Marriage requirements in England and Wales
Eligibility, residency and paperwork. These pages tell you what you must be able to prove before a register office can accept your notice.
Legal requirements for marriage in England and Wales
Who can legally marry in England and Wales: age, relationship, existing marriages or civil partnerships, capacity, residency and notice.
What documents do I need to get married?
The documents to bring to your notice appointment: photo identity, proof of address, and evidence that any previous marriage has ended.
What ID do you need to get married?
The identity documents register offices accept when you give notice of marriage in England and Wales, and what to do without a passport.
Proof of address for your marriage notice
What counts as proof of address when giving notice of marriage, how recent it must be, and what to do if you have just moved.
Marriage requirements in England
The legal conditions for marrying in England: age, eligibility, residency, notice and the documents your register office will ask to see.
Marriage requirements in Wales
The legal conditions for marrying in Wales: the same eligibility rules as England, plus Welsh-language ceremony and documentation options.
The residency requirement for giving notice of marriage
Why you must have lived in your notice district for seven full days before giving notice, and what to do if you have just moved.
What is the minimum age to marry in England and Wales?
The minimum legal age for marriage in England and Wales is 18, with no exceptions for parental consent since the law changed.
Do you need a birth certificate for your marriage notice?
When a birth certificate is required for a marriage notice appointment, and when a passport alone is enough.
Passport requirements for giving notice of marriage
Why a valid passport is the standard identity document for a marriage notice appointment, and what to do if yours has expired.
What documents do you need if you were married before?
If a previous marriage or civil partnership has ended, you need original evidence of that before you can give notice of a new marriage.
How to prove a name change for your marriage notice
What to bring if your identity documents show different names, including deed poll and other evidence linking your names.
Do foreign documents need translating for your marriage notice?
When documents issued outside the UK — birth certificates, decrees, passports — need an official translation before a register office will accept them.
Evidence of nationality and immigration status for marriage
What registrars check about nationality and immigration status when you give notice, and which document route applies to you.
Do you need a birth certificate to get married?
Whether a birth certificate is a strict requirement for marriage, or just one of several ways to prove identity at your notice appointment.
Witness requirements for a legal marriage
You need at least two witnesses to sign the marriage schedule or register. Here is who can act as a witness and what is expected of them.
Prohibited degrees of relationship for marriage
Which family relationships legally prevent two people from marrying each other in England and Wales, and where the rules allow exceptions.
Capacity to consent to marriage
Both people marrying must understand what marriage means and consent freely. Here is what that means in practice at a notice appointment.
Missing or lost documents: what to do before your notice appointment
What to do if you cannot find your birth certificate, decree absolute or other document you need to give notice of marriage.
Marriage requirements checklist
A practical checklist of the legal and document requirements to work through before you give notice of marriage in England and Wales.
Not sure which rules apply to you?
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