Muslim Marriage Registration Procedures in Indonesia and Malaysia: A Comparative Analysis of Legal Foundations, Administrative Flow, And The Issuance of Official Marriage Documents

Muslim marriage registration in contemporary Islamic family law is increasingly understood as an instrument of legal recognition, legal protection, and administrative certainty. In Indonesia, the latest official framework is set out in Peraturan Menteri Agama No. 30 of 2024, which was issued to strengthen administrative order, transparency, and legal certainty in the implementation of Muslim marriage registration. In Malaysia, official public-service guidance and JAKIM information show that Muslim couples must obtain marriage permission through the District Islamic Religious Office (Pejabat Agama Islam Daerah, PAID), with online access available through the SPPIM platform for participating states. Recent academic studies likewise emphasize that marriage registration is fundamental to legal certainty and the protection of civil rights. This study compares Muslim marriage registration procedures in Indonesia and Malaysia by examining three dimensions: legal foundations, administrative flow, and the issuance of official marriage documents. It employs a qualitative comparative case-study design with a normative-juridical approach. The primary materials consist of official regulations, government portals, and administrative service information, while the secondary materials consist of recent academic literature on marriage registration, legal certainty, and comparative Islamic family law. The findings show that Indonesia uses a more nationally standardized, sequence-based registration model consisting of registration of marriage intention, marriage examination, solemnization of the akad nikah, and official recording. Malaysia, by contrast, operates through a more state-mediated permission model in which couples apply for permission, complete solemnization before an authorized registrar, and then obtain official post-marriage documentation. Indonesia's documentary outcome is more immediate through the issuance of the Buku Nikah and Kartu Nikah, while Malaysia differentiates between the marriage certificate and the optional kad nikah. The study concludes that both countries pursue the same legal objective - transforming Muslim marriage into a state-recognized and provable status - but do so through different administrative grammars. It contributes to comparative Islamic family law by showing that legal certainty in marriage depends as much on procedural design and documentary issuance as on doctrinal regulation itself.