's essential conditions (arts 26(2) and 27(2)), and the Code applies directly only in Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa: elsewhere the region's family code governs, and Landinfo recorded in 2016 that Afar and Somali had no modern family code and followed customary and religious rules.
Frequently asked questions
Can a 16-year-old marry in Ethiopia?
Not as of right: art. 7(1) sets 18, and only the Minister of Justice can grant a dispensation of at most two years for serious cause (art. 7(2)). A marriage concluded below 18 without it is open to dissolution until the age is reached (art. 31) and is a crime under art. 648 of the Criminal Code; the head of the Ethiopian Women Lawyers Association told Landinfo in 2016 that nearly all such marriages happen without any application for dispensation.
How is a marriage proved if it was never registered?
By the certificate when there is one (art. 94); if the marriage was not registered or the register is lost, by possession of the status of spouses, meaning the couple regard and live as spouses and are treated as such by family and community (arts 95 and 96). The court may presume the marriage on that proof, and any reliable evidence can rebut the presumption (art. 97).
Is a marriage celebrated abroad valid in Ethiopia?
Yes if it was celebrated according to the law of the place, provided it does not contravene public morals (art. 5).
Sources
- Revised Family Code, Proclamation No. 213/2000, Federal Negarit Gazeta, Extraordinary Issue No. 1 of 4 July 2000 (English text hosted by FAOLEX) — arts 1 to 39, 94 to 97 (conclusion of marriage, essential conditions, opposition, civil and other marriages, registration, effects of violations, proof)
- Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, 1995 (English text, Constitute Project) — art. 34(1) and (2): right to marry, equality of spouses, free and full consent
- Registration of Vital Events and National Identity Card Proclamation No. 760/2012, Federal Negarit Gazeta No. 58 of 22 August 2012 (English text, Citizenship Rights in Africa); the articles cited here are not among those changed by the amending Proclamation No. 1049/2017 of 7 August 2017, which rewrote Art. 36 (place of registration of a divorce) — arts 18, 31, 33, 47 and 66: 30-day period, evidence of religious or customary marriage, certificate, penalty
- Criminal Code of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Proclamation No. 414/2004, in force 9 May 2005 (English text on WIPO Lex) — arts 108 and 646 to 649: rigorous imprisonment; crimes against marriage
- Landinfo (Norwegian Country of Origin Information Centre), response "Etiopia: Alderskrav og ekteskapsinngaelse" of 24 June 2016, in Norwegian — 2016 response: dispensation read as down to 16, registration in practice, Afar and Somali
- Ethiopia Mini Demographic and Health Survey 2019, Final Report (Ethiopian Public Health Institute and ICF, 2021) — chapter 3: marital status of women aged 15 to 49 (2019) and trend since 2016
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