Give notice of marriage or civil partnership

What is involved

You can book an appointment with us for giving notice of marriage or a civil partnership.

Both of you will each need to:

• give notice of your intention in person at least 28 full days (70 days if subject to immigration control) for most marriages or civil partnerships before the ceremony
• pay a fee of £42 at the time of giving notice
• take documents with you to the register office (see below for details)
• decide on the venue for your marriage or partnership ceremony; this venue is included on your notices and is not transferable. You should also book the date and time of the ceremony with the registrars or Minister of the religious building

Book an appointment to give notice

After giving notice you must get married or register your civil partnership within one year.

Where to give notice

Unless you are getting married in a Church of England church, notice must be given to the Superintendent Registrar of the district(s) in which you live.

You must have lived in the district for a minimum of seven days before notice is given.

Our register office is at:

Civic Centre
High Street
Kingswood
Bristol
BS15 9TR.

email: registrationservice@southglos.gov.uk

Documents you need to take to the register office

You will each need to take proof of your current name, address, age and nationality when you visit the register office. You may need to bring other documents with you if you have been previously married or in a civil partnership or if you have legally changed your name.

All documents must be originals and in English or have been translated in to English and certified as true translations by the translator (a third party), together with their signature, name and address.

Failure to produce all the necessary documents will mean that you will not be able to give your notice.

Suitable documents to bring

For your name, age and nationality you can bring a valid passport.

If you do not have a valid passport you can bring:

• your British birth certificate if you were born before 1 January 1983; please also bring photo ID
• your full British birth certificate (showing your parents details) if you were born after 31 December 1982, please also bring photo ID. You will also need to bring your mother’s British birth certificate and her marriage certificate(s) if she has used more than one married name.

Your father’s British birth certificate and marriage certificate(s) may be acceptable if your parents were married at the time of your birth, or subsequently married and your birth was re-registered. Contact us to check if you are unsure.

For proof of your address, each of you must bring hard copies of one of the following documents:

• current council tax bill – dated within one year of your appointment
• UK driving licence (full or provisional) – providing the name and address are correct and current
• a utility bill (this does not include mobile phone bills) dated within three months of your appointment
• a bank/building society statement dated within one month of your appointment – online bank statements are now acceptable, but you must provide a printed copy
• a mortgage statement dated within one year of your appointment
• current residential tenancy agreement

Proof of marriage

If you have been married or in a civil partnership previously you must bring proof of how your marriage or civil partnership ended.

This might be:

• a decree absolute (not a decree nisi) or Final Order (the ending of a marriage)
• a decree of dissolution (the ending of a civil partnership)
• a death certificate if your spouse has died.

You will also need to bring your existing marriage or civil partnership certificate if:

• your decree absolute, Final Order or decree of dissolution is in a different name from the name you are using currently, that is if you have reverted to your maiden surname
• you did not register the death of a late spouse

If you have changed your name through any legal means, you should bring proof. This might be a deed poll or statutory change of name document.

Document clearance

For each divorce or dissolution granted outside of the British Isles fees are payable for consideration for clearance of the documents.

When the documents can be cleared locally by the Superintendent Registrar the fee is £55. If the documents have to be referred to the General Register Office a fee of £83 is payable.

General Register Office permission for the ceremony to proceed may not be completed within the waiting period. Consider this when booking the date for your ceremony.

The registration team can give you further advice when you make your appointment.

Arranging a marriage or civil partnership in exceptional circumstances

It may be possible to apply to be married or form a civil partnership quickly under exceptional circumstances.

Section 31 of the Marriage Act 1949 allows the Registrar General to reduce the 28 day waiting period before marriage to such a shorter period as s/he considers appropriate where there are compelling reasons to do so due to exceptional circumstances.

Section 12 of the Civil Partnership Act 2004 allows the Secretary of State for the Home Department to reduce the 28 day waiting period before civil partnership to such a shorter period as s/he considers appropriate where there are compelling reasons to do so due to exceptional circumstances.

Circumstance such as terminal illness suffered by one of the parties, or a parent of one of the parties, or immediate posting on overseas active service might be considered as exceptional.

Neither of these provisions include circumstances where the parties simply do not have sufficient time to comply with the legal requirements to give a notice of marriage or civil partnership.

The statutory fee for consideration of such an application will be £66 per person, payable at the time of making the application and is non-refundable. The application is made to the Superintendent Registrar by completion of the appropriate form.

Subject to immigration control

If one or both of you is subject to immigration control you will have to comply with some additional conditions.

You will be subject to immigration control if you are not:

• a British Citizen
• an Irish Citizen
• a person who has been granted EU Settled Status (EUSS) either settled or pre-settled or has a pending application for settled status submitted before 30 June 2021

You must give your notices together in the registration district where one of you live.

You should give notice at least 71 days before your ceremony if you do not have:

• evidence of settled or permanent resident status, such as a biometric residence card
• a marriage visa
• exemption from immigration control

Fees for notices where one or both parties are subject to immigration control are £57 per person.

EEA citizens with EU settled status

You should give notice at least 29 days before your ceremony. You will need to bring your EUSS share code to your appointment.

The EUSS code is how we check your status. If we do not have this your appointment cannot proceed and you will need to rebook.

You must also bring a printed Home Office certificate of application letter or email dated before 30 June 2021 confirming your settled or pre-settled application was made. If you have lost your letter or deleted the email, you must contact the Home Office for a replacement before attending your appointment.

If you do not have settled status, pre-settled status or a pending application submitted before 30 June 2021, you should give notice at least 71 days before your ceremony and you will be referred to the Home Office.

Getting married abroad

Some foreign countries require British citizens to provide a certificate of no impediment before they can marry in that country.

Before booking an appointment to give notice for a certificate of no impediment please check:

• that you need one for the country where you intend to marry
• any other documents that are required and if they need to be legalised before you leave the UK.

For more information about getting married abroad visit  GOV.UK.