3
ISSUES: Marriage
Chapter 1: Marriage
Marriages and civil partnerships in the UK
Overview
You can get married or form a civil
partnership in the UK if you’re:
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16 or over
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free to marry or form a civil
partnership (single, divorced or
widowed)
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not closely related.
You need permission from your
parents or guardians if you’re under
18 in England, Wales and Northern
Ireland.
Only same sex couples can form a civil
partnership.
There will be no change to the rights
and status of EU nationals living in the
UK, nor UK nationals living in the EU,
while the UK remains in the EU.
Same sex couples
You can:
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form a civil partnership in England,
Scotland, Wales and Northern
Ireland
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get married in England, Scotland
and Wales
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convert your civil partnership into
a marriage in England, Scotland
and Wales.
What you need to do
There are usually two steps to getting
married or forming a civil partnership
in England and Wales.
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Give notice at your local register
office.
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Have a religious ceremony or civil
ceremony at least 28 days after
giving notice.
There may be different steps for some
religious ceremonies.
Getting married or forming a
civil partnership abroad
Find out about who to contact and
which documents you may need to get
from the UK authorities if you want to
get married or form a civil partnership
abroad.
Your overseas marriage or civil
partnership will be recognised in the
UK if you follow the correct process
according to local law – you won’t
have to register it in the UK.
Marrying in England or Wales if
you live abroad
You may be able to give notice in the
country where you’re living if that
country has signed up to the ‘British
Subjects Facilities Acts’. Your partner
must be a resident of England or Wales.
Contact the register office for the
district in England and Wales where
you intend to marry.
Countries signed up to the ‘British
Subjects Facilities Acts’:
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Bahamas
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Barbados
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Belize
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Bermuda
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Botswana
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Canada (Newfoundland only)
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Cook Islands
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Cyprus
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Dominica
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Fiji
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The Gambia
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Ghana (former Gold Coast colony
only)
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Gibraltar
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Grenada
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Guernsey (including Alderney)
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Isle of Man
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Jamaica
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Jersey
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Kiribati
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Kenya
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Leeward Islands
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Lesotho
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Malawi
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Malaysia
(former
Straits
Settlement of Labuan, Malacca
and Penang only)
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Mauritius
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Nauru
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New Zealand
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Nigeria
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Pitcairn Islands
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St Lucia
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St Vincent
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Seychelles
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Sierra Leone
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Solomon Islands
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Sri Lanka
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Swaziland
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Tanzania (Zanzibar only)
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Tonga
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Trinidad and Tobago
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Tuvalu
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Uganda
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Vanuatu
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Zambia
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Zimbabwe.
Giving notice at your local
register office
Formostmarriages or civil partnerships
you must give at least 28 full days’
notice at your local register office.
You need to include details of where
you intend to get married or form a
civil partnership.
Your notice will be publicly displayed
in the register office for 28 days.
You may also need to give notice here
if you plan to marry or form a civil
partnership abroad. Ask the overseas
authority if you’ll need a ‘certificate of
no impediment’.
Contact your local register office to
make an appointment.
You can only give notice at a register
office if you have lived in the
registration district for at least the past
seven days.
There are different rules for religious
ceremonies.
You must get married or register your
civil partnership within one year, or
three months if you’re in Scotland.
Foreign nationals
There are different rules if you or your
partner are a foreign national from
