Giving notice for a wedding: how it works across the UK

What giving notice actually means

Giving notice is a formal declaration at your local register office that you intend to marry, naming the venue and your partner. The notice goes on public display for 28 days, and once it clears, the registrar issues the authority your ceremony needs. It is valid for 12 months and tied to the venue you named, so if the venue changes, you give notice again and pay again.

The steps in England and Wales

1. Confirm the venue and date first. Notice names the venue, so book the venue before you book the registrar.
2. Live in your registration district for at least 7 days before your appointment. If you live in different districts, you each give notice in your own.
3. Book the appointment with your local register office. In busy districts the wait runs to several weeks, so treat this as a booking, not an errand.
4. Both attend in person with your documents. There is no online route and no giving notice on someone's behalf.
5. Wait out the 29 full days. Day one is the day after the appointment, so the earliest possible wedding is a month away.
6. Marry within 12 months, at the venue you named.

What it costs

What to bring

• Passport, or another accepted proof of identity and nationality.
• Proof of address: a utility bill, bank statement, council tax bill or driving licence.
• The venue name and ceremony date.
• A decree absolute if either of you is divorced, or a death certificate if widowed.
• If either of you is not a British or Irish citizen, immigration documents. The notice may be referred to the Home Office, which raises the fee and can extend the waiting period to 70 days.

Scotland, Northern Ireland and church weddings

Scotland uses marriage notice forms, called M10s, submitted to the registrar in the district where the wedding happens rather than where you live. The legal minimum is 29 days, registrars recommend six to eight weeks, and the fee is £30 each. Scotland also lets an authorised celebrant marry you anywhere, a beach or a hillside included, with no licensed venue requirement.

Northern Ireland works on marriage notice forms given to the registrar of the district of the ceremony, at least 28 days ahead and ideally eight weeks.

A Church of England or Church in Wales wedding usually skips the register office entirely: banns are read in church on three Sundays before the day instead. If either of you is not a British or Irish citizen, or the banns route does not apply, the civil notice process comes back into play, so ask the vicar early.

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