Poland changes the model of the marriage act – instead of the terms "woman" and "man" will appear "first spouse" and "second spouse".
Where did the changes in the marriage certificate come from?
Ministry of Digital Affairs published a draft regulation that introduces gender-neutral definitions in civil status acts. It includes copies of the complete and abbreviated marriage certificate and certificates issued from the register of civil status.
The background to the changes is the judgment Court of Justice of the EU of 25 November 2025, which obliged Poland to recognise single-sex marriages legally concluded in other EU countries. The state does not need to introduce single-sex marriages in its law, but must enable such couples to enjoy their marriage rights if they have a relationship abroad.
What exactly changes in documents?
The new rules provide for the modification of several key lines in civil status documents. The amendment does not concern the content of the marriage institution itself in the Constitution, but how to describe the marriage pages in official forms.
First spouse and second spouse – new lines
The proposed models of documents include:
- Replace "woman" and "man" with "first spouse" and "other spouse".
- Change of descriptions for parents to "father of first spouse", "mother of first spouse", "father of second spouse", "mother of second spouse".
- Update of the section "The names of spouses after marriage" to refer to the "first" and "second spouse".
In practice, this means that the same form will serve both sex and sex couples without interfering with the definition of marriage in national law.
Why is the government doing this? Official justification
The Ministry of Digitalism stresses that it is primarily about the "technical" implementation of the TEU judgment and the adaptation of Polish registers to EU law. The current model documents make it impossible to properly enter single-sex marriages because the form presupposes a woman and a man.
The official communications highlight three main objectives of change:
- Allow the transcription of foreign marriage acts of same-sex people.
- Ensure compliance with EU standards (including Regulation 2016/1191).
- Facilitating the exercise of marriage rights – e.g. in benefits, insurance and taxes.
This is supposed to be – in the logic of the government – a change more administrative than cultural, although its socio-symbolic effects are much wider.
Controversy: neutral language or "marriage by the back door"?
Conservative opposition and some Catholic communities accuse the government of trying "the introduction of single-sex marriages through the back door". Right-wing politicians argue that gender-neutral terms in documents conflict with the constitutional protection of marriage as a union between a woman and a man.
In turn LGBT+ and human rights organisations see in the project a rather late, partial step – a tool that will make life easier for single-sex couples already having marriages abroad, but still not solving the issue of marriage equality in Poland.
What does that mean for ordinary marriages?
For heterosexual couples having a wedding in Poland, the daily procedure in the USC was won't change. – they will continue to swear, and clergymen and officials may use the traditional terms "husband" and "wife". The change primarily concerns how marriage will be recorded in the system and on the official copy.
