Marriage - legal requirements and arrangements
What you need to do
Once you have made the choice on where you intend to marry, you
must BOTH attend your local Register Office to enter your own
personal notice of your intention marry. For convenience you
can attend separately.
If you do not both reside in the same registration districts
then you must give notice in both districts. Before you can
give notice to marry you must have been a resident in your
registration district for a minimum of seven clear days.
If one or both of you are foreign nationals and subject to
immigration controls, it will be necessary for you to contact the
Home Office (Nationality and Immigration Unit) to apply for
approval. Please contact the Register Office for more
information.
When can you marry?
You must allow a minimum of 15 clear days to pass after the
second notice of the marriage before you can marry. Your
marriage notice must be displayed in the Register Office for 15
clear days from the date it is given, this is to enable a
person to raise any legal objections to your marriage. Each
marriage notice is valid for 12 calendar months from the date you
give it.
Please ensure that you telephone the Register Office to book an
appointment before attending.
What will it cost?
There is a fee charged for you to give your marriage
notice. Please telephone us for the current fees. This
can be paid by cash, cheque, credit/debit card.
What documents will you be asked to produce?
- You will both be asked to produce evidence of your age,
identity and nationality.
- A person is legally responsible for providing evidence of their
age, nationality and identity. You should produce your
passport to confirm this information.
- If you cannot produce a passport, you must produce your
full birth certificate. If you were
born after 1 January 1983 and your parents were married, you
must also produce a full birth certificate or
passport of one of your parents shown on your
birth certificate, If your parents were not married to each
other, you must produce your mother's full birth certificate or
passport. This is to establish your nationality.
- If you have changed your name other than through marriage,
please bring the appropriate documentation with you.
- You will be asked to show some evidence of your current address
which also shows your name. Utility bills and bank statements
are ideal for this.
- If either of you has been previously married or been through a
civil registration you must produce the documentation which proves
you are free to re-marry.
- If you are divorced you will need to produce a court certified
copy of your Decree Absolute or dissolution of civil partnership
through a County Court.
- If you are widow, widower or surviving civil partner, we must
see a copy of the relating death certificate.
- If the divorce or death took place abroad then we must see the
original documentation and a translation.
- If you have been married or have married each other abroad and
are unsure of the validity of your marriage, we will be pleased to
advise you.
- If either of you is under 18 years, you will need parental
consent before you can marry. We can advise you further and
provide you with the required parental/guardian consent forms.
What questions will be asked when giving notice of our
intention to marry?
The Superintendent Registrar will interview you both separately
in a private room and you will be asked the following information
about you both:
- Full name and ages
- Marital status
- Occupations and current address (including postcodes)
- Venue of marriage
After we have completed both notices and collected the fees, we
will give you confirmation of your wedding booking and explain
about your wedding day. It will normally take about 40
minutes.
Provisional Bookings
If you wish to have your civil ceremony in the Roche Suite or at
a licensed venue within the borough, you can make a provisional
booking with us to secure a date and time for your ceremony.
Provisional bookings can be made up to 2 years in advance of the
ceremony and are subject to a fee of £25 which is a one off fee and
non-refundable. Should you wish to make a provisional booking,
please contact the office.