Your notice of marriage or civil partnership appointment
Please contact our register offices if you are unable to locate the information you require
What to bring
You must both bring original documents - we cannot accept photocopies.
If any documents are in a foreign language, you need to provide us with a translation. The translation does not have to be done by a commercial translation service.
- Proof of name, age and nationality. Ideally, this will be your valid passport, but if this is not available we need your full birth certificate (and if you were born after 1st January 1983, one of your parents' full birth certificate if your parents were married at the time of your birth or your mother's full birth certificate if they were not married at the time of your birth. If your parents were born abroad, contact your Register Office for further information).
- If you have changed your name by Deed Poll we will ask to see this document.
- Evidence of your current address issued within the last three months but not dated within the last 9 days, such as a recent utility bill (not older than 3 months) or bank statement (not older than 1 month) or most recent Council Tax bill or your driving licence (if you are bringing your driving licence, you are still required to bring proof of your nationality as stated above).
- If either of you has been married before, either in this country or abroad, you need to show proof that you are free to marry again.
- If you are divorced we need to see the final divorce document issued by the court which granted the divorce. For divorces granted in this country this is the decree absolute. If the divorce has been granted in a foreign country, there will be an additional fee to pay for consideration of the validity of the divorce documents.
- If you are a widow or widower, we need to see your late partner's death certificate.
What you receive
If no legal objections are made during the 28 days:
- We issue the authority for the marriage or civil partnership to take place.
Your notice of marriage or civil partnership is valid for 12 months.
Who should attend
Ideally both partners should attend together. If you visit the register office on different dates to give notice, the 28 days starts from the date of the second notice.