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’. Coronavirus (COVID-19) and planning a ceremony Social distancing and public health restrictions are in place for ceremonies because of coronavirus. Contact your local register office or venue for the ceremony to find out how these will affect you. 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 register the marriage. Check with the venue if there is an authorised person. If not, you’ll need to book a registrar. This costs £86. 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: £46 at a register office £86 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 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. Fees for giving notice You need to pay a fee to give notice at the register office. It’s usually £35 per person. The fee is £47 per person if either of you are from outside the EU , European Economic Area ( EEA ) or Switzerland and both of the following apply: you need a visa to live in the UK you do not have a Marriage or Civil Partnership Visitor visa or a family visa 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 you or your partner is from outside the EU , EEA or from Switzerland You need to give notice together at a designated register office , even if you live in different districts. The immigration authorities at the Home Office will be told. If this happens you may need to wait up to 70 days before getting married or forming a civil partnership. When you can give notice outside the UK If you’re from or live in a country that has signed up to the ‘British Subjects Facilities Act’ you may be able to give notice in that country. Your partner must be a UK resident. Check with a register office to see if you can do this. The countries signed up to the ‘British Subjects Facilities Act’ are: Bahamas Barbados Belize Bermuda Botswana Canada (Newfoundland only) Cook Islands Cyprus Dominica Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) Fiji The Gambia Ghana (former Gold Coast colony only) Gibraltar Grenada Guernsey (including Alderney) Isle of Man Jamaica Jersey Kiribati Kenya Leeward Islands Lesotho Malawi Malaysia (former Straits Settlement of Labuan, Malacca and Penang only) Mauritius Nauru New Zealand Nigeria Pitcairn Islands St Lucia St Vincent Seychelles Sierra Leone Solomon Islands Sri Lanka Tanzania (Zanzibar only) Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tuvalu Uganda Vanuatu Zambia Zimbabwe

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, UK birth certificate (if you were born before 1 January 1983) or national identity card from the EU , European Economic Area ( EEA ) or Switzerland 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, EU , EEA or Swiss 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 £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 is from outside the EU , EEA or from Switzerland You’ll also need to bring: a passport sized photo for each of you (even if only one of you is from outside the EU , EEA or from Switzerland ) proof of your current immigration status (for example, your visa) a translation of any documents that are not in English

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:

16 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:

If you’re under 18

You need permission from your parents or guardians to get married or form a civil partnership in England or Wales.

If you or your partner is a foreign national

If you’re an EU citizen and you were living in the UK by 31 December 2020, you can apply to the EU Settlement Scheme to continue living here after 30 June 2021. If you want to move to the UK from 1 January 2021, you may need to apply for a visa.

You must apply for a visa to get married or form a civil partnership in the UK if you:

are from outside the EU, European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland
are not a British citizen
do not have indefinite leave to remain in the UK

The visa or permit you need depends on where your partner is from and whether you want to live in the UK after your ceremony.

You can apply for:

a marriage visitor visa - if you’re not going to live in the UK and will stay less than 6 months
a family visa - if you want to live permanently in the UK and your partner is a British citizen, settled in the UK, has refugee status or humanitarian protection in the UK
a family permit - if your partner is not a British citizen but from an EU, EEA country or Switzerland

If you do not have a marriage visitor visa or family visa

You can still give notice of your intention to get married or form a civil partnership but the immigration authorities at the Home Office will be told.

The Home Office might:

ask questions about you and your relationship - if this happens you may need to wait up to 70 days before getting married or forming a civil partnership
decide not to approve your notice - if this happens you cannot get married or form a civil partnership in the UK

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Marriages and civil partnerships in England and Wales

Check if you can get married or form a civil partnership

If you’re under 18

If you or your partner is a foreign national

If you do not have a marriage visitor visa or family visa

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Marriages and civil partnerships in England and Wales

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