<![CDATA[Background: Marriage registration in Indonesia has generally been discussed within the framework of Islamic family law, especially in relation to the validity of marriage, civil consequences, and the protection of women and children. Such studies are important, yet they tend to overlook the fact that marriage registration is also a government administrative action performed by public officials and producing direct legal consequences for citizens’ civil status. In a plural legal system such as Indonesia, where religious validity and state recognition operate through different but interrelated legal regimes, marriage registration becomes a crucial site for examining the interaction between Islamic law, public administration, and citizens’ rights. Purpose: This study aims to analyze marriage registration as a form of state recognition of Islamic marriage through government administrative action. It examines how the principle of legality underpins the validity of marriage registration and how the Office of Religious Affairs exercises attribution authority in registering marriages for Muslim citizens. Methods: This research uses normative legal analysis with socio-legal sensitivity. It combines statute, conceptual, philosophical, and historical approaches to examine marriage registration not only as a formal legal procedure, but also as an institutional practice that connects religious marriage, administrative authority, and access to civil rights. Primary legal materials include Indonesian regulations on marriage, population administration, and government administration. Secondary materials include scholarly works on Islamic family law, state administrative law, legal pluralism, civil registration, and public governance. Results: The study shows that marriage registration qualifies as a government administrative action because it is carried out by authorized officials, produces authentic legal documents, and determines citizens’ access to population documents and public services. The principle of legality functions as the main normative foundation for ensuring that the action of registration is based on lawful authority, proper procedure, and accountability. The authority of the Office of Religious Affairs in registering marriages for Muslim citizens is best understood as attribution authority because it originates directly from statutory provisions and is attached to the institution by law. Implication: This article argues that marriage registration should not be viewed merely as a technical administrative formality or as a secondary issue after religious validity. Rather, it is a mechanism through which religiously valid marriage is transformed into state-recognized civil status. This construction strengthens administrative accountability, prevents institutional overlap, and protects citizens’ administrative rights. Originality: repositioning marriage registration as a site of legal pluralism and ethical governance in a Muslim-majority legal system. It contributes to broader debates on how the state recognizes religious marital status through administrative authority, legality-based governance, and civil rights protection ]]>
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