The fee, the documents and where you go are all set down. Scotland and Northern Ireland use their own notice of marriage, and a Church of England wedding usually uses banns instead. If the wedding itself is abroad, the document you may need is a certificate of no impediment, which getting married abroad from the UK covers.
What giving notice of marriage means
A notice of marriage is a signed statement that you are free to marry each other, and it names the venue. You cannot give it until the venue is chosen: GOV.UK says you decide where the ceremony will be before giving notice, and the statement has to include the final venue. It is valid for 12 months and only for that venue, so a change of venue means giving notice of marriage again and paying again.
It sits in the three to six months out part of most plans, and it is the one line on the wedding checklist with a legal deadline. Book the appointment as soon as the venue is confirmed. In a busy district the wait for a slot is the thing that slips, not the 29 days themselves.
Giving notice of marriage in England and Wales
- Book the venue and the date first. The notice of marriage names them, so ask the venue the questions that pin the booking down before you book the registrar.
- Live in the registration district for at least the past 7 days before the appointment. If you live in different districts, you each give notice in your own, and not necessarily on the same day.
- Book the appointment at your local register office and take the documents below. You sign the statement yourself.
- Wait out the 29 days. The earliest ceremony is 29 days after the appointment.
- Marry within 12 months, at the venue you named, with at least two witnesses at a civil ceremony.
There is one exception to giving notice separately. If one of you is from outside the UK, you give notice of marriage together, at a register office in a district where at least one of you lives, unless you both have British or Irish citizenship, settled or pre-settled status, or an EU Settlement Scheme application made on or before 30 June 2021 that is still waiting or under appeal. That is GOV.UK's rule, not the venue's.
If either of you is not exempt from immigration control, the notice is referred to the Home Office. Where the Home Office decides to investigate whether the marriage is a sham, its statutory guidance extends the notice period from 28 days to 70 days. The higher fee below is the one for that referral. Complying with the investigation is what lets the ceremony go ahead on that notice.
What a notice of marriage costs
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Giving notice of marriage, per person | £46.50 |
| Notice of marriage if either of you is subject to immigration control | £63 |
| Checking a divorce, annulment or dissolution from outside the UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man | £55 at the register office, or £83 if the General Register Office checks it |
| Statutory register office ceremony | £62 |
| A registrar at a registered religious building | £114.50 |
| Marriage certificate, ordered from the General Register Office | £12.50 |
A Saturday ceremony room in one district is not the price next door. What a registry office wedding costs lines up three councils and adds a small reception, which is the useful comparison once the notice of marriage itself is booked.
Documents for your notice of marriage
GOV.UK's list is originals, not photocopies:
- The final venue, and the ceremony date.
- A valid passport, or a UK birth certificate. If you use a UK birth certificate and you were born after 1 January 1983, you also need evidence of your parents' nationalities, such as their birth certificates.
- Proof of address: a valid UK or Irish driving licence, a gas, water or electricity bill from the last 3 months, a bank statement from the last month, a council tax or mortgage statement from the last 12 months, a current tenancy agreement, or a signed letter from your landlord dated within the last 7 days.
- Proof of any name change, such as a deed poll.
- A decree absolute or final order if you are divorced, or your former partner's death certificate if you are widowed.
If you or your partner are from outside the UK, you also bring a passport-sized photo for each of you, proof of immigration status (a share code or the visa in your passport), and a translation of any document that is not in English. If your usual address is outside the UK, you give a UK contact address.
Notice of marriage in Scotland, Northern Ireland and church
Scotland uses marriage notice forms, the M10, sent to the registrar of the district where the wedding happens, not where you live. The M10 guidance notes say the registrar must have the completed notices no later than 29 days before the marriage, and advise 10 to 12 weeks so the documents can be checked. The statutory fee is £45 per person, set in 2022. NRS consulted on a rise that closed on 4 October 2026, so ask the registrar what to pay on the day you lodge the forms.
Scotland has no approved-premises list of the English kind. A civil ceremony is conducted by a registrar in the registration office, or at a place you and the local registration authority agree, and that place cannot be religious premises (section 18 of the Marriage (Scotland) Act 1977). A religious or belief ceremony is conducted by an approved celebrant (section 8). A beach or a garden is a question for the registrar, not a right you can assume.
In Northern Ireland both of you send a marriage notice to the registrar of the council district where the marriage takes place. nidirect says notice must be given in the 12 months before the wedding, the minimum is 28 days, about eight weeks is the normal advice, and ten weeks if either of you has been married or in a civil partnership before. The fee is £22 per notice. A civil ceremony conducted by a registrar costs a further £36, and the council charges on top for its room or for attending an approved venue. You can take the forms in or post them.
A Church of England wedding usually does not use this notice of marriage. Banns are read in church on three Sundays during the three months before the wedding. GOV.UK says the process might be different for an Anglican wedding, so ask the church early, especially if either of you lives outside England and Wales or there is not time for the banns.
Quick answers
Up to 12 months before the wedding in England and Wales, and the notice of marriage expires after that. Give it once the venue is confirmed and you are inside the window. It is the dated step in the wedding checklist.
Yes. In England and Wales you give notice where you live, and the wedding can be at any approved venue or register office. The notice of marriage still has to name the actual venue.
The notice of marriage is only valid for the venue named on it. A new venue means giving notice again, paying again, and waiting another 29 days in England and Wales. Lock the venue before the appointment.
No. Scotland wants M10 forms at the registrar for the district of the ceremony, at least 29 days ahead, at £45 each under the 2022 fee regulations. Northern Ireland wants a notice to the registrar for the district of the ceremony, at least 28 days ahead, at £22 each. Neither is the English appointment at the register office where you live.