What exactly is a registrar for a day?

“Registrar for a day” — the term comes up often, but what does it actually mean? Here is the arrangement explained without the civil-service jargon.

In the Netherlands the official title is BABS: Buitengewoon Ambtenaar van de Burgerlijke Stand, the registrar who performs a marriage. I was sworn in with the municipality of Den Helder, but almost every Dutch municipality offers the option of swearing in a registrar from elsewhere “for one day”, so that I can marry you in your own municipality too.

What does this mean for you?

• You choose the registrar who leads your ceremony, wherever you live.
• I handle the application with your municipality; you do not have to figure anything out.
• Alongside the municipal fees, you receive my invoice for the ceremony itself.

What do you need to arrange yourselves?

Only the usual steps towards your marriage: giving notice of your intended marriage to the municipality, and choosing your witnesses. The rest — from the application to the ceremony — I take off your hands.

Questions about your particular situation? Call or email whenever you like and I will look at it with you.