Giving notice of intention

If you wish to get married or form a civil partnership in England or Wales you must each give formal ‘Notice’ to a Superintendent Registrar at least 16 days before the date of your ceremony. The notices will be displayed on the public notice boards of the Register Offices where they were given, for fifteen clear days.

  • for a marriage: the Authorities for marriage will be issued on the sixteenth day and it is your responsibility to ensure that both of your Authorities are in the possession of the Register who attends you on the day of your ceremony, otherwise the marriage cannot take place
  • for a civil partnership: your schedule will be printed directly by the Registrar who will be attending you on the day of your ceremony

A legal document covered by the Perjury Act 1911, a notice states the names of the people intending to be married or to form a civil partnership, age, marital status, address, occupation, nationality, the intended venue for the ceremony and is valid for twelve months. Both of you must give notice in person. A relative or friend cannot do this on your behalf nor can you give notice by telephone, fax or email.

If both you and your partner are EU citizens then you will each need to give notice to the Superintendent Registrar of the district in which you reside. The minimum period of residence required for giving Notice of Intention is seven clear days.

For example: if you arrived in England or Wales on the first day of February, and are establishing residency in order to qualify to give notice you would be eligible to give notice on 9 February:

  • day of arrival - 1st of February
  • first complete day of residency - 2nd February
  • notice can be given 7 days later, on 9 February

If one or both of you are non-EU citizens then you will each need to give notice to the Superintendent Registrar of a designated Register Office. You will need to refer to the following link Information for non-EU citizens for further details.

It will cost £35 for each notice given and this fee is paid to the Superintendent Registrar at the time of giving notice.