Marriages and civil partnerships in England and Wales
Give notice
You must sign a legal statement at your local register office to say you intend to get married or form a civil partnership. This is known as ‘giving notice’.
You must give notice at least 29 days before your ceremony.
For example, if you give notice on 1 May, the earliest date you can get married or form a civil partnership is 30 May.
You must hold your ceremony within 12 months of ‘giving notice’.
The process of giving notice might be different for Anglican weddings - check with the wedding venue.
Where to give notice
You usually need to make an appointment to give notice at your local register office. You must have lived in that registration district for the past 7 days.
You and your partner will need to give notice separately if you live in different registration districts. You do not have to do this on the same day.
If one of you is from outside the UK
You and your partner must give notice together, unless you both have one of the following:
- British or Irish citizenship
- settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme
- an application to the EU Settlement Scheme that you made before 30 June 2021, which you’re waiting for a decision on
You must give your notice together at a register office in the district where at least one of you lives.
If your partner gave notice separately before 1 July 2021, they will need to give notice again with you.