If the parties involved have not obtained a marriage certificate and wish to file for divorce, different approaches are required depending on the situation.
1. No Marriage Certificate Issued
1. If the parties lived together as a married couple before February 1, 1994, this constitutes a de facto marriage, and they can directly file for divorce in court.
2. If the parties lived together as a married couple after February 1, 1994, and meet the substantive requirements and conditions for marriage, they must first obtain a marriage certificate from the marriage registration authority before filing for divorce. If they do not obtain the marriage certificate, the People's Court will handle the case as a cohabitation relationship.
2. Marriage Certificate Lost or Damaged
1. If both marriage certificates are lost, the parties can first apply for a replacement marriage certificate at the original marriage registration office or the civil affairs department of either party's household registration location, and then proceed with the divorce process.
2. If they do not wish to apply for a replacement marriage certificate, they can directly request a marriage registration record certificate from the original marriage registration department and use this record to proceed with the divorce process.
3. If the marriage registration office refuses to issue a marriage registration record certificate, the parties can inquire about the location where the marriage records are archived. They can then visit the archives department with their valid personal identification documents to access and photocopy the marriage registration records. The records must be stamped by the archives department to be valid. The parties can then use these records to file for divorce.