Published on 28 September 2026

Divorce/Dissolution of registered partnership

Your divorce or the dissolution of your registered partnership must be reported to your Swiss representation abroad so that the data in the various Swiss registers can be updated.

If the decision is issued abroad, the foreign authorities do not inform the Swiss representation. This is why you need to submit the required documents to your representation. The civil status authority in Switzerland is in charge of entering the information on the decision in the register.

If the decision was issued in Switzerland, you will also have to have your civil status change entered in the Register of the Swiss Abroad.

• Divorce/Dissolution of partnership abroad

  Changes in your civil status due to decisions issued abroad must be entered in the Swiss civil status register. This updating of the register is free of charge.

  Please submit the following documents and information to your Swiss representation:

  • original of divorce decree or of dissolution of registered partnership decision that specifies when it entered into force
  • document stipulating the parental custody of any joint children, unless indicated on the divorce decree or on the dissolution of registered partnership decision
  • change of address

  Costa Rica and Panama

  A certified copy of the divorce decree with a legal effect must be submitted in Costa Rica and Panama. The document must be provided with an apostille.

  El Salvador

  In El Salvador, the following documents must be submitted:

  Sentencia firme de divorcio (divorce decree), issued by the competent court

  and additionally one of the following three documents:

  • Partida de divorcio (divorce certificate), issued by the municipal office of the place of residence (Alcaldia Municipal) or
  • Partida de matrimonio (marriage certificate with a marginal note indicating the divorce), issued by the municipal office of the place of residence (Alcadia Municipal) or
  • Partida de nacimiento (full birth certificate with a note indicating the dissolution of the marriage), not older than 6 months, issued by the municipal administration (Alcaldia) of the place of birth.

  The documents must be certified by the competent authorities and bear an apostille.

  The original documents are submitted to the civil status authority concerned in Switzerland and must not be older than six months. They will not be returned. Photocopies are not accepted. Additional documents may be required if necessary.

  The cost of a thorough verification, should it be necessary, of the foreign civil status documents by a lawyer approved by the Swiss representation are at your expense.

  Use the Online desk to upload copies of the required documents. The Swiss representation will then check the documents to ensure they are correct and will ask you to submit the original documents.

• Divorce/Dissolution of partnership in Switzerland

  You must communicate to your Swiss representation any changes to your civil status due to decrees issued in Switzerland so that the data in the Register of the Swiss Abroad can be updated. These updates are free of charge.

  Please submit the following documents and information (electronically or as paper documents):

  • photocopy of the divorce decree or of the dissolution of registered partnership decision that specifies when it entered into force
  • document stipulating the parental custody of any joint children, unless indicated on the divorce decree or on the dissolution of registered partnership decision
  • change of address

  Report your divorce or dissolution of registered partnership online:

  Online desk

• Ordering documents

  If the decree on your divorce or the decision on the dissolution of your registered partnership was issued abroad, you will need to order the corresponding decree from the proper authority in the country concerned.

  If the decree on your divorce or the decision on the dissolution of your registered partnership was issued in Swiss court, you will need to order the corresponding decree from the Swiss court concerned. It cannot be ordered through the Swiss representation.

  Court in Switzerland – Where do you get a divorce?

• Changing your surname back to your birth name

  If you changed your surname when you married or registered your partnership, you retain the changed surname after the divorce or dissolution of your registered partnership. However, you can change your surname back to your birth name by contacting your Swiss representation.

  If you make this change, you will also have to ask the appropriate authorities to renew certain official documents (passport, identity card, driving licence, etc.).

  The divorce or dissolution of the partnership has no effect on the surname of the children.

  Applying for an identity document