Giving Notice At Register Office

Giving Notice at the Register Office

Information here is mainly aimed at those in England & Wales as marriage laws in Scotland and Northern Ireland are slightly different.

What happens when giving notice at the register office?

Generally only for civil ceremonies and religious ceremonies that aren't "Church of England" or "Church in Wales".

"Giving Notice" is a legal requirement to ensure you are eligible for marriage (not married already) etc and has a fee of £35 per person.

You can do this up to 12 months before your ceremony date but you must do it at least 28 clear days before. Example if you both completed this on the 1st of the month then the earliest you could get married is on the 30th.

You must attend a register office in the district that you personally live. You can attend together or individually but you must both do it in person. It is easy and the requirements for taking documents are exactly the same however some register offices are better than others at communicating it.

Tell your register office the documents you intend to bring so they can confirm you have enough.

There is a fixed cost by law of £35 per person for giving notice. This makes £70 per couple. This charge is separate from anything to do with booking an actual ceremony although you might be able to pay for both at the same time.

What you personally need to present depends on your individual personal circumstances.

Evidence of name and surname, date of birth and nationality.
Evidence of place of residence.
Evidence of condition (marital status if ever been in a marriage/civil partnership before).

Your occupation.
Where the ceremony will take place: name of the building and possibly the address.
Father's name and occupation. This is optional to disclose but is for entering onto your marriage certificate once married.
Payment of £35 per person.

For many people just your valid passport and valid driving licence is required.

Exceptions are if you have ever been in a marriage/civil partnership before; or born before 01 Jan 1983 with no valid passport.

1) Documents - Evidence of name and surname, date of birth and nationality

A British passport or any valid document from list 1a will completely satisfy this section. Nothing else required for section 1.

List 1a

Valid passport.
Valid national identity card issued by an EEA state or Switzerland.
Valid biometric immigration document within the meaning of section 5(1)(a) of the UK Borders Act 2007
Valid travel document issued in the United Kingdom at the discretion of the Secretary of State to persons who have been formally and, in the view of the Secretary of State, unreasonably, refused a passport by the authorities in their own countries and who have (i) been granted limited leave to enter or remain or humanitarian protection on rejection of a claim for asylum or for recognition as a stateless person; or (ii) been granted indefinite leave to enter or remain.
Valid travel document issued to pursuant to Article 28 of the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees done at Geneva on 28th July 1951.
Valid travel document issued to pursuant to Article 28 of the Stateless Convention.

Without that you need something from list 1b and and something from list 2 residence documents (except the landlord's letter)

List 1b

Certificate of registration as a British citizen granted to by the Secretary of State.
Certificate of naturalisation as a British citizen granted to by the Secretary of State.
Born in the UK before 01 Jan 1983
1. Your own birth certificate.
Born in the UK on or after 01 Jan 1983 but before 01 July 2006
1. Your own full birth certificate (includes details of at least your mother).
2. Evidence of your mother's British citizenship or settled status at the time of your birth.
Born in the UK on or after 01 Jan 1983 but before 01 July 2006
1. Your own full birth certificate (includes details of your mother and father).
2. Evidence of your father's British citizenship or settled status at the time of your birth.
3. Their marriage certificate.
Born in the UK on or after 01 July 2006
1. [information not applicable until 2022]

Where the person is adopted they can take the nationality of either adopted parent, irrespective of whether they are married or not. The adopted person should produce their adoption certificate together with the birth certificate of the relevant adopted parent.

2) Documents - Evidence of place of residence

To establish the place of residence one of the following original documents must be provided:

Documents must be in the name of the person giving notice of marriage, or, where it is in the name of more than one person, one of them must be the person giving notice.

Documents must show the person’s place of residence as the address to which the evidence was sent.

Utility bill dated no more than three months before the date on which notice of marriage is given (this is for services received at the property e.g. gas, electric, water, landline telephone, cable, broadband but not a mobile phone bill).
Bank or building society statement or passbook dated no more than one month before the date on which notice of marriage is given.
Council tax bill dated no more than one year before the date on which notice of marriage is given.
Mortgage statement dated no more than one year before the date on which notice of marriage is given.
Current residential tenancy agreement.
Valid driving licence in the name of the person giving notice of marriage.

The letter option is only available if you have a valid document from list 1a above. It cannot be grouped with the documents from list 1b.

Letter from the owner or proprietor ("X") of the address which is the person’s place of residence which: confirms it is the person’s place of residence; states that X is the owner or proprietor; states X’s name; states X’s address; and is signed and dated by X within one month of the date on which notice of marriage is given.

3) Documents - Evidence of "Condition"

Evidence of ending of previous marriage or civil partnership

Decree absolute of divorce or decree of nullity of marriage granted by a court of civil jurisdiction in England and Wales.
Dissolution order or nullity order obtained in England or Wales in accordance with Part 2 of the Civil Partnership Act 2004.
A document, or documents, confirming divorce or annulment granted by a court of civil jurisdiction in any part of the British Islands and recognised in the United Kingdom in accordance with section 44 of the Family Law Act 1986.
A document, or documents, confirming the dissolution or annulment of civil partnership granted by a court of civil jurisdiction in the United Kingdom and recognised in accordance with section 233 of the Civil Partnership Act 2004.
A document, or documents confirming divorce or annulment obtained in a country outside the British Islands and recognised in the United Kingdom in accordance with either
1. Sections 45 to 49 of the Family Law Act 1986; or
2. Articles 21 to 27, 41(1) or 42(1) of the Council Regulation.
A document, or documents confirming the dissolution or annulment of civil partnership obtained outside the United Kingdom and recognised in accordance with either
1. Sections 234 to 237 of the Civil Partnership Act 2004; or
2. Regulations made under section 219 of the Civil Partnership Act 2004.
The death certificate of spouse or civil partner.
The presumed death certificate of spouse or civil partner issued under paragraph 3 of Schedule 1 to the Presumption of Death Act 2013.

Get a copy of a decree absolute or final order

British Nationality

Prior to 1983, a person born in the UK obtained British citizenship automatically. For a person born in the UK after 1 January 1983, nationality is dependent upon the nationality of the parents.

Any person who produces a birth certificate showing they were born in the UK on or after 1 January 1983 should also be asked to provide a British passport or a naturalisation / registration certificate from the Home Office to confirm that they are a British national. If these additional documents cannot be produced, evidence of the nationality of one of the parents (either British passport or birth certificate) will be needed; it follows that if the parent was born in the UK prior to 1 January 1983 they would be a British citizen and so would their child.

If the parents were married at the time of the birth, a child can take nationality from either parent. If unmarried, nationality is taken from the mother. If the mother is either not British or there is no evidence supplied to confirm her British nationality, where the couple have married since the birth and the father is a British national evidence of his father’s nationality (i.e. British passport or birth certificate) and proof of the marriage should be produced to establish the nationality of the child.