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Giving notice of marriage

Notice of marriage or civil partnership appointments are available to book online.

Please only book appointments for ceremonies within the next three months as space is still limited. North Somerset and Somerset residents can book on the Somerset Wedding service website.

Before marriage or civil partnership ceremonies can take place, you must give notice in person that you intend to marry.

The minimum notice period is 29 days, we recommend giving notice three months prior to your ceremony. If you are getting married in the Church of England and banns are to be called, you do not usually need to contact us or give notice of your marriage.

Notice requirements

You can only give notice if you are legally free to marry or enter into a civil partnership. 

If you live in different registration districts, each person must give notice in the district where they live. We advise that the person living in the district where the ceremony will take place gives notice first. The second party will be expected to give notice within a few days.

To give notice each person will need to provide:

  • documentary evidence of your age, identity and nationality – a current valid passport is preferred
  • proof of address – for example, driving licences, bank statements, council tax bills 
  • if you have been married or in a civil partnership before, you need to confirm that you are free to marry again by providing one of the below. Please note that if documents are not in English, you will need to provide an English translation.
    • decree of absolute divorce
    • nullity bearing the court’s original stamp
    • death certificate of your former spouse or civil partners
  • documentary evidence that you have been resident for the minimum qualifying period

If you do not have the above documents or you are not a British Citizen please contact us to discuss what documents we will need you to bring to the appointment.

Please note that from 28 May 2024, consideration of foreign divorce documents will be subject to a fee of £55. In some circumstances this may increase to £83 if the document needs to be referred to the General Register Office.

The fee is payable at the time of the notice of marriage appointment, is non-refundable, and does not guarantee approval of the documents.

Fees and charges

You will need to bring the correct fee to your appointment. 

See our fees page for more information.