Giving notice of marriage in England and Wales

Before you can marry in England or Wales, each of you has to give notice at a register office — a short appointment where you say who you are marrying, and where and when. It is the one legal step couples most often leave late, and it has a deadline that does not move.

When

At least 29 days before the ceremony, and no more than a year ahead: a notice lasts twelve months. If either of you is subject to immigration control, the notice period can be extended to up to 70 days, so give yourselves longer.

After you give it, your notice is displayed publicly at the register office for 28 days, so that anyone with a legal objection can raise it. That is why it cannot be done the week before.

Where

Each of you goes, in person, to the register office for the district where you live — and you must have lived there for at least seven days before you give notice. If you live in different districts, you each go to your own.

What to take

Proof of your identity and your address: at least two documents between them, such as a passport and a recent bill. If either of you has been married or in a civil partnership before, bring the decree absolute, final order, or death certificate that ended it. Your register office will tell you exactly what it accepts, and the fee, when you book.

A church wedding is different

In the Church of England, banns are usually read in church instead. Other religious ceremonies generally need notice at a register office like a civil one — your officiant will say which applies to you.