Either scroll down the page to read the complete article or click
on
any of the hyperlinks below to go direct to the section you are
interested in.
This article should be read in conjunction with our articles on minimum
age and parental consent and prohibited
marriages. You may also find our article on second
marriages helpful.
Marriages can only take place in authorised premises where the marriage
can be legally solemnised. Venues include register offices, premises
that have been approved by the local authority (for example, stately
homes, castles and hotels), churches or chapels of the Church of England
and Church in Wales, and other churches that have been registered
by the registrar general for marriage including naval, air force and
military chapels. The marriage of house-bound and detained persons
can also be arranged by obtaining a special licence from the registrar
general.
All marriage ceremonies must take place in the presence of a superintendent
registrar or an authorised person (for example, an authorised vicar
or priest) and be witnessed by at least two competent people, who
will be required to sign the marriage register. With the exception
of Jewish and Quaker ceremonies and ceremonies authorised by a registrar
general's licence, the marriage must take place between 8am and 6pm.
If you wish to marry by civil ceremony in a register office or other
building approved for civil marriage, you should first contact the
superintendent registrar of the district where you wish to marry and
discuss any arrangements that need to be made. You can get married
at any register office or approved venue of your choice in England
and Wales without having to set up residence in that district. The
term used for the commencement of civil marriage proceedings is called
'giving notice'.
Both of you must have lived in a registration district in England
or Wales for at least seven days immediately before giving notice
at the register office. If you both live in the same district, you
should both attend your local register office together to give your
notices of marriage. If you live in different registration districts
then each of you will need to give notice separately in your respective
district. After giving notice you must wait a further sixteen days
before the marriage can take place, (for example, if notice is given
on 1 July the marriage may take place on or after 17 July).
Your marriage cannot go ahead unless the legal formalities have
been completed.
Notices of marriage must be given in person to the superintendent
registrar by you and your partner. No one else can do so on your
behalf.
Where an advance booking for a marriage has been made, it is essential
that a formal notice is given to the superintendent registrar, once
you are legally able to do so.
Registration Officers have a statutory duty to report any marriage
they suspect has been arranged for the sole purpose of evading statutory
immigration controls.
There are nationally set fees for giving notice to the superintendent
registrar and the registrar's attendance at the marriage at a register
office or religious building. However, the fee for the attendance
of the superintendent registrar and registrar at a marriage in an
approved premises (for example, at a hotel) is set by the local
authority. The superintendent registrar of the district where you
wish to marry will be able to provide you with details of the fees
payable.
On the day of the wedding you will need to bring with you at least
two other people who are prepared to witness the marriage and sign
the marriage register.
If you wish to know more about marriage ceremonies at register offices
or at approved premises please ask the superintendent registrar
for details. While a marriage ceremony in the presence of a superintendent
registrar cannot, by law, contain any religious aspects, it may
be possible, with agreement, to include non-religious music and/or
readings and for the wedding to be videoed.
This information is issued for general guidance and is not a complete
statement of the law. For further information on any aspect of the
formalities to, or the ceremony of marriage, please seek the advice
of the superintendent registrar at the local register office. The
telephone number and address can be found in your local telephone
directory under 'Registration of Births, Deaths and Marriages'.
How far in advance can I make
my booking?
A notice of marriage is valid for twelve months. However, you may
be able to make an advance (provisional) booking with the superintendent
registrar of the district where you wish to marry. The superintendent
registrar will be able to give you more precise information on this.
Register Office Hours
Although you can get married on any day of the week between 8am
and 6pm, most register offices are only open from 10am-4pm Monday
to Friday and 10am-1pm on Saturdays. If you wish to get married
outside register office hours (but within the permitted hours),
you will have to arrange your ceremony to take place at a licensed venue (an approved premise). Please read the next main
section below on civil
marriages at licensed venues or visit our main article
on licensed venues.
Giving Notice at a Register
Office
Each party to the marriage will need to attend at the register office
in person and give notice of their intention to marry. This will
be the case even when you live in the same registration district.
You will not have to attend together but will be encouraged to do
so. To arrange to meet with a superintendent registrar, you should
telephone or write for an appointment. You may be asked to produce
documents as evidence of name and age, usually in the form of passports,
birth certificates, ID cards etc. This list is not exhaustive and
other documents may also be acceptable. If you have been previously
married, you will be required to provide evidence of the termination
of that marriage by either death, divorce, or nullity.
Collecting your Certificate
of Authority to Get Married
If you are not getting married at the register office where you
gave notice, you will need to collect your Certificate of Authority
to get married so that it can be given to the person solemnising
your marriage. The registrar will prefer that you personally collect
your certificate. However, the registrar will post it to you, or
send it to the venue where you are getting married, if you make
a written request.
Further Information
For further information or clarification on legal civil marriage
issues in England and Wales, please telephone the marriages section
of the registrar general for England and Wales on 01704-569824.
Alternatively, you can write to them at Smedley Hydro, Trafalgar
Road, Southport, PR8 2HH, England.
For the details of your nearest register office use the search facility on the General Register Office website or look under 'Registration of Births, Deaths
and Marriages' in your Phone Book.
Since April 1995, it has been possible to arrange for civil ceremonies
to take place at certain venues other than a register office. These
other venues are officially known as approved premises but are more
commonly known as licensed venues. Buildings such as hotels, castles, stately and country homes can now be licensed to allow
civil marriage ceremonies to take place on their premises.
The marriage ceremony at a licensed venue is a civil ceremony.
No religious content whatsoever is allowed. However, your ceremony
can be more romantic and leisurely than in a register office and it
can be as formal or casual as you wish. With the permission of the
attending registrar, it is possible to enhance the standard civil
ceremony by having your own choice of non-religious music,
poetry and prose
readings and for your ceremony to be photographed
or videoed. It is also possible to have your own choice of vows and promises that have a special meaning to both of you, although
these will be in addition to the statuatory declaratory and contracting
words that are required to be said by both of you for your marriage
to be legal.
The legal requirements for getting married at a Licensed Venue
are the same as those for getting married by civil ceremony
at a register office but with the added requirement of having to
arrange for a registrar's attendance at your venue. Please note,
you do not need to give formal notice of your marriage to the superintendent
registrar of the registration district in which the approved premise
is situated (unless you live in that registration district). However,
after making a provisional booking of your chosen venue, you should
immediately contact the local superintendent registrar since his
attendance is required for the solemnisation of your marriage. Once
you have booked the superintendent registrar, you can then confirm
your booking at you chosen venue.
L licensed venues can take advantage of the full period of time
allowed for marriages to be solemnised. That is, on any day between
8am and 6pm (including Sundays, Public and Bank holidays). This
is of course subject to arranging for the local superintendent registrar
and assistant registrar to be present.
For additional information about getting married at an approved
premise and for details of obtaining a full list of all the approved
premises in England and Wales, please read our main article Licensed Venues.
All civil marriage ceremonies and religious ceremonies other than
Church of England, Jewish or Quaker, must incorporate statutory
declaratory and contracting statements, to be said by both of you,
for your marriage to be lawful. The registrar will usually suggest
that the following traditional statements are used:
Declaratory Words
I do solemnly declare that I know not of any lawful
impediment why I, [your full name], may not be
joined in matrimony to [your partner's full name].
Contracting Words
I call upon these persons here present to witness that I,
[your full name], do take thee, [your partner's full
name],
to be my lawful wedded wife [or husband].
However, since February 1997, you may choose to use either of the
following alternative declaratory and contracting words:
Alternative Declaratory Words
I declare that I know of no legal reason
why I, [your full name], may not be joined
in marriage to [your partner's full name].
or
by replying 'I am' to the question
'Are you, [your full name], free lawfully
to marry [your partner's full name]'.
Alternative Contracting Words
I, [your full name], take you, [your partner's full
name],
to be my wedded wife [or husband].
or
I, [your full name], take thee, [your partner's full
name],
to be my wedded wife [or husband].
When giving notice of your marriage, you will be able to discuss
your choice of declaratory and contracting words with the superintendent
registrar or your religious celebrant. Generally, if you do not
mention this matter, the traditional statements will be used.
 Marriages in the Church of England and Church of
Wales are governed by the Marriage Act, 1949. If you wish to be
married in either Church, you should first arrange to see your parish
priest to discuss your marriage.
As the established church, the Church of England gives all British
citizens, with no former partner still living, the right to get
married in the parish church where they are resident or in the church
where either of the couple are on the church's electoral roll (not
the local register of electors) - see
below.
Couples can also now elect to be married in a parish church to which they have a qualifying connection; this can be one or more of the following:
- one of them was baptised or prepared for confirmation in the parish;
- one of them has ever lived in the parish for six months or more;
- one of them has at any time regularly attended public worship in the parish for six months or more;
- one of their parents has lived in the parish for six months or more in their child’s lifetime;
- one of their parents has regularly attended public worship there for six months or more in their child’s lifetime;
- their parents or grandparents were married in the parish.
You do not have to be a regular churchgoer to get married in the
Church of England or Church in Wales, neither must you have been
baptised. Both Churches welcome the opportunity for you to make
your solemn promises to each other not just in front of your family
and friends but also in the sight of God and with God's blessing.
There are four ways of getting married in accordance with the rites
of the Church of England:
- by publication of banns
- by common licence
- by special licence issued by the Archbishop of Canterbury
- by the authority of a superintendent registrar's certificate
without licence
You will be guided by your parish priest as to the most suitable
method for you to follow according to your particular circumstances.
If you are British subjects living overseas, you should ask your
parents or a friend to see the priest of the parish in which you
lived on your behalf.
1. Publication
of Banns
Publication of banns, which simply means announcing aloud your
intended marriage, is the traditional and preferred method used
by most couples and is equivalent in timing to the civil method
of getting married by certificate. The banns are published by
being read aloud during the service on three successive Sundays
preceding the ceremony. The congregation is invited to register
objections, if they have any. It is usual for the couple to be
in attendance on at least one of the three occasions when the
banns are published.
If the couple live in different parishes or are getting married in a parish other than the one in which they are registered, the banns need to be
published in both parishes. A certificate stating that the banns
have been published will be issued by the church that will not
be holding the ceremony. This certificate needs to be produced
to the officiating minister before the ceremony can proceed. If
the marriage does not go ahead within three months of the banns
being published, the banns will have to be published again.
2. Marriage by Common Licence
Getting married by common licence is intended for persons who
are temporarily resident in a particular parish and is equivalent
in timing to the civil method of getting married by certificate
and licence. It has the advantage of not requiring banns to be
published. Once your application has been approved by the bishop
of the diocese in which you wish to marry (or by one of his surrogates),
only one clear day's notice is required before your ceremony can
take place. The only residence requirement is that at least one
of you must have lived in the parish during the 15 days leading
up to your application for the licence. To be married by common
licence, at least one of you must have been baptised. A common
licence lasts for three months from its date of issue.
There must be a good reason for requesting a common licence, for
example, an imminent and unavoidable departure overseas that prevent
your banns from being read. A common licence is usually applied
for by British couples who are no longer resident in England or
Wales or if one or both of the couple are not British subjects.
If you are living overseas and you will not be visiting your home
parish before you plan to get married, you should ask your parents
or a friend to see your minister on your behalf for advice on
how and where the licence may be obtained. If neither of you are
British subjects, you should contact the registrar of the Court
Faculties on 020-7222 5381 for further guidance. Their address
is, 1 The Sanctuary, London, SW1P 3JT.
3. Marriage by Archbishop
of Canterbury's Special Licence
Marriage by special licence is very unusual and it must be approved
by the Archbishop of Canterbury. The licence is issued from the
registrar of the Court Faculties in London. If granted, a special
licence allows a marriage to take place at any time within three
months and in any place without any residence requirement. Typical
reasons for getting marriage by special licence include if one
of you is very ill in hospital and cannot be removed to a venue
where marriages can be legally solemnised. To be married by special
licence, at least one of you must have been baptised.
In certain circumstances, a special licence may also be issued
to couples living overseas, particularly if one of both of you
had close links with the church in which you intend to marry.
The benefit of getting married by special licence is that there
is no residency requirement. However, the issue of a special licence
is at the discretion of the Archbishop of Canterbury and it may
well be that you will be advised to get married by common licence
where at least one of you must meet the residency requirement
of 15 days. A special licence will be refused if neither of the
couple is able to demonstrate a genuine and long standing connection
with the church in question.
A special licence is also required if you want to get married
in a building not licensed for marriage. Interestingly, when a
member of the Royal Family gets married in St. Paul's Cathedral,
a special licence is required since St. Paul's is not registered
for marriages.
For further information on getting married by special licence,
you should contact the registrar of the Court Faculties on 020-7222
5381. Their address is, 1 The Sanctuary, London, SW1P 3JT, United
Kingdom.
4. Marriage by Superintendent
Registrar's Certificate without Licence
The final method of getting married in accordance to the rites
of the Church of England, is by the authority of a superintendent
registrar's certificate without licence. However, this method
is for the marriage of qualifying relatives-in-law (see prohibited
marriages for further information). If this method is approved,
the church where your marriage is to take place must be located
in the same registration district as the register office that
issues the certificate. Furthermore, one of you must have lived
in the parish for seven days prior to giving notice. Twenty-one
clear days after giving notice, a certificate of authority to
get married will be issued. The marriage must take place within
12 months from the date your notice was entered in the notice
book.
You can marry at a church which is not your local parish church only if you can prove a qualifying connection to the church in question. This can be any of the following:
- one of them was baptised or prepared for confirmation in the parish;
- one of them has ever lived in the parish for six months or more;
- one of them has at any time regularly attended public worship in the parish for six months or more;
- one of their parents has lived in the parish for six months or more in their child’s lifetime;
- one of their parents has regularly attended public worship there for six months or more in their child’s lifetime;
- their parents or grandparents were married in the parish.
You can also marry in a parish church which is not your own if it is your usual place of worship and you are listed on the church's electoral role. To qualify for enrolment, at least one of you must have regularly attended that church for worship for a minimum period of six months. It is also a requirement for enrolment that the person is a baptised member of the Church of England. The church electoral roll should not be confused with the local register of electors.
Marriage of Divorcees - with
former partner still alive
Although a minister of the Church of England does have a legal right
under civil law (by virtue of his role as a registrar) to take a
marriage service, regardless of whether or not either of the couple
is a divorcee, each case will be taken on its merits after discussing
the circumstances that led to the separation and divorce. In many
cases, parish priests are obliged to conform to their bishop's policy
of not allowing divorcees (with their former partner is still alive)
to remarry in church.
If your parish priest refuses to marry you, there is no process
of appeal. Priests are also within their rights to refuse to allow
their church to be used for this purpose by another 'sympathetic'
priest. Furthermore, it is not possible for divorcees to search
for another church where there may be a priest prepared to take
the service.
Weddings on a Sunday
There is no legal reason why you cannot get married on a Sunday
in a church. However, it is usually not possible because the minister's
day is too full with Divine service.
Weddings During Lent or Advent
It is common practice for ministers to refuse marriages during Lent,
and often during Advent. Lent is the period of time leading up to
Easter Sunday and is traditionally the time when Christians abstain
or take up something that spiritually or phyically cleanses the
mind or body. Advent is the 24 day period leading up to Christmas day.
Further Information
For further information and advice about getting married in a church
of the Church of England or Church in Wales, you should arrange
to see your minister. Alternatively, you can telephone the Enquiry
Centre of the General Synod of the Church of England on 020-7898
1000. Their address is Church House, Great Smith Street, London,
SW1P 3NZ.
For more details about The Church of England, please see their website: http://www.cofe.anglican.org/lifeevents/weddings/
For information on second marriages in the Church of England or
Church in Wales, please read our article second marriages.
If both of you are Roman Catholic, the publication of banns goes ahead as normal
but they do not form part of the legal preliminaries. If only
one partner is Roman Catholic, banns are not published and the priest
of the Roman Catholic partner will have to give permission for the
marriage to take place either in a Roman Catholic church or a non-Roman
Catholic church.
The legal requirements to be fulfilled for a Roman Catholic wedding
ceremony are those that apply to civil marriages. However, if the
church is in a different registration district to where you live,
you need to prove to the superintendent registrar that the church
is your normal place of worship. If you cannot do this, you will
be required to give notice in the registration district in which
the church is situated after having met the necessary residency
requirement.
For further information you should talk to your priest. Alternatively,
you can contact the following Catholic Church organisations:
| For general advice
about preparing for a Roman Catholic marriage, contact: |
Marriage Care,
1 Blythe Mews,
Blythe Road,
London,
W14 0NW.
Tel: 020-7371 1341 |
| For other help and
information, contact: |
The Catholic Enquiry
Office,
The Chase Centre,
114 West Heath Road,
London,
NW3 7TX.
Tel: 020-8458 3316
Fax: 020-8905 5780 |
| For advice when the
partners are practising members of different churches, contact: |
Association of Interchurch
Families,
35-41 Lower Marsh,
London,
SE1 7RL.
Tel: 020-7620 4444
Fax: 020-7928 0010 |
Civil law allows Jewish weddings to take place anywhere, for example,
in a synagogue, private house, hired venue or even outdoors. Rabbinical
law requires that a Jewish ceremony is performed under a chuppah
(a wedding canopy). Jewish ceremonies can also take place at any
time except on the Sabbath (Saturday) and on festival or fast days.
The legal requirements to be fulfilled for a Jewish wedding ceremony are those that apply to civil marriages. However, if the
synagogue is in a different registration district to where you live,
you need to prove to the superintendent registrar that the synagogue
is your normal place of worship. If you cannot do this, you will
be required to give notice in the registration district in which
the synagogue is situated after having met the necessary residency
requirement.
If there is no synagogue in the registration district in which you
live, you will be permitted to marry in a synagogue in the nearest
registration district that has one (subject also to the approval
of the synagogue secretary).
If the secretary of the synagogue is not licensed to keep a marriage
register, a superintendent registrar will need to attend the ceremony.
Arrangements should be made well in advance if this is the case.
An addition sum will also be payable for the registrar's attendance. For further
information and advice please telephone the Jewish
Marriage Council at 23 Ravenhurst Avenue, London, NW4 4EE. Tel:
020-8203 6311, Fax: 020-8203 8727.
Marriages
in Protestant Churches other than the Church of England, follow similar
procedures to marriages in the Roman Catholic Church. The legal requirements
to be fulfilled are those that apply to civil
marriages.
However, if the church is in a different registration district to where
you live, you need to prove to the superintendent registrar that the
church is your normal place of worship. If you cannot do this, you will
be required to give notice in the registration district in which the
church is situated after having met the necessary residency requirement.
If there is no church of your denomination in the registration district
in which you live, you will be permitted to marry in a church in
the nearest registration district that has one.
A superintendent registrar will need to attend the ceremony if the
minister is not authorised to register marriages. If the church
in which you intend to marry is not registered for the solemnisation
of marriages, you must arrange for a civil ceremony beforehand to
comply with the requirements of the law.
Quaker marriages require an application to be made to the registering
officer at the Society of Friends' monthly meeting where the marriage
ceremony is to take place. If only one partner is a member of the
Society, the other will be asked to state that they are in sympathy
with the nature of the marriage and they must provide letters of
recommendation from two other members. Once the formalities have
been completed, the registering officer will issue a form that needs
to be taken to the superintendent registrar when you give notice.
The legal requirements to be fulfilled are those that apply to civil
marriages. However, if the building in which you wish to marry
is in a different registration district to where you live, you need
to prove to the superintendent registrar that the building is your
normal place of worship. If you cannot do this, you will be required
to give notice in the registration district in which the building
is situated after having met the necessary residency requirement.If
there is no building in the registration district in which you live,
you will be permitted to marry in a building in the nearest registration
district that has one.Once you have obtained your certificate of
marriage from the superintendent registrar, you will need to produce
it on the day of the marriage ceremony.For further information and
advice please contact the Religious Society of Friends at 173-177
Euston Road, London, NW1 2BJ. Tel: 020-7663 1000.
UK marriage laws allow for mosques and temples to be registered
for the solemnisation of marriages according to the rites of these
religions. The legal requirements to be fulfilled are those that
apply to civil marriages. However, if the
building in which you wish to marry is in a different registration
district to where you live, you need to prove to the superintendent
registrar that the building is your normal place of worship. If
you cannot do this, you will be required to give notice in the registration
district in which the building is situated after having met the
necessary residency requirement.
If there is no building in the registration district in which you
live, you will be permitted to marry in a building in the nearest
registration district that has one.
A superintendent registrar may also need to attend the ceremony.
If the building in which you intend to marry is not registered for
the solemnisation of marriages, you must arrange a civil ceremony
beforehand to comply with the requirements of the law.
When you attend before a superintendent registrar or a church minister
to make the formal arrangements for your marriage, you may need
to produce certain documents, for example, proof of identity such
as your passport or birth certificate. If you have been married
before, a decree absolute of divorce or if you are a widow or widower,
the death certificate of your former spouse. If one of you is under
18 years of age, the written consent of your parents or guardian
will be required. If you are marrying a step-relative or an in-law,
you will need to provide relevant death certificates and/or other
documents requested by the superintendent registrar or minister.
Should any of the above documents be in a foreign language, you
will need to provide a certified translation in English. If you
are unable to provide any of the required documents, the superintendent
registrar or church minister will advise you what other documents
are acceptable.
If you are not a UK citizen, you will also need to produce your
passport. Documentary evidence, such as your travel documents, may
also be required to demonstrate that you have met the necessary
residency requirement.
Please also note that if you were previously married and your divorce
was in a court outside the UK, you will not be allowed to get married
in England or Wales until the superintentent registrar has verified
your divorce. This process can take up to six weeks.
I
f you still have any unanswered questions about the legal requirements
of getting married in England and Wales, please post your message on our Wedding
Forum.
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