You must decide where to have your marriage or civil partnership ceremony before ‘giving notice’. To give notice, you’ll sign a legal statement at your local register office saying you intend to get married or form a civil partnership. This must include details of the final venue for your ceremony. You must hold your ceremony within 12 months of ‘giving notice’. Choose the type of ceremony You can choose to have either a religious ceremony or a civil ceremony if you’re getting married. If you’re forming a civil partnership you cannot have a religious ceremony. Religious ceremonies A religious wedding can take place at any registered religious building. Same-sex couples can get married in a religious building if it has been registered for the marriage of same-sex couples. You cannot get married in an Anglican church as a same-sex couple. An authorised person, such as a religious minister, must attend the ceremony and sign the ‘marriage schedule’ or ‘marriage document’. Check with the venue if there is an authorised person. If not, you’ll need to book a registrar. This costs £104. Civil ceremonies You can have a civil ceremony at: a register office any venue approved by the local council , for example a stately home or hotel You must have at least 2 witnesses at the ceremony. A registrar must carry out, or be present at, your ceremony. You can book a registrar yourself or the venue may do this for you. The cost of a registrar is: £56 at a register office £104 at a registered religious building Costs may be different at other approved premises. What can happen at the ceremony You must exchange vows if you’re getting married. Discuss any other wording you want with the person carrying out the ceremony. You do not need to exchange vows for a civil partnership, but you can if you’d like to. Civil ceremonies can include readings, songs or music, but must not include anything that’s religious (for example hymns or readings from the Bible or the Torah). You can get a religious blessing of your marriage after a civil ceremony. You and your partner will sign a ‘schedule’, along with your witnesses and registrar. You can each include up to 4 parents on the schedule (for example mothers, fathers or step-parents). After the ceremony Your signed schedule is sent to your local register office where it’s added to the register. After that, you can get your marriage or civil partnership certificate. Contact your local register office to find out how to get your certificate and how long it will take.

You must sign a legal statement at your local register office to say you intend to get married or form a civil partnership. This is known as ‘giving notice’. You must give notice at least 29 days before your ceremony. For example, if you give notice on 1 May, the earliest date you can get married or form a civil partnership is 30 May. You must hold your ceremony within 12 months of ‘giving notice’. The process of giving notice might be different for Anglican weddings - check with the wedding venue. Where to give notice You usually need to make an appointment to give notice at your local register office . You must have lived in that registration district for the past 7 days. You and your partner will need to give notice separately if you live in different registration districts. You do not have to do this on the same day. If one of you is from outside the UK You and your partner must give notice together, unless you both have one of the following: British or Irish citizenship settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme an application to the EU Settlement Scheme that you made before 30 June 2021, which you’re waiting for a decision on You must give your notice together at a register office in the district where at least one of you lives. If your partner gave notice separately before 1 July 2021, they will need to give notice again with you.

Documents you'll need to give notice

You must bring originals of the following documents to your appointment: details of the final venue for your ceremony a valid passport (or UK birth certificate if you were born before 1 January 1983) proof of your home address proof of any name changes (for example, a copy of a deed poll) To prove your address, bring one of the following: valid UK or Irish driving licence gas, water or electricity bill from the last 3 months bank or building society statement from the last month Council Tax bill from the last 12 months mortgage statement from the last 12 months current tenancy agreement letter from your landlord (dated within the last 7 days) confirming you live there and including your landlord’s name, address and their signature If your normal address is outside the UK, you’ll need to give details of a UK contact address. For example, this could be your partner, friend or family member’s address. If you’ve been married or in a civil partnership before You’ll also need to bring one of the following documents: a decree absolute or final order your former partner’s death certificate You need to bring proof of your divorce, annulment or dissolution if it was granted outside of the UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man. You’ll have to pay a fee of £55 for the local register office to check your documents or £83 if the General Register Office needs to check them. If you or your partner are from outside the UK You’ll 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’re from the EU , EEA or have settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme You’ll need to bring confirmation of either: your settled or pre-settled status - you’ll need to bring a ‘share code’ which you can get from the ‘view and prove your immigration status’ service (the code will be valid for 30 days) an application to the EU Settlement Scheme you made on or before 30 June 2021, which you’re waiting for a decision on - you’ll need to bring your certificate of application

Your legal rights and responsibilities

When you get married or form a civil partnership, you get certain legal rights and responsibilities. These include: legally becoming your partner’s spouse or civil partner eligibility for certain tax benefits, including inheritance tax allowances parental rights and responsibilities if you have children with your spouse or civil partner the right to inherit from your spouse or civil partner if they die without a will These do not apply if you live with your partner but are not married or in a civil partnership. ‘Common law marriages’ do not exist in the UK, even if you’ve lived together for a long time or have children. Changes to your will If you already have a will when you get married or form a civil partnership, it may no longer be legally valid. If you do not make a new will , your husband, wife or civil partner may automatically inherit all or part of your estate, depending on how much it’s worth. If you get divorced or separate If you divorce or dissolve your civil partnership, there are different things you can do to: separate your money and property make arrangements for looking after your children

Marriages and civil partnerships in England and Wales

Check if you can get married or form a civil partnership

You can get married or form a civil partnership in England or Wales if you’re:

18 or over
not already married or in a civil partnership
not closely related

Same sex couples can convert a civil partnership into a marriage in England or Wales.

There are different rules if you want to get married or form a civil partnership:

in Scotland
in Northern Ireland
outside the UK

If you or your partner are from outside the UK or Ireland

You might need to apply for a visa to get married in the UK

View a printable version of the whole guide

Marriages and civil partnerships in England and Wales

Check if you can get married or form a civil partnership

If you or your partner are from outside the UK or Ireland

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Marriages and civil partnerships in England and Wales

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