Marriages and civil partnerships in England and Wales

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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:

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 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
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