Documents needed to give notice of a marriage or civil partnership

Marriage or civil partnership documents needed: British, Irish or EEA nationals with EUSS status

You will need to provide evidence of:

Your nationality

You need to bring one of the following:

  • valid passport
  • citizenship certificate confirming British Citizenship
  • British birth certificates
    • if you were born prior to 1 January 1983 we will need to see either your full or short birth certificate
    • if you were born on or after 1 January 1983 we will need to see your full birth certificate, which includes your parents' details, plus either your mother or father's British birth certificate if your parents were married when you were born (if your parents were unmarried when you were born then only your mother's birth certificate can be accepted; please note that if you are providing your father's birth certificate, you must also provide your parent's marriage certificate: if your parents were born outside the UK, then you must provide evidence of British nationality at the time of your birth)
    • if your parents were born on or after 1 January 1983 we will also need to see evidence of their parents' nationality; this is quite complex, so please email life.events@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk for further guidance

EUSS scheme status (if applicable)

In addition to the above, if one or both of you are EEA nationals with EUSS status granted or applied for before 30 June 2021 you must obtain a unique code prior to your appointment which will allow the registrar to check and verify your immigration status. The code is valid for a period of 30 days, so please ensure that it is valid on the day of your appointment. Find out how to get your code.

If one or both parties to the marriage or civil partnership are EEA nationals without EUSS status then please refer to the documents listed under the heading of “If one or both of you are EEA without EU Settlement Scheme EUSS status or non-EEA nationals” as the required documents are slightly different.

Your address

Please bring one of the following:

  • utility bill dated no more than three months prior to the date of the appointment
  • bank or building society statement or passbook dated no more than one month prior to the date of the appointment
  • Council Tax bill dated no more than one year prior to the date of the appointment
  • mortgage statement from the last 12 months
  • current residential tenancy agreement
  • valid driving licence in the name of the person giving notice of marriage
  • letter from the owner or proprietor of the address which is the person's place of residence, proof will be required that the person is the tenant or householder e.g. current tenancy agreement/mortgage statement; this letter must include:
    • the name, address, date and signature of the owner / proprietor
    • confirmation that this person is the owner / proprietor
    • confirmation of the name of the person giving notice and that they have been resident at the address for at least the eight days immediately prior to the notice appointment

Evidence of your age

If either of you are under the age of 18 we will need to see proof that your parent, or guardians, agree to the marriage. If your parents are divorced we may also need to see the court order that gives custody to one of them.

Evidence of any name changes

Evidence of any name change (marriage certificate; deed poll etc).

If you are divorced or widowed

If you have been married or in a civil partnership before, we will need to see:

  • Final order or decree absolute
    • if your divorce was granted in England or Wales and you have been issued with a paper version of your final order or decree absolute from the court
    • if your divorce was granted in England or Wales and you have been issued with an electronic version of the final order or decree absolute, we will need to see this but not electronically this must be printed and brought to the office in paper format
    • if your divorce was granted outside England and Wales, we will need to see the final divorce documents issued along with a full translation into English if the document was written in any other language
      • a fee is chargeable for clearance of any divorces granted in countries outside England and Wales, the fee will be either £50 or £75, depending on whether these have to be referred to the General Register Office for the Registrar General to confirm whether the document is acceptable under British law; it is not possible to specify how long it may take for approval to come and authorities to marry or form a civil partnership cannot be issued until this approval is received (please do take this into account when considering a marriage or formation date as there may be a significant delay before a ceremony can take place)
  • the death certificate of the spouse / civil partner – if the surviving partner is not mentioned on the death certificate, then you must also provide a certified copy of the marriage or civil partnership certificate

The presumed death certificate of the spouse.

If you do not bring all the required, original, valid, documentation we will not be able to complete your notice and a further appointment will have to be booked and paid for.

Some of my documents are not in English, what should I bring?

If any of your documents are in any language other than English, you will need to bring the original document plus a full translation, into English. These documents must be certified at the bottom by the translator stating “I certify this to be a true translation of the document”. The name, address, telephone number and signature of the person who translated the document(s) must be included.