How to Give Notice to Get Married or Form a Civil Partnership in England and Wales

What does it mean to give notice?

Giving notice is the legal step in which you sign a statement at a register office confirming that you intend to get married or form a civil partnership. It is separate from booking the ceremony itself.

You normally need to give notice at least 29 days before your ceremony. GOV.UK gives the example that if notice is given on 1 May, the earliest ceremony date is 30 May.

Your marriage or civil partnership must then take place within 12 months of giving notice.

Where do you give notice?

You usually make an appointment at your local register office. You must normally have lived in that registration district for the previous 7 days before giving notice.

If you and your partner live in different registration districts, you normally give notice separately at your respective register offices. The appointments do not need to be on the same day.

If one partner is from outside the UK, different joint-notice rules can apply. Unless both partners fall within the exempt categories specified by GOV.UK, you must give notice together at a register office in the district where at least one of you lives.

When should you give notice?

The standard rule is to give notice at least 29 days before the ceremony. Do not leave the appointment until the last moment because missing or unacceptable documents can prevent the notice from being completed.

Notice remains valid for 12 months. You therefore need to choose a ceremony date that falls within that period.

Your notice includes the final ceremony venue. If that venue later changes, contact the register office before assuming the existing notice can still be used. Local registration services warn that changing the venue can require a new notice, another waiting period and another fee.

What documents do you need to bring?

GOV.UK requires original documents for the notice appointment. The core evidence includes:

• details of the final ceremony venue;
• proof of home address;
• proof of any name change;
• a valid passport or UK birth certificate.

If you were born after 1 January 1983 and use a UK birth certificate as your identity evidence, you also need evidence of your parents' nationalities, such as their birth certificates.

What can you use as proof of address?

GOV.UK lists several acceptable forms of address evidence, including:

• a valid UK or Irish driving licence;
• a gas, water or electricity bill issued within the last 3 months;
• a bank or building society statement issued within the last month;
• a Council Tax bill issued within the last 12 months;
• a mortgage statement issued within the last 12 months;
• a current tenancy agreement; or
• a landlord letter dated within the last 7 days confirming that you live at the address and containing the landlord's name, address and signature.

If your normal address is outside the UK, GOV.UK says you must also provide details of a UK contact address.

What if you were married or in a civil partnership before?

You must show that the previous legal relationship has ended. Depending on the circumstances, this normally means bringing a decree absolute, final order or former partner's death certificate.

If you still need to legally end a marriage in England or Wales, see how to apply for a divorce in England and Wales. You cannot give valid notice while you remain legally married to someone else.

If your divorce, annulment or dissolution was granted outside the UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man, you must provide evidence of it. GOV.UK states that checking those documents costs £55 where the local register office can consider them or £83 where the General Register Office must consider them.

What if your current name is different?

Bring evidence linking your current name with your identity or previous relationship documents. GOV.UK gives a deed poll as an example of proof of a name change. If you need to establish a new legal name first, see how to change your legal name by deed poll in England and Wales.

How much does giving notice cost in 2026?

From 6 April 2026, the standard statutory notice fee in England and Wales is £46.50 per person.

If you fall under the Home Office marriage and civil partnership referral and investigation scheme, the notice fee is £63 per person.

These are the notice fees. Your local authority or ceremony venue can charge separate fees for appointments, ceremonies, venue hire, registrars or other optional services, so check the local registration service before booking.

What changes if one partner is from outside the UK or Ireland?

Immigration status can affect both how you give notice and how long you need to wait. GOV.UK states that a person coming to the UK to give notice, marry or form a civil partnership normally needs an appropriate visa unless an exemption applies.

Examples of people who may not need a marriage-specific visa include British or Irish citizens, people with indefinite leave to remain, people with settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, certain people with a pending qualifying EU Settlement Scheme application, and people already in the UK on a visa lasting more than 6 months.

You cannot give notice, marry or form a civil partnership on a Standard Visitor visa. Depending on your plans, the appropriate immigration route can instead include a Marriage Visitor visa or a family visa.

What extra evidence can be required?

If either partner is from outside the UK, GOV.UK requires additional evidence that can include:

• a passport-sized photograph of each partner, even when only one partner is from outside the UK;
• proof of current immigration status, such as a share code or a visa in a passport; and
• an English translation of documents that are not in English.

Can the waiting period be extended beyond 29 days?

Yes. If your case falls within the Home Office referral and investigation scheme, the Home Office may investigate the proposed marriage or civil partnership. GOV.UK states that you may need to wait up to 70 days before marrying or forming the civil partnership.

The Home Office can ask questions about you and your relationship. It can also decide not to approve the notice, in which case the proposed marriage or civil partnership cannot proceed on that notice.

Can you give notice online?

The legal notice itself is not an online-only process. You must attend the relevant register office and sign the legal statement. Many councils allow you to book the appointment online, but booking an appointment online is not the same as giving legal notice.

Check your local authority's registration service for its appointment system, available dates, accepted payment methods and any local administration charges.

Do Anglican weddings follow the same notice process?

Not always. GOV.UK states that the process of giving notice can be different for Anglican weddings. Couples marrying through the Church of England or Church in Wales should check the legal preliminaries with the church or wedding venue rather than assuming a register-office notice is required in the usual way.

Immigration circumstances can affect those preliminaries, so a couple involving a person subject to immigration control should obtain the correct instructions before relying on church banns or another religious preliminary.

Common mistakes that can delay your notice

• Waiting until fewer than 29 days before the ceremony to attend the notice appointment.
• Booking the appointment before deciding the final ceremony venue.
• Going to the wrong registration district without checking the residence rules.
• Taking photocopies where the register office requires original evidence.
• Using an address document that falls outside the permitted date range.
• Failing to bring evidence that a previous marriage or civil partnership legally ended.
• Forgetting translations or immigration-status evidence where required.
• Assuming that an online appointment booking means notice itself can be given online.

What happens after the notice appointment?

Once valid notices have been given, the statutory waiting period runs before the marriage or civil partnership can legally proceed. For most couples this means at least 29 days between giving notice and the ceremony.

If no issue prevents the ceremony and any required immigration or document checks are completed, you can proceed at the venue stated in the notice. Make sure the ceremony takes place within the 12-month validity period of the notice.