Letter of No Impediment
Key Takeaways:
In South Africa, we have what is referred to as a letter of no impediment or single status certificate.
A letter of no impediment is needed to prove you are not currently married and are divorced.
The letter is issued by the South African Department of Home Affairs.
So you are finally over your divorce (which is finalised) and you want to begin living the rest of your life. We applaud you – moving forward and finding your happy place is key. And now, as you are living your best life, you have met someone new, an exotic foreign national during your travels and you want to get remarried abroad – living “happily ever after”.
Yay for you!
But you are now hearing phrases like a letter of no impediment or single status certificate – what are they? What a nuisance!
We hear you! But don’t fret, we are here for you! We are specialists in the field of Notarial Work and are able to assist you with legalising and notarising your letter of no impediment - at no trouble at all.
What is a letter of no impediment?
In South Africa, we have what is referred to as a letter of no impediment (literally meaning “nothing impedes/stops you” from getting married) or single status certificate. This letter (or single status certificate) is needed to prove you are not currently married and are divorced. It is also referred to as:
Non-Impediment Letter;
No-Impediment Certificate;
Declaration of Non-Impediment to Marry;
Certificate of Freedom to Marry;
Statutory Declaration of Single Status;
Single Status Letter / Certificate;
Statement In-Lieu of Certificate of Non-Impediment to Marriage Abroad, and
Affidavit of Intended Marriage.
“A rose by any other name” comes to mind. All the same thing.
A letter of no impediment is often requested from foreign authorities when South African nationals want to get married in foreign countries. You may even be required to submit an apostilled letter of no impediment to the foreign authorities of the country you wish to get married in. If you are getting married in a country that is a signatory of the Hague Convention, you are going to use an Apostilled letter, which makes the legalisation of documents much easier (see below).
The letter is issued by the South African Department of Home Affairs to confirm the current marital status of an individual and confirms the right and the freedom of the person requiring it to get married. It is however only legally valid for six months from the date of issuing.
A letter of no impediment can only be legalised if it is on an original (and official) Home Affairs letterhead. It must also be signed and stamped by an authorised Home Affairs official at Head Office (only). As a result, if you have a letter of no impediment that was issued by a Regional Home Affairs office, the letter cannot legally be used abroad.
How to acquire a letter of no impediment?
To obtain a letter of no impediment you can either apply locally in South Africa via the Department of Home Affairs or if you are situated abroad, you can apply via the South African High Commission.
Kindly note that we are unable to submit the application on your behalf.
You will need to submit the following documents in order to process the application -
A completed DHA-1155 Form in black ink;
A certified copy of your ID or passport, and
Pay the service fee.
Must a letter of no impediment be authenticated?
Authentication of a formal document, like a letter of no impediment, means to legalise it and is specifically required for use abroad.
Legalising a document means that official (public) documents executed within South Africa for use outside of South Africa (for example when emigrating and requiring a VISA, obtaining a foreign passport, applying for citizenship applications, marrying a foreign national and during adoption procedures), are affixed, sealed and signed either with an Apostille Certificate (if the destination country is a signatory country of the Hague Convention) thereby authenticating the origin of a public document, or with a Certificate of Authentication (if the destination country is not a signatory of the Hague Convention).
This process is done by sending it to the Legalisation Section of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (“DIRCO”) in order to get it affixed with an Apostille seal or a Certificate of Authentication (as per the above).
We are able to assist you with the process of legalising a letter of no impediment. So feel free to get in touch!
Must a letter of no impediment be notarised?
You would need to notarise a letter of no impediment should you require copies of it (especially for authentication or legalisation purposes).
And you would need copies of it only if your documents are going to be used abroad (as per the above). And for this purpose, they can only be notarised before a Notary. The Notary attaches a completed and signed notarial certificate to the front of the copy of the original document, and affixes a seal next to their signature thereby verifying that it is a true copy of the original.
How long is the notarised letter of no impediment valid for?
Simply put, it all depends on the authority requesting the notarised document.
What happens if I lose the letter of no impediment?
You apply for a new one from the Department of Home Affairs if in South Africa or the South African High Commission in the country you are in. This may result in the paying of an additional fee (which is currently R50.00).
Why should we trust Benaters to notarise the letter of no impediment?
At Benaters we pride ourselves on the fact that we are able to offer a specialised niche service, always remembering that due to the ethical nature of the services which Notaries render (and the specialist knowledge required to draft and/or legalise certain documents), the office of a Notary is considered to be held to a higher standard of care. And we take that extremely seriously (and therefore hold ourselves to very high standards).
We are proud to offer this specialised service to you! So contact us today to see how we may best assist you.