Marriage - Legal Requirements UK
Articles that apply to all UK Countries
(and the British Crown Dependencies of Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man)
In England, only legal registrars can legally unite a couple. However, you can as a Madonna Minister do a “hand-fasting” or a spiritual wedding, and have the couple go to the registrar to legally tie the knot. See links we have to Weddings in UK.
Registrar General for England and Wales, 01704-569824
General Register Office for Scotland, 0131-314 4447
General Register Office for Northern Ireland, 028-9025 2000
Registrar General for Guernsey, 01481-725277
Superintendent Registrar for Jersey, 01534-502335
General Register Office for the Isle of Man, 01624-687039
Subject to meeting the legal requirements, anyone from any country can get married in England or Wales by either civil or religious ceremony. No legal distinction is made between UK and overseas citizens or residents.
Marriages can only take place in authorised premises where the marriage can be legally solemnised. Venues include register offices, premises that have been approved by the local authority (for example, stately homes, castles and hotels), churches or chapels of the Church of England and Church in Wales, and other churches that have been registered by the registrar general for marriage including naval, air force and military chapels. The marriage of house-bound and detained persons can also be arranged by obtaining a special licence from the registrar general.
All marriage ceremonies must take place in the presence of a superintendent registrar or an authorised person (for example, an authorised vicar or priest) and be witnessed by at least two competent people, who will be required to sign the marriage register. With the exception of Jewish and Quaker ceremonies and ceremonies authorised by a registrar general's licence, the marriage must take place between 8am and 6pm.
Getting Married by Civil Ceremony
If you wish to marry by civil ceremony in a register office or other building approved for civil marriage, you should first contact the superintendent registrar of the district where you wish to marry and discuss any arrangements that need to be made. You can get married at any register office or approved venue of your choice in England and Wales without having to set up residence in that district. The term used for the commencement of civil marriage proceedings is called 'giving notice'.
The Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 introduced changes to the Marriage Act 1949. These changes came into effect on 1 January 2001.These changes consist of:
- A common 15 day notice procedure
- A requirement for each party to the marriage to personally give notice of intention to marry
- A requirement for each party to the marriage to declare their nationality
- Powers to request evidence of identification by the Superintendent Registrar
Both of you must have lived in a registration district in England or Wales for at least seven days immediately before giving notice at the register office. If you both live in the same district, you should both attend your local register office together to give your notices of marriage. If you live in different registration districts then each of you will need to give notice separately in your respective district. After giving notice you must wait a further sixteen days before the marriage can take place, (for example, if notice is given on 1 July the marriage may take place on or after 17 July).
Your marriage cannot go ahead unless the legal formalities have been completed.
Notices of marriage must be given in person to the superintendent registrar by you and your partner. No one else can do so on your behalf.
Where an advance booking for a marriage has been made, it is essential that a formal notice is given to the superintendent registrar, once you are legally able to do so.
Registration Officers have a statutory duty to report any marriage they suspect has been arranged for the sole purpose of evading statutory immigration controls.
There are nationally set fees for giving notice to the superintendent registrar and the registrar's attendance at the marriage at a register office or religious building. However, the fee for the attendance of the superintendent registrar and registrar at a marriage in an approved premises (for example, at a hotel) is set by the local authority. The superintendent registrar of the district where you wish to marry will be able to provide you with details of the fees payable.
On the day of the wedding you will need to bring with you at least two other people who are prepared to witness the marriage and sign the marriage register.
If you wish to know more about marriage ceremonies at register offices or at approved premises please ask the superintendent registrar for details. While a marriage ceremony in the presence of a superintendent registrar cannot, by law, contain any religious aspects, it may be possible, with agreement, to include non-religious music and/or readings and for the wedding to be videoed.
This information is issued for general guidance and is not a complete statement of the law. For further information on any aspect of the formalities to, or the ceremony of marriage, please seek the advice of the superintendent registrar at the local register office. The telephone number and address can be found in your local telephone directory under 'Registration of Births, Deaths and Marriages'.
How far in advance can I make my booking?
A notice of marriage is valid for twelve months. However, you may be able to make an advance (provisional) booking with the superintendent registrar of the district where you wish to marry. The superintendent registrar will be able to give you more precise information on this.
Register Office Hours
Although you can get married on any day of the week between 8am and 6pm, most register offices are only open from 10am-4pm Monday to Friday and 10am-1pm on Saturdays. If you wish to get married outside register office hours (but within the permitted hours), you will have to arrange your ceremony to take place at a newly licensed venue (an approved premise). Please read the next main section below on civil marriages at newly licensed venues or visit our main article on newly licensed venues.
Giving Notice at a Register Office
Each party to the marriage will need to attend at the register office in person and give notice of their intention to marry. This will be the case even when you live in the same registration district. You will not have to attend together but will be encouraged to do so. To arrange to meet with a superintendent registrar, you should telephone or write for an appointment. You may be asked to produce documents as evidence of name and age, usually in the form of passports, birth certificates, ID cards etc. This list is not exhaustive and other documents may also be acceptable. If you have been previously married, you will be required to provide evidence of the termination of that marriage by either death, divorce, or nullity.
Collecting your Certificate of Authority to Get Married
If you are not getting married at the register office where you gave notice, you will need to collect your Certificate of Authority to get married so that it can be given to the person solemnising your marriage. The registrar will prefer that you personally collect your certificate. However, the registrar will post it to you, or send it to the venue where you are getting married, if you make a written request.
Application of Civil Marriage Laws
English and Welsh civil marriage laws apply equally to UK and overseas citizens. However, for overseas citizens, some additional documentation needs to be produced when you give notice of your marriage at a register office.
Further Information
For further information or clarification on legal civil marriage issues in England and Wales, please telephone the marriages section of the registrar general for England and Wales on 01704-569824. Alternatively, you can write to them at Smedley Hydro, Trafalgar Road, Southport, PR8 2HH, England.
For the details of your nearest register office click here or look under 'Registration of Births, Deaths and Marriages' in your Phone Book.
Civil Marriages at Licensed Venues (approved premises)
Since April 1995, it has been possible to arrange for civil ceremonies to take place at certain venues other than a register office. These other venues are officially known as approved premises but are more commonly known as newly licensed venues. Buildings such as hotels, castles, stately and country homes can now be licensed to allow civil marriage ceremonies to take place on their premises. As at May 1998, there were over 2,000 approved premises throughout England and Wales.
The marriage ceremony at a newly licensed venue is a civil ceremony. No religious content whatsoever is allowed. However, your ceremony can be more romantic and leisurely than in a register office and it can be as formal or casual as you wish. With the permission of the attending registrar, it is possible to enhance the standard civil ceremony by having your own choice of non-religious music, poetry and prose readings and for your ceremony to be photographed or videoed. It is also possible to have your own choice of vows and promises that have a special meaning to both of you, although these will be in addition to the statuatory declaratory and contracting words that are required to be said by both of you for your marriage to be legal.
The legal requirements for getting married at a Newly Licensed Venue are the same as those for getting married by civil ceremony at a register office but with the added requirement of having to arrange for a registrar's attendance at your venue. Please note, you do not need to give formal notice of your marriage to the superintendent registrar of the registration district in which the approved premise is situated (unless you live in that registration district). However, after making a provisional booking of your chosen venue, you should immediately contact the local superintendent registrar since his attendance is required for the solemnisation of your marriage. Once you have booked the superintendent registrar, you can then confirm your booking at you chosen venue.
Newly licensed venues can take advantage of the full period of time allowed for marriages to be solemnised. That is, on any day between 8am and 6pm (including Sundays, Public and Bank holidays). This is of course subject to arranging for the local superintendent registrar and assistant registrar to be present.
For additional information about getting married at an approved premise and for details of obtaining a full list of all the approved premises in England and Wales, please read our main article Newly Licensed Venues.
Civil Marriages for Non-UK Resident Couples
This section is designed to give couples, who will be travelling to England or Wales to get married, further clarrification on civil marriage issues. It should be read in conjunction with the above section on getting married by civil ceremony, which contains general information about civil marriages in England and Wales.
If you are a visitor to England or Wales and have specifically come for the purpose of marriage, you will need to satisfy the residential qualification of 7 days and then wait a further 15 clear days before you will be eligible to marry.
Clarification of the Residency Requirement
Although we refer to the residency requirement in days, the registrar general for England and Wales interprets a 'day' as spending a night in the registration district in which you give formal notice of your marriage. Furthermore, a 'night' means a 'big sleep', that is, spending the whole night and not just part of it in the registration district in which you intend qualifying for the residency requirement.
Giving Notice
Once you are reasonably certain about your itinerary, you should write to the register office where you will be giving notice of your marriage, giving details of your travel arrangements and intended marriage date. The superintendent registrar will then confirm that your arrangements are satisfactory (from a timing point of view) and will make an appointment for you to give formal notice and also a provisional booking for your marriage ceremony. When you arrive in England or Wales, you should immediately arrange to meet with the registrar to confirm your booking and to discuss any other arrangements that need to be made. For details of the register office in the registration district where you will be resident, please click here.
Evidence of Meeting the Residency Requirement
When you give formal notice of your marriage, you will be required to sign a declaration that you have meet the residency requirement. Each party to the marriage is required to declare their nationality. This is to enable the Superintendent Registrar to advise you whether any further administrative procedures or legal requirements are needed to ensure the recognition of the marriage in the country of which you are a national. The preferred document as evidence of nationality will always be a passport, however for people born abroad an ID card, or a Home Office travel document or acknowledgement showing nationality will also be acceptable. In the absence of such a document, advice should be sought from the Superintendent Registrar in the district where the notice is to be given.
Warning About Marriage Agents
You should be aware of Marriage Agents who claim that they are able to arrange your marriage without meeting the necessary residency requirements. This is NOT legally possible. If you make a false statement as to residency or any other details given when completing your notice of marriage, you are liable to be prosecuted for perjury and your stay in England or Wales could be longer than you planned!
Documents to be Produced
Please refer to the separate section below.Legal recognition of your marriage in your own country
Your marriage in England or Wales will be legally recognised throughout the United Kingdom so long as you meet the necessary legal requirements. However, your marriage may not be legally recognised in your own country if you came to England or Wales to get married to avoid a legal prohibition in your own country. You should therefore check with your own country's civil marriage authority if you are in any doubt about the legal status of your marriage in England or Wales.
UK Visa Requirements
If you are not a UK passport holder, you may need a Visa to enter the UK. Even if a Visa is not required, you are advised to obtain an Entry Clearance. With this document, you will not be refused entry by UK immigration upon arrival to the UK (subject to certain conditions). For further information about Visa and Entry Clearance requirements, please visit our article on UK Visa Requirements.
Further Information
For further information or clarification on civil marriage legal issues in England and Wales, please telephone the marriages section of the registrar general for England and Wales on 01704-569824. Alternatively, you can write to them at Smedley Hydro, Trafalgar Road, Southport, PR8 2HH, United Kingdom.
If you would like the assistance of a wedding co-ordinator with arranging your wedding in England or Wales, please visit wedding co-ordinators in our products and services section.
Statutory Declaratory and Contracting Words
All civil marriage ceremonies and religious ceremonies other than Church of England, Jewish or Quaker, must incorporate statutory declaratory and contracting statements, to be said by both of you, for your marriage to be lawful. The registrar will usually suggest that the following traditional statements are used:
Declaratory Words
I do solemnly declare that I know not of any lawful
impediment why I, [your full name], may not be
joined in matrimony to [your partner's full name].
Contracting Words
I call upon these persons here present to witness that I,
[your full name], do take thee, [your partner's full name],
to be my lawful wedded wife [or husband].
However, since February 1997, you may choose to use either of the following alternative declaratory and contracting words:
Alternative Declaratory Words
I declare that I know of no legal reason
why I, [your full name], may not be joined
in marriage to [your partner's full name].
or
by replying 'I am' to the question
'Are you, [your full name], free lawfully
to marry [your partner's full name]'.
Alternative Contracting Words
I, [your full name], take you, [your partner's full name],
to be my wedded wife [or husband].
or
I, [your full name], take thee, [your partner's full name],
to be my wedded wife [or husband].
When giving notice of your marriage, you will be able to discuss your choice of declaratory and contracting words with the superintendent registrar or your religious celebrant. Generally, if you do not mention this matter, the traditional statements will be used.
Church of England and Church in Wales Marriages
Marriages in the Church of England and Church in Wales are governed by the Marriage Act, 1949. If you wish to be married in either Church, you should first arrange to see your parish priest to discuss your marriage.
As the established church, the Church of England gives all British citizens, with no former partner still living, the right to get married in the parish church where they are resident or in the church where either of the couple are on the church's electoral roll (not the local register of electors) - see below.
You do not have to be a regular churchgoer to get married in the Church of England or Church in Wales, neither must you have been baptised. Both Churches welcome the opportunity for you to make your solemn promises to each other not just in front of your family and friends but also in the sight of God and with God's blessing. There are four ways of getting married in accordance with the rites of the Church of England: