Court in Zwolle rules couple not married after ChatGPT-written ceremony
A Dutch court in Zwolle ruled that a couple who held a wedding ceremony on April 19, 2025, are not legally married because the required legal vows were never made during the ceremony, which instead used a speech generated with ChatGPT.
The District Court of Overijssel ruled on Monday that no valid marriage was formed because the couple failed to make the declaration required by law before a civil registrar. Despite that, the marriage was registered in 2025 in the civil registry and in the Basic Registration of Persons.
The case arose after the couple asked a friend to act as a registrar for one day, known in Dutch as an eendagsbabs, during their ceremony in the municipality of Zwolle. Seeking a lighter tone, the eendagsbabs used a speech written with the help of ChatGPT. An official municipal registrar from Zwolle was also present at the ceremony.
Dutch law requires both partners to declare before the registrar and witnesses that they accept each other as spouses and will fulfill the legal duties of marriage. The court said that the declaration was not made.
According to the ruling, the ceremony included the following statements, in relevant part:
“[Man], do you promise that today, tomorrow, and all the days to come, you will stand by [woman]?
To laugh together, grow together, and love each other—whatever life brings?
What is your answer?
[Woman], do you choose [man] again today?
To keep supporting each other, to keep teasing each other, to keep holding on—even when life gets tough?
What is your answer?
Then I declare you hereby:
Not only husband and wife, but above all, a team, a quirky couple, each other’s love, and each other’s home.
You may now congratulate each other first with a kiss.
Closing:
[woman] and [man],
Congratulations.
You are now officially husband and wife.”
The public prosecutor in the Oost-Nederland district asked the court to order the marriage certificate removed, arguing that the legally required declaration was missing and that no marriage had been concluded. The civil registrar of Zwolle supported the request, saying there was no legal authority to act otherwise, despite understanding the emotional importance of the wedding date.
The couple opposed the request, confirming that the declaration had not been made but saying the mistake was not their responsibility. They said they believed the marriage had been properly performed and noted that an official registrar was present and did not intervene. They asked the court to allow them to keep or administratively recognize April 19 as their wedding date because of its personal significance. The court rejected that request.
“The court understands that the marriage date recorded in the certificate is important to the man and the woman but cannot disregard what is laid down in the law,” the court said. The couple will now have to marry again to be legally married.
