Quick summary: Yes, you can marry by proxy in Guatemala: Civil Code Art. 85 allows it. The power of attorney must be special, name the person you are marrying and carry a sworn statement on the points in Art. 93 (personal details, civil status, kinship, impediments, property regime, and that you are not legally in a de facto union with a third person). If you change your mind, the revocation must be legally notified to the proxy before the wedding. If either spouse is foreign or a naturalized Guatemalan, Art. 96 adds proof of identity and freedom to marry plus 15 days of published edicts, which lapse after six months. No one under 18 can marry (Decreto 13-2017). The alternative is to marry where you live: that marriage has effect in Guatemala unless an absolute impediment applies (Art. 86).
General information, not legal advice. A marriage changes your civil status, your property regime and sometimes your immigration position. Before you sign a power of attorney to marry, have a Guatemalan abogado y notario review your case.
What the Civil Code says
Article 85 of the Civil Code (Decreto-Ley 106), headed Matrimonio por poder, reads: “El matrimonio podrá celebrarse por poder. El mandato debe ser especial, expresar la identificación de la persona con la que debe contraerse el matrimonio y contener declaración jurada acerca de las cuestiones que menciona el artículo 93” (marriage may be celebrated by proxy; the mandate must be special, identify the person to be married and contain a sworn statement on the matters Article 93 lists).
In practice, the spouse who cannot be in Guatemala grants a power of attorney to another person, the proxy (mandatario), who appears in their place when the marriage is celebrated.
What the power of attorney must contain
| Requirement | What it means | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| A special mandate | A general power is not enough: it must be a power for this act | Civil Code Art. 85 |
| Identification of the other spouse | The power names the person you are marrying; it is not a power to marry anyone | Civil Code Art. 85 |
| A sworn statement on the Art. 93 points | You declare under oath, inside the power itself, what Art. 93 asks of each spouse | Civil Code Arts. 85 and 93 |
Article 93 describes what the official receives “bajo juramento de cada uno de ellos, legalmente identificados, declaración sobre los puntos siguientes, que hará constar en acta” (a sworn declaration from each spouse, legally identified, on the following points, recorded in the official act). Those are the points your sworn statement has to cover:
- Full names and surnames.
- Age.
- Civil status.
- Residence (vecindad).
- Profession or trade.
- Nationality and origin.
- Names of your parents and grandparents, if you know them.
- No kinship between the two of you that bars the marriage.
- No legal impediment to marrying.
- The property regime you adopt, if you do not present a prenuptial deed (escritura de capitulaciones matrimoniales).
- An express statement that you are not legally in a de facto union (unión de hecho) with a third person.
Point 10 is a decision for the couple, not paperwork: settle it before signing, because under Art. 85 the sworn statement, property regime included, goes inside the power.
How to grant the power if you live outside Guatemala
This page does not repeat the mechanics of the power itself; other guides cover them. Our guide to a Guatemalan notarial power of attorney from the USA explains that the Civil Code requires a special power to contract marriage (Art. 1692) and how to grant one at a consulate. The route through a US notary, apostille and protocolization is in the special power of attorney guide. And the carta poder guide explains when a power needs a public deed before a notary.
What is specific to marriage is the content of the power: the three Art. 85 requirements and the Art. 93 list in the section above. Take that list to the notary or consul who drafts the power.
Revoking the power: the deadline
Article 85 ends: “La revocatoria del poder no surtirá efecto si fuere notificada legalmente al mandatario cuando el matrimonio ya estuviere celebrado” (a revocation has no effect if it is legally notified to the proxy once the marriage has already been celebrated).
Read the other way round: if you decide not to marry, the revocation must be legally notified to the proxy before the ceremony. Keep proof of the date of that notice, and consult a lawyer on how to give it.
If one spouse is foreign or naturalized (Art. 96)
Civil Code Art. 96 adds a step for a spouse who is a foreigner or a naturalized Guatemalan, whether they marry in person or by proxy:
- Identity and freedom to marry. “El contrayente que fuere extranjero o guatemalteco naturalizado, deberá comprobar en forma fehaciente su identidad y libertad de estado” (the foreign or naturalized spouse must reliably prove identity and freedom to marry).
- 15 days of edicts. “Previamente a la celebración del matrimonio, se publicarán edictos en el Diario Oficial y en otro de mayor circulación, por el término de 15 días” (before the wedding, edicts are published in the Diario Oficial and another widely circulated paper for 15 days).
- Six-month validity. “Si el matrimonio no fuere celebrado dentro de los seis meses de publicados los edictos, éstos perderán su efecto legal” (if the marriage is not celebrated within six months of publication, the edicts lose their legal effect).
If a proxy wedding slips (for example, because the power takes time to reach Guatemala), the edicts can expire. Coordinate the dates of the power and the edicts with whoever will authorise the marriage.
Who cannot marry: impediments and minimum age
Civil Code Art. 88 sets the absolute impediments:
| Absolute impediment (Art. 88) | Scope |
|---|---|
| Blood relationship | Relatives in the direct line, and siblings and half-siblings |
| Relationship by marriage (afinidad) | Ascendants and descendants who have been linked by affinity |
| An existing bond | “Las personas casadas; y las unidas de hecho con persona distinta de su conviviente, mientras no se haya disuelto legalmente esa unión” (people who are married, and people in a de facto union with someone other than their partner, until that union is legally dissolved) |
Minimum age: 18, with no exceptions. Decreto 13-2017 (published in the Diario de Centro América on 13 September 2017) reformed Civil Code Art. 83: “No podrán contraer matrimonio ni autorizarse de manera alguna, el matrimonio de menores de dieciocho (18) años de edad” (no marriage of anyone under eighteen may be contracted or authorised in any way). The same decree repealed Arts. 82, 84, 89 numerals 1 and 2, 94 and 134. If you are reading an edition of the Civil Code from before 2017, its articles on marriage age are not the ones in force: use the text of Decreto 13-2017.
Who celebrates the marriage and where it is recorded
Civil Code Art. 92 says who may authorise a marriage: “El matrimonio debe autorizarse por el alcalde municipal o el concejal que haga sus veces, o por un notario hábil legalmente para el ejercicio de su profesión” (by the mayor or the council member acting for them, or by a notary legally qualified to practise). It adds: “También podrá autorizarlo el ministro de cualquier culto que tenga esa facultad, otorgada por la autoridad administrativa que corresponde” (a minister of any religion holding that faculty from the competent administrative authority may also authorise it). The articles we cite on this page do not expressly say before which of them a proxy marriage must be celebrated; confirm it with whoever will authorise yours.
At the ceremony the official reads Civil Code Arts. 78 and 108 to 114 and, under Art. 99, “recibirá de cada uno de los cónyuges su consentimiento expreso” (receives each spouse’s express consent). When one spouse is represented, ask the notary or the municipality how they will document the proxy’s appearance.
Article 101 provides three ways to record the marriage:
| Who celebrates it | Where it is recorded | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| Municipality (mayor or council member) | “Las actas de matrimonio serán asentadas en un libro especial que deberán llevar las municipalidades” (a special book kept by the municipality) | Civil Code Arts. 92 and 101 |
| Notary | “Los notarios harán constar el matrimonio en acta notarial que deberá ser protocolizada” (a notarial act that must be entered in the notary’s protocol) | Civil Code Arts. 92 and 101 |
| Authorised minister of religion | “y los ministros de los cultos, en libros debidamente autorizados por el Ministerio de Gobernación” (books authorised by the Ministry of the Interior) | Civil Code Arts. 92 and 101 |
The alternative: marry where you live
If both of you can be in the same country, marrying there avoids the proxy altogether. Civil Code Art. 86 says: “El matrimonio celebrado fuera del territorio nacional, en la forma y con los requisitos que en el lugar de su celebración establezcan las leyes, producirá todos sus efectos en la República, a no ser que medie impedimento absoluto para contraerlo por alguna de las causas que determina este Código” (a marriage celebrated abroad in the form and with the requirements of the local law has full effect in Guatemala, unless an absolute impediment under this Code applies).
So the country where you marry sets the form, and Guatemala only sets the outer limit of the Art. 88 absolute impediments. If that country asks a Guatemalan to prove they are single, the RENAP single-status certificate guide explains how to request and apostille it. If you are a US citizen marrying a Guatemalan inside Guatemala instead, see marrying a Guatemalan in Guatemala as a US citizen.
Will the other country recognise it?
A proxy marriage that is valid in Guatemala is not automatically accepted by another country for its own purposes. For the United States, we did not find an official source confirming how a Guatemalan proxy marriage is treated, either by the states or for immigration. If you will use the marriage outside Guatemala, check with that country’s authorities before you sign the power.
Related guides
- RENAP single-status certificate: proving your civil status outside Guatemala.
- Guatemalan notarial power of attorney from the USA: granting the special power from the United States.
- Special power of attorney in Guatemala: US notary, apostille and protocolization.
- Carta poder in Guatemala: when a power needs a notary.
- Marrying a Guatemalan in Guatemala as a US citizen: documents, the libertad de estado affidavit and the US immigration side.
Sources, read on 28 September 2026: Civil Code, Decreto-Ley 106, Arts. 85, 86, 88, 92, 93, 96, 99 and 101, in the Ministry of Culture and Sports compilation (that compilation predates Decreto 13-2017, so the age rules are cited from the decree itself); and Decreto 13-2017 of the Congress of the Republic.