Ban on military fire corps members concluding marriage contracts without prior permission

Abdulkarim Ahmad: The Deputy Minister of Justice, Awatef Al-Sand, issued an administrative directive prohibiting all notaries public and marriage officiants from concluding marriage contracts for military personnel affiliated with the General Fire Force, both male and female, unless they obtain marriage permission from the Force.

The administrative directive, No. 20 of 2026, stipulates that violating this ban subjects the offender to legal accountability, and it affirmed that its provisions are effective from the date of issuance, with all competent authorities tasked with implementing its contents. The decision came in response to a letter submitted by the Commander of the General Fire Force, Major General Talal Al-Roumi, to the Deputy Minister of Justice, emphasizing the necessity for military personnel from the General Fire Force (male and female) to obtain marriage permission issued by the Force before completing the notarization procedures for their marriage contracts.

The directive also urged legal marriage officiants to carefully review the official document containing the marriage permission issued to those seeking marriage, and to verify its approval by the Commander of the General Fire Force for marriage requests from non-Kuwaitis, and by the Director of Force Affairs, the Force Affairs Supervisor, and the Service Affairs Supervisor for Kuwaitis. Additionally, they must ensure that the signatures contained in the document match the approved signature samples attached as an appendix, before completing the marriage contract notarization procedures.