Notice of marriage or civil partnership

You will need to book your ceremony time, date and venue before you give your notice of marriage or civil partnership. Your notice of marriage or civil partnership is given in the district where you live. You must have lived in the district for seven days before the notice can be given. This is seven full days, so really it means eight nights.

Notice of marriage or civil partnership is a face-to-face interview that you must both attend. If you are both British, Irish or settled under the EUSS Scheme you will attend your local register office and do not need to attend together. If one or both of you are subject to immigration control, you must attend the appointment together. If you are getting married in a Church of England, the vicar will usually call ‘Banns’, unless one or both of you are subject to immigration control.

The registrar then posts a notice publicly for 28 days.

Posting the notice for 28 days allows anyone to object to the proposed marriage or civil partnership on legal grounds only.

If either of you are subject to immigration control and referred to The Home Office, the 28 day waiting period might become 70 days if The Home Office need more time to investigate.

Please telephone our ceremonies office on 023 9282 9041. We will arrange an appointment for you and confirm which documents you are required to bring with you.

The notice is valid for 12 months, but is not proof of a marriage or civil partnership.

The cost of giving notice is £46.50 per person, or £63.00 per person if you are subject to immigration control and referred to The Home Office.

When you give your notice of marriage or civil partnership, there are certain documents that you need to show:

• a valid passport – to verify your name, your date and place of birth and your nationality. if you do not have a passport we will need your UK birth certificate. If you were born after 1 January 1983, we will need your full UK birth certificate and your mother’s UK birth certificate.
• deed poll documents, change of name deed or statutory declaration – to show any changes to your name declaration
• proof of your current address – to verify that you are living in the registration district
• proof of address must be one of the following documents – your notice cannot be taken without one of these
  documents:
  • Council Tax bill – dated no earlier than 1 year before the date you give notice
  • driving licence – valid dates and current address
  • utility bill (gas, electric, water, landline, cable, broadband NOT a mobile phone bill) – dated no earlier than 3 months before the date you give notice (please ensure that at least your first and last name/s appear on the bill.
  • bank or building society statement or passbook – dated no earlier than 1 month before the date you give notice
  • mortgage statement – dated no earlier than 1 year before the date you give notice
  • current residential tenancy agreement – current dates
• decree absolute if either of you has been divorced, or civil partnership dissolution document. If this was not issued in the UK we’ll need to see the original divorce document or dissolution document, along with a full translation of the document. A non-refundable fee of up to £83 is payable per document at the time of your notice appointment,  or the consideration of any divorce or civil partnership dissolution granted outside the British Isles. In some cases, it is necessary for a foreign divorce document to be sent to the registrar general for verification.
• death certificate – if either of you has been widowed or are a surviving civil partner. In some cases, you may also need to produce a marriage or civil partnership certificate for your previous marriage or civil partnership.

Your marriage ceremony or civil partnership registration cannot go ahead unless the legal formalities have been completed..

There is more information on Gov.uk about the documents for a notice of marriage or civic partnership appointment. If either you or your partner are from outside the European Union, please phone the register office before arranging any appointments. This is because there may be different procedures and documents involved.