| Marrying or forming a Civil Partnership in the UK |
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Before you can form a civil marriage or civil partnership in a register office or approved building in England or Wales, you must both give a separate notice to the superintendent registrar in the district where you live. If want details of your local register office please use the following link www.gro.gov.uk or check our Register Offices section. The notice is a legal statement showing details of your identity and the place of the marriage or civil partnership. Prospective couples must attend the register office for an interview with the registrar. In order to give notice you must be both British or E.U. citizens, or have no time limit on your stay (indefinite leave to remain) or have a certificate of approval from the Home Office. Also you must have lived at your usual addresses for at least seven days in the district where you wish to give notice; once you have given notice you must wait at least 16 days before the ceremony can take place. If you and your partner visit the register office on different dates to give notice, the 16 days wait will start from the date the second notice is given (i.e. the later date). The notices of marriage or civil partnership is valid for 12 months from the date they are entered, and notice can be given up to a year before the marriage or civil partnership. A fee of £30 is payable for each notice. When a notice has been entered a copy is displayed in the public area inside the register office for the duration of the 15-day waiting period. This is to allow time for any legal objections to be made. When the 15-day waiting period has ended and no objections have been made, the register office will issue the authority for the marriage to take place. In a civil partnership notice, after the 15-day waiting period has ended a schedule is printed by the superintendent registrar before the formation. What documents will I need to produce? When you attend to give notice of your marriage or civil partnership the registrar will ask you for proof of your name, your age and your nationality. Ideally, this will be your passport, but if this is not available other forms of identity such as your birth certificate, driving license or medical card can be shown. If you have changed your name by Deed Poll they will ask to see this document. They will also ask you to produce evidence of your current address, such as a recent utility bill or any other document, which shows your address. If either of you has been married before, either in this country or abroad, you will need to show proof that you are free to marry again. If you are divorced they will need to see the final divorce document issued by the court which granted the divorce. For divorces granted in this country this will be the decree absolute. If you have divorced abroad the registrar will need to see the foreign divorce document and will advise on the procedures to be applied. If you are a widow or widower, they will need to see your late partner's death certificate. |
