Sworn declaration of single status and civil status
A sworn declaration is a statement you make before the consul, acting as a public notary, about something only you can attest to. By far the most requested is the one on civil status.
What the single-status one is for
It tells an authority or institution in any country what your civil status is at that moment. It comes up mostly when someone is about to marry and cannot prove it any other way.
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When it genuinely gets used
The typical case is someone who has lived outside the Dominican Republic for years, or passed through several countries, and cannot document their civil status with papers from those countries. The sworn declaration fills that gap.
It also turns up in inheritance cases, in pension paperwork, and whenever an institution wants evidence of a situation no registry records.
What to bring
Your Dominican identity document and, where relevant, whatever supports what you are declaring. Ask beforehand what exactly the institution requiring it needs, because the wording is drafted to fit.
It is a declaration, not proof
Worth understanding: the consulate attests that you declared it, not that it is true. Whoever receives the document knows that, which is why some institutions ask for supporting evidence as well.
It usually needs legalizing
Like other consular notarial acts, a sworn declaration normally needs legalizing at the Foreign Ministry in Santo Domingo to take effect. Ask whether they want it legalized.
The cost
The official pages for this service publish no amount. Ask when you book.
The other declarations people ask for
Besides civil status, the consulate takes declarations of financial dependency, cohabitation, residence, income, and whatever a particular institution requires with its own wording.
When a foreign body is asking, it usually supplies the template or at least states what the declaration has to say. Take that with you.
Who can sign one
Dominicans and foreigners alike. You do not have to be Dominican to swear a declaration before the consul, provided the document is to take effect under Dominican law or before an institution that accepts it that way.
What a false declaration costs
A sworn declaration binds whoever signs it. Declaring something false before a notary carries legal consequences, and in civil-status matters it can later invalidate the marriage or the process that rested on it.
This is not a formality: it is why the institution asks for one instead of taking your word.
How long it takes
It is signed during the visit, like other notarial acts. What can stretch things is the later legalization at the Foreign Ministry, which happens in Santo Domingo and not at the consular counter.
The consulate attests to the declaration, not to the facts declared.Details verified on 8 September 2026.
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