After the ceremony: what happens next?
After the ceremony, the marriage is registered from your signed schedule or register, and you can then order copies of your marriage certificate. If you plan to change your name, the certificate is usually the document you need to start that process with banks, employers and official bodies.
Ordering your certificate
Copies of your marriage certificate can be ordered from the register office where the marriage was registered, or through the General Register Office if that is not practical. You will usually need at least one for a name change.
Changing your name
There is no automatic name change on marriage. You update your name separately with each organisation — passport office, bank, employer, HMRC and others — usually by sending a certified copy of your certificate.
No further registration steps
Once your marriage schedule or register entry is signed and returned, there is nothing further you need to file to make the marriage legally effective — registration is complete at that point.
What this means for you
- Order more than one certificate copy if several organisations need to see an original at the same time.
- Name changes are your responsibility to action with each organisation individually.
Official sources
- GOV.UK — Order a copy of a birth, death or marriage certificate
- GOV.UK — Marriages and civil partnerships in the UK
Last reviewed: 17 August 2026 · Next review due 17 November 2026
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Simply Married is an independent planning service, not a register office or government department. Confirm current requirements and fees with your own register office and on GOV.UK.