Giving notice

Please read all of the information on this page. You must book an appointment to enter your notice of intention.

Before you give notice

• Before either of you can give notice, it is a legal requirement that you must each have lived in a registration district in England or Wales for at least seven full days (eight nights), immediately before giving notice
• You must both give notice in person and produce documents and give personal information to the registrar about yourself and your partner in order for the legal notice to be completed. Please see documents needed to give notice. Additional documents are required for nationals of foreign countries, not including Republic of Ireland.
• The statutory fee for giving notice must be paid by each person when attending the appointment.
• Additional statutory fees will be charged if one or both parties are submitting a foreign divorce for consideration
• You will need translated versions of any foreign divorce documents you are required to bring (please note, you must include translations of any stamps on your documents)
• You must have decided the venue where your ceremony will take place. Your notices are valid only for the venue shown: if you change your mind about where your ceremony will take place after you have completed your notices, you will have to give fresh notices stating the new venue and pay the statutory fees again
• Notice can be given up to a year in advance of the ceremony date
• If you do not speak or understand English, please bring someone who can translate for you (translator cannot be one of the parties to the marriage/civil partnership)

British, Irish Nationals or EU Nationals with settled or pre-settled status

If you are both British, Irish Nationals or an EU National with settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, with an application to the EU Settlement Scheme that you made before 30 June 2021 which you are waiting for a decision on:

• You must give notice in the district where you live, even if this is not where you are holding your ceremony
• If you live in different registration districts you should give notice separately. You do not have to do this on the same day as each other
• If you are an EEA national with settled or pre-settled status, you will be asked to show evidence of your status. Before your appointment, please request the six-digit code from GOV.UK 

Nationals of any other country

If either you or your partner is not a British, Irish , or an EU National with settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, with an application to the EU Settlement Scheme that you made before 30 June 2021 which you are waiting for a decision on, you will need to give notice together in the district where at least one of you lives, even if this is not where you are holding your ceremony.

In addition to the usual documentation you will need to bring to your appointment:

• If you are an EEA national without settled status or pre-settled status (except Irish) or a non-EEA national you will be asked to show evidence of your immigration status such as your visa or biometric card
• Translated versions of any additional documents you are required to bring (please note, you must include translations of any stamps on your documents)
• If either you or your partner is an EEA national without settled status or pre-settled status (except Irish) or a non-EEA national and doesn’t have Indefinite Leave to Remain, you will need to bring one Passport sized photo for each of you

If you are being married in a Church of England or Church of Wales Church

If you are being married in a Church of England or Church of Wales church, the legal preliminaries will usually be in the form of Banns. If one or both of you is a foreign national you will need to complete civil preliminaries together at a designated register office in a district in which either of you live. 

If you are due to get married in any other religious building or church other than the Church of England, you will have to give notice at a Register Office.

When to give notice

You must give at least 29 full days’ notice.

If either you or your partner is not a British or Irish national and doesn’t have Indefinite Leave to Remain, pre settled or settled status, or a marriage or civil partnership visa, this may be extended to 71 days. This is because your case will be referred to the Home Office Referral Scheme under the Immigration Act 2014 and it requires extra time for consideration. The notice fee for those couples subject to referral will be charged the statutory fee for non-UK/Irish nationals.

Documents needed to give notice

Please note that all documents must be originals – photocopies will not be acceptable, and if any documents are in a foreign language you must provide a translated copy. Notice cannot be taken if you cannot produce your documents.

• View prescribed evidence for giving notice(pdf, 188KB)

Evidence of the venue where ceremony will take place

If you are being married or entering into a civil partnership in a venue/church outside London Borough of Richmond Upon Thames, you must produce either:

• The booking confirmation from the local register office showing the correct details of the place of marriage/civil partnership
• The official name of the church, together with its unique registration number. Your priest or minister will be able to tell you this information, and whether you will need a registrar from the local office to attend the service to register your marriage. Please be aware that the notice will include a legal statement confirming that the church or building is your usual place of worship – your priest or minister would normally provide a letter to confirm that either or both of you are in regular attendance

This is so that we can ensure the correct details for the place of marriage / civil partnership are entered onto the notice, in order to ensure that your ceremony can proceed as planned.

If the details that are shown for your venue are not correct, you would need to give fresh notices, and pay the statutory fees again. Therefore, we will not take your notice unless you are able to produce written confirmation of your booking.

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After you have given notice

Find out what happens after you have given notice.