How to give notice
Once you have decided on the date of your ceremony and chosen your venue, you will both need to carry out legal preliminaries called “giving notice” of your intention to marry or form a civil partnership at your local registration office [GOV.UK].
Before either of you can give notice, you must both have lived at your address for a minimum of seven complete days. You will each need to book an appointment with your local registration office.
There is a minimum 28-day waiting period after giving notice before you can get married or form a civil partnership. This waiting period can be reduced in exceptional circumstances, and you can contact us for more information.
If you are subject to immigration control the waiting period could be extended up to 70 days.
Documents you will need to give notice
Marriages and civil partnerships in England and Wales [GOV.UK] outlines documents you may need to prepare for us prior to giving notice.
You must bring originals of the following documents to your appointment:
- a valid passport (or UK birth certificate if you were born before 1 January 1983)
- if born on or after 1 January 1983, a valid passport or full UK birth certificate showing parents names
- proof of your home address,
- proof of any name changes.
To prove your address, please bring one of the following:
- a valid UK or Irish driving licence,
- a gas, water or electricity bill dated within the last three months,
- a bank or building society statement dated within the last month,
- a Council Tax bill or mortgage statement dated within the last 12 months,
- a current tenancy agreement,
- a letter from your landlord (dated within the last seven days) confirming you live there and including your landlord’s name, address and their signature.
If you have been married or in a civil partnership before
If this is the case, you will also need to bring one of the following original documents:
- a decree absolute or final order [GOV.UK],
- your former partner’s death certificate [GOV.UK].
If your divorce, annulment or dissolution was granted outside of the UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man, you will have to pay a fee of £50 for the local register office to check your documents, or £75 if the General Register Office needs to check them.
If you or your partner are subject to immigration control
In these cases you will also need to bring:
- a passport sized photo for each of you (even if only one of you is from outside the UK),
- proof of your current immigration status (for example, your visa),
- a translation of any documents that are not in English.
If you are from the EU, EEA or have settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme
If this applies to you or your partner, you will need to bring confirmation of either:
- your settled or pre-settled status - you will need to bring a ‘share code’ which you can get from the ‘view and prove your immigration status’ service [GOV.UK] (the code will be valid for 30 days),
- an application to the EU Settlement Scheme [GOV.UK] you made on or before 30 June 2021, which you are waiting for a decision on. You will need to bring your certificate of application.