Giving notice
If you're marrying or entering a civil partnership with England or Wales you have to legally give notice, this is a signed legal statement that is displayed in the Register Office where you give notice for 28 days. You can't get married or form a civil partnership without giving notice and it is based on the venue that you're holding your ceremony at and is valid for one year.
Both parties have to give notice and this has to be done in person at the Register Office where you live and have lived for the preceding eight days.
When you are within 12 months of your ceremony, you will need to contact your local registrars to complete your legal preliminaries in order that your marriage or civil partnership can take place. Your marriage or civil partnership cannot take place until 28 clear days have passed since notice was given. You will have to pay a fee of £42.00 to the Registrars in your local office, this is a statutory fee payable for your notice of marriage and is separate to any other fees.
When you attend your appointment you must provide the registrar with evidence of your name, address, date of birth and nationality; and, if either of you have been previously married or in a civil partnership, legal evidence that your previous relationship has ended.
The evidence required by registrars is prescribed by law so if you have difficulty in supplying any of the following documents please contact us so that we can further advise you.
Evidence of nationality
- Current in date passport - if you do not have a current passport you will need:
- If you were born before 1 January 1983 a full birth certificate
- If you were born after 1 January 1983 you will need to provide your own and your mother’s birth certificate
Evidence of address
- A bank statement dated within one month of your appointment
- full or provisional driving license
- A council tax bill dated within 12 months of your appointment
- a gas/electricity/water rates bill dated within three months of your appointment
Evidence of condition
- If you're divorced or have a dissolved civil partnership we would need to see your original Decree Absolute/Final Order or Dissolution documents. Please note that when giving Notice you will incur an additional fee of up to £83 if you have paperwork granted outside of the UK. Your paperwork may require clearance by the General Register Office which can delay the process considerably
- If you are widowed or are a surviving civil partner we would need to see your late spouse’s or civil partner’s death certificate
Please note, if your evidence of marital/civil partnership condition is in another name to you evidence used for your name you will need to bring linking documents, e g marriage certificate or change of name deed.
Information for non-EU nationals
If either party to the marriage or civil partnership is a national of an EU country and does not have settled or pre-settled status (or a pending application), or national of a non EU country you may be subject to immigration control.
This means you must give your notices together at the Register Office covering the district in which you have both lived for the preceding eight days. If you both live in different registration districts you must give your notices together at either Register Office.
What you need to provide
Proof of immigration status
In addition to the documents you need to provide when giving notice, you must provide evidence of your immigration status:
- Marriage or civil partnership visa
- Proof of settled, pre-settled or pending EUSS status
If you don't have the correct proof your marriage must be referred to the Home Office, who may decide to extend your notice period for 70 days if they wish to investigate further. The marriage or civil partnership cannot take place until approval is granted by the Home Office.
Photographs
Both parties will also need to provide a colour photograph at the time of giving notice unless proof of settled status is provided. Each photograph must be a UK passport style and size and meet the following criteria:
- It should clearly show your face with a neutral expression
- You must not be wearing any head covering (other than for religious or medical reasons).
- You must be photographed alone with no other person or object in shot
- It should be unmarked, unaltered and without tears or creases
- It must be a recent photo and show a current likeness
Cost
The cost of giving notice if you are subject to immigration control is £57 for each party (£114 per couple).
If you have a divorce document that was granted outside the British Isles a further fee of £55 will be payable.
If the divorce requires authority of the Registrar General the fee will be £83. The additional fees are payable at the time of your appointment and we will be unable to proceed until the fee is paid, and your marriage cannot take place. All documents must be accompanied by a written translation into English.
For further advice please visit the GOV.UK website.
Giving notice of marriage if you live abroad
To get married or form a civil partnership in England or Wales, you must both be resident somewhere in England or Wales for at least eight consecutive days immediately prior to the day on which you give your notice of marriage or civil partnership.
Your marriage or civil partnership can take place 29 days after you give notice (sometimes 71 days if either of you are subject to immigration control). After you have both given your notices, you do not need to remain in England and Wales and may travel abroad again before your ceremony date.
If you're subject to immigration control you must have the relevant visa for marriage or civil partnership before entering the UK ideally to give notice and for the ceremony itself. If you don’t have indefinite leave to remain or diplomatic immunity, this would usually be:
- A fiancé visa (for a non-EEA national residing abroad joining an EEA/Swiss partner in the UK or non-EEA/Swiss person with settled status in the UK) or
- A marriage visitor visa (if both of you are entering the UK solely for your marriage or civil partnership and will leave the UK again immediately afterwards).
Both of these visas are usually valid for six months from the date of application. If you obtain these visas to give notice and are planning to leave the UK after you give notice, you must return for your ceremony before the visas expire. For more information visit the GOV.UK website.
There are no exceptions to this rule, even if you are a British citizen living abroad. You cannot give notice from abroad such as at a British embassy – this includes both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Please note registrars cannot give immigration advice.
Getting married abroad
If you're a British national and wish to get married or form a civil partnership abroad you may be asked to provide documents from the UK. Use the advice guide on the GOV.UK website to find out which documents you need.
If you need a Certificate of No Impediment (CNI) you must give notice at your local Register Office and produce all relevant documents.
We will need to know:
- Exactly where you wish to be married and the correct spelling
- How long before your ceremony you must give your notices
- The length of time the CNI will be valid for in your chosen country
Please note that different countries will impose different validity periods and may require you to give notice within a specific time frame.
Alternatively you may wish to have your legal ceremony here and have a celebratory ceremony abroad.
Already had your ceremony abroad?
If you've already had a legal ceremony abroad and wish to include your friends and family who could not be there with you, why not hold a celebratory renewal of vows ceremony.