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Guidance for couples who wish to marry, or form a civil partnership.
Where to give notice
You must each give formal notice of your intention to marry, or to form a civil partnership, in person at a Registration Officein the district where you live.
Foreign nationals
If one party is a foreign national you will both be required to give notice of your intention to marry, or to form a civil partnership, in the same district at the same time. This can be a district in which either of you live, but you are required to have lived in that district for at least eight days before giving notice.
British nationals living abroad
British nationals living abroad must travel back together to give their notice of marriage or civil partnership - both parties must have fulfilled their required residency period as mentioned above; they must be able to provide an address in the district they attend, showing evidence that they have resided there for the prescribed period of time.
When to give notice
The minimum period between giving notice and when a ceremony can take place is currently 28 clear days. The Schedule for marriage will be issued on day 29 after the date you give notice, and will be valid for twelve months. It is therefore a good idea to arrange to give your individual notices around six months before the date of your ceremony.
You will also need to know the name of the venue in which your legal ceremony or civil partnership formation will be held.
Non-European Economic Area (EEA) nationals
For couples where one or both parties are non-EEA nationals, with limited or no immigration status, your application to marry will be referred to the Home Office and they may extend the notice period to 70 days. Additional fees may apply, which the Registration Service will advise you of when you book your appointment.
Frequently asked questions
You cannot give notice more than 12 months before the date of your ceremony, but you must give notice no later than 28 clear days before your ceremony. Here in Wiltshire we recommend that you give notice around six months before your ceremony if possible, and we will advise you of a preferred date at the time of booking.
If your ceremony is still more than 28 days away - do not panic!
We recommend that couples give notice around six months before the date of their ceremony if possible, but this is not a requirement and does not affect the booking. We would recommend that you contact your local register office to book your notice as soon as possible if your ceremony is less than six months away.
If your ceremony is 28 days or less from now, and you have not given notice, you will need to re-arrange your ceremony date. Please contact us to discuss your options.
You should give notice in the registration district where you live. If you live in Wiltshire please telephone 0300 003 4570 to book your appointment.
Swindon has its own Register Office as they are a separate authority to the rest of Wiltshire.
The easiest way to check your district is to check which local authority collects council tax for your home address.
If you live in Wiltshire you can give notice at any of the following offices:
Trowbridge, Chippenham, or Salisbury - appointments are available Monday to Friday.
The registration staff are engaged with ceremonies on Saturdays and the offices are not generally open for appointments. However, we occasionally offer some limited appointments on some Saturdays at one of the main offices. These are classed as out of hours appointments and we therefore have to charge a booking fee in addition to the notice fees. These fees are payable at the time the appointment is booked, as the accounting systems are unavailable to staff on Saturdays.
For an appointment in Wiltshire please call the ceremonies team on 0300 003 4570.
You each have to give notice of your intention to marry, in person, at an appointment.
It can be completed as a double appointment - which takes approximately 40 minutes, during which you will be seen together first and then separately.
If it is not convenient for you to both attend at the same time, we can see you in single appointments (approximately 20 minutes each) which can be on different days and even at different offices if necessary. If however one of you is a foreign national you both must attend the appointment together in a district where one of you lives.
If you live in Wiltshire you should give notice in Wiltshire, even if your ceremony is taking place somewhere else.
Your ceremony should be booked with the registration service for the district where your marriage is taking place.
You must each give notice in the district where you live.
You must each provide evidence of your name, age and nationality, evidence of your home address in Wiltshire, any evidence related to a change of name; and evidence that you are now free to marry if you have previously been married or in a civil partnership.
Nationality is most easily proven with a passport, which also proves name and age. Address can be proved with a photocard driving licence, or recent bank statement, council tax or utility bill. Change of name deeds should be brought if appropriate, and a decree absolute or decree of dissolution if you are divorced or death certificate if you are widowed.
All documents should be originals (not photocopies), valid and in date. If you are unsure that the documents you have will be sufficient, please call the ceremonies team to discuss this further.
You will need to contact the Court where your divorce was processed to obtain a further copy of your decree absolute. If you are unsure which court this is, you can contact the Central Family Court (opens new window) in London who will be able to complete a search of all divorce records in England and Wales and provide you with a copy. There is a fee for this service and it may take a few weeks.
