A Dutch court has ruled that a couple’s marriage was not legally valid after their wedding vows, written with the help of artificial intelligence, failed to meet the requirements of the law.
The ruling was delivered by a court in Zwolle in early January 2026, following a legal challenge over a civil wedding ceremony held in April 2025 in the northern Netherlands.
According to the court, the couple asked a friend to act as a one-day registrar to conduct the ceremony. The friend used ChatGPT to draft the wedding speech and vows in a more personal and relaxed tone.
However, the court found that the AI-generated vows did not include the mandatory declaration required under Article 1:67 of the Dutch Civil Code, which states that couples must explicitly declare their intention to fulfil the legal obligations of marriage.
In its judgment, the court said, “The aforementioned statement shows that the man and the woman did not make the declaration referred to in Article 1:67, paragraph 1, of the Dutch Civil Code.”
The court quoted parts of the vows used during the ceremony to explain its decision.
“Do you promise to stand by (woman’s name) today, tomorrow, and forever? To laugh together, grow together, and love each other no matter what?” the man was asked during the ceremony.
The couple were also asked whether they would “keep supporting each other, teasing each other, holding on to each other — even in difficult times,” before being declared “not only husband and wife, but above all a team, a crazy couple, each other’s love and each other’s home.”
The court ruled that while the language was emotional and personal, it did not satisfy the legal requirement for a valid marriage declaration.
“This means that the marriage certificate was erroneously recorded in the civil registry,” the court added.
The couple later asked the court to recognise the original date of their wedding as their official marriage date, arguing that they had not intended to make a mistake and that the civil officer present did not point out the problem at the time.
They also said changing the date of their marriage would affect them emotionally.
However, the court rejected the request.
“The court understands how important the marriage date listed on the certificate is to the man and the woman, but it cannot ignore the law,” the judgment stated.
