Births, deaths, marriages and nationality

Giving notice

Giving notice of intent

Overview

Before you can marry or join in civil partnership, you must complete the legal formalities and give notice of your intention.

A Notice of Marriage or Notice of Civil Partnership is a legal document showing the two people getting married or registering a civil partnership and the venue where their ceremony will take place.

You must both give notice of your intention at a Register Office in the district you live. If you and your partner live in different areas, you will each need to give notice in your own registration district. If you or your partner are subject to immigration control you must both give notice together in the district in which one or both of you live.

Note, you cannot give notice to marry or enter in to a marriage ceremony if you're under 18.

Where to give notice

You will need to give notice of your intention to marry or join in partnership at your local Register Office If you and your partner live in different areas, you will each need to give notice in your own district. If you or your partner are subject to immigration control you must both give notice together in the district in which one or both of you live.

If you live in Brent you can give notice at the Brent Register Office in Wembley.

Book to give notice

Before giving notice, you must have both lived at an address in England or Wales for 8 days prior to your appointment.

You cannot give notice more than 12 months before the date of your wedding and you must wait a period of 29 days from the date of giving notice before you can marry.

Please note - if requesting a Certificate of No Impediment (CONI) the notice appointment can only be offered to British Nationals. Please contact the Embassy of the country where the marriage or civil partnership is taking place, if the document of single status is required and you are not British

Book an appointment to give notice

European Nationals and non-European nationals subject to immigration control

If you or your partner are subject to immigration control, the notice-period may be extended to 71 days.

We will be able to take your notice if either you or your partner has lived in Brent for the past 7 clear days.

View further guidance on extended notice period

If you are marrying in the Church of England and you are subject to immigration control you will now need to give legal notice of intent in a register office where either couple has lived 8 days prior to the appointment.

If you are getting married or forming a civil partnership within the next two months and you cannot find an available appointment in time for your ceremony please contact our registration services team.

Fees

Marriage or civil partnership notice

A statutory fee is payable for each notice of marriage. This is non-refundable which is taken at the time of booking your appointment.

Description	Day	Fee
Notice of intention for marriage or civil partnership.	Monday to Friday	£42 per person
Notice of intention for marriage or civil partnership if you are referred for immigration purposes.	Monday to Friday	£57 per person
Weekend appointment fee for legal notices in addition to the above notice fees.	Saturday and Sunday	£22 per person
Consideration of reduction in the 28 day notice to marry or form a civil partnership.		£66
Consideration by a Superintendent Registrar of a divorce or civil partnership dissolution obtained outside of the British Isles (From 1 November 2017)		£55
Consideration by a Registrar General of divorce or civil partnership dissolution obtained outside of the British Isles (From 1 November 2017)		£83

Note: there are additional charges to clear foreign divorce documents.

Documents you will need to bring

When you attend the appointment to give your notice of intention, you will be asked to produce evidence of your full name, nationality, age and proof of current address and marital status, if applicable.

Acceptable documents are listed below and depend on your status.

1. Proof of identity

You will need to provide the appropriate proof of identity, depending on your citizenship status, if you have changed your name or are under 18.

British citizen

At least one of the following forms of ID must be shown:

current valid passport
a UK birth certificate will be required if you were born in the UK before 1983 and do not have a British passport
evidence of your parent's British nationality and your UK birth certificate will be required if you were born in the UK after 1983 and do not have a British passport
naturalisation certificate.

Irish citizen

a current valid Irish passport

European Nationals with EU Pre Settled or Settled Status (EUSS)

People who have been granted pre-settled or settled European Settlement Status or have a pending application for European settlement submitted before 30 June 2021 must show:

current valid passport
Proof of your pre-settled or settled status.

Please bring your mobile phone to the appointment to show your pre-settled or settled status. If you do not have a pre-settled or settled status, you will be referred to the Home office and the waiting period for your marriage or civil partnership may be extended to 71 days.

EEA ID cards are no longer accepted as proof of identity, name, age or nationality.

Foreign nationals

Foreign nationals are defined as people who are not British Citizens, Irish Citizens and who have not been granted EU Settled Status (EUSS) or have a pending application for EUSS submitted before 30 June 2021.

If you or your partner are a foreign national, you must make an appointment to give notice together in the registration district in which one or both of you live.

If you are a foreign national or EU national with no status, you must show proof of:

full name
date of birth
nationality
address

You will also need to provide evidence of your settled status in England and Wales. If you are unable to provide this, you will be referred to the Home office and the waiting period for your marriage may be extended to 70 days.

Any of the following documents must be shown:

a current valid passport or valid Home Office travel document
proof of pre-settled or Settled Status
Indefinite Leave to Remain or Enter or to join partner or marriage visa

If you do not have or cannot provide evidence of settled status in England and Wales, please contact the Register Office.

For detailed information, visit the UK Visas and Immigration website.

You have changed your name

If one of you have changed your names, you will need to provide us with:

evidence of the change of name document (by Deed Poll or Statutory Declaration)
a court judgement.

2. Proof of address

You will need to provide at least one of following documents to prove your current address:

valid UK driving license
a utility bill dated within 3 months
bank statements dated within one month
current Council Tax bill
letter from the landlord or home owner
all documents have to be originals issued in England or Wales (copies will not be accepted).

3. Evidence of marital status

If you have been married or joined in civil partnership before, you will also need to give proof of the marriage or civil partnership ending legally. This can include:

a decree absolute
foreign divorce document with English translation. A fee will apply to clear the divorce
death certificate (if your husband/wife or former civil partner has died). If partner not named on the death certificate, we will also need to see the marriage or civil partnership certificate
if no death certificate is available, please speak to the Registrar for advice
dissolution certificate (from a previous civil partnership).

Please be aware, there are additional charges to clear foreign divorce documents.

At the appointment

At the face to face interview, you will be asked questions about yourself and your partner, your documents will be checked and the notices signed by you and the Registrar.

The appointment will take around 20 minutes for a single notice and 45 minutes for a couples notice.

If English is not your first language, please bring an interpreter with you.

If you do not bring all the required documents with you, your appointment may be cancelled.

Validity of notice

Your notice of marriage or civil partnership will be valid for 12 months from the date you give notice.

The notice is only valid for the ceremony location that you state at the time of giving notice. Therefore, if you subsequently decide to change the venue, you’ll need to arrange to give a new notice of intention and complete the notice period of 29 to 71 days.

Abuse of immigration laws

We are working with the Home Office to identify marriages and civil partnerships which seek to abuse UK immigration laws.

Anybody found to be arranging, facilitating or entering into a marriage or civil partnership solely to gain permission to stay in the UK risks arrest or prosecution. Foreign nationals may also face deportation and be barred from re-entering the UK for up to 14 years.