Marriage and civil partnership registration

You'll need to bring documents when you 'give notice' of getting married or forming a civil partnership. These must be original documents – photocopies will not be accepted.

You must bring originals of the following documents to your appointment:

• details of the final venue for your ceremony
• proof of your identity
• proof of your home address
• proof of any name changes – for example, a copy of a deed poll

To prove your identity, bring one of the following:

• a valid passport – or your full UK birth certificate, if you were born before 1 January 1983
• a valid UK-issued travel document
• a biometric immigration document

To prove your address, bring one of the following:

• valid UK or Irish driving licence
• gas, water or electricity bill from the last 3 months
• bank or building society statement from the last month
• Council Tax bill from the last 12 months
• mortgage statement from the last 12 months
• current tenancy agreement
• letter from your landlord – dated within the last 7 days – confirming you live there and including your landlord's name, address and their signature

If your normal address is outside the UK, you'll need to give details of a UK contact address. For example, this could be your partner, friend or family member's address.

If you've been married or in a civil partnership before

You'll also need to bring one of the following documents:

• a decree absolute or final order
• your former partner's death certificate – if you are not named on this certificate, you must also bring your former marriage or civil partnership certificate

You need to bring proof of your divorce, annulment or dissolution if it was granted outside of the UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man. You'll have to pay a fee to get your documents checked – go to fees and charges for current details.

If you or your partner are from outside the UK

You'll also need to bring:

• a passport sized photo for each of you, even if only one of you is from outside the UK
• proof of your current immigration status – for example, your visa
• a translation of any documents that are not in English

If you're from the EU, EEA or have settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme

You'll need to bring confirmation of either:

• your settled or pre-settled status - you'll need to bring a 'share code', which you can get from the 'view and prove your immigration status' service and will be valid for 30 days
• an application to the EU Settlement Scheme you made on or before 30 June 2021, which you're waiting for a decision on - you'll need to bring your certificate of application

Next steps

Go to:

• giving notice
• booking your appointment