Documents required when giving notice

When you attend your appointment at the register office, you need to take proof of your name, age, and nationality. This is usually your:

• Valid passport

For British citizens only, if you do not have a valid passport, you may alternatively present your:

• Birth certificate*

• Certificate of Naturalisation, or Certificate of Registration, as a British citizen granted by the Secretary of State

*If you were born after 31 December 1982 please take your full birth certificate, which shows your parents’ names, with:

• Your mother’s birth certificate.

  •  If your mother was born on or before 31 December 1982 this can be a short or a full birth certificate.

  • If your mother was born after 31 December 1982, please ensure your mother's birth certificate is a full certificate, showing her parents' names, and additionally take your maternal grandmother's short or full birth certificate.

  • If your maternal grandmother's birth certificate is not available, and your maternal grandparents are/were married to each other, you can take your maternal grandfather's short or full certificate and maternal grandparents' marriage certificate instead.

• If your mother's birth certificate is not available and your natural parents are/were married to each other, you can take your father's birth certificate and parents' marriage certificate instead.

  • If your father was born on or before 31 December 1982 this can be a short or a full birth certificate.

  • If your father was born after 31 December 1982, please ensure your father's birth certificate is a full certificate, showing his parents' names, and additionally take your paternal grandmother's short or full birth certificate.

  • If your paternal grandmother's birth certificate is not available, and your paternal grandparents are/were married to each other, you can take your paternal grandfather's short or full certificate and paternal grandparents' marriage certificate instead.

• If your parents' birth certificates are not available, a valid parent's UK passport can be accepted, but it must be in the name that appears on your full birth certificate. Please note that if it is your father's passport, we will also require your parents' marriage certificate.

If you are adopted, your adoption certificate should be produced together with the birth certificate of either your adopted mother or father.

If you produce your birth certificate, certificate of naturalisation, or certificate of registration you must bring one of the first six items on the list of acceptable proof of address documents (the seventh item is not acceptable in this instance).

When you attend your appointment at the register office, you need to take proof of your name, age, and nationality. This is usually your:

• Valid passport

• Please note EEA and Swiss ID cards are not acceptable proof of nationality

You must also provide proof of your EUSS leave (either settled status, pre-settled status, or a pending application for such leave). To prove that you have settled status or pre-settled status, you must request a share code no more than 30 days before your notice appointment to provide to the registration officer during your appointment.

If your application for EUSS leave is still pending, and you do not yet have confirmed status, providing you applied for your EUSS leave before 1 July 2021, a share code must be produced to prove this. If you are not able to produce a share code then please telephone 0300 123 6705 before you book an appointment.

Please note some couples must take passport style photographs for the registration officer to retain (see below for more detail).

You need to take proof of your name, age, and nationality. This is usually your:

• Valid passport

• Please note EEA and Swiss ID cards are not acceptable proof of nationality

• Valid travel document issued in the United Kingdom at the discretion of the Secretary of State to persons who have been formally and, in the view of the Secretary of State, unreasonably, refused a passport by the authorities in their own countries and who have

  • been granted limited leave to enter or remain or humanitarian protection on rejection of a claim for asylum or for recognition as a stateless person; or

  • been granted indefinite leave to remain

• Valid travel document issued pursuant to Article 28 of the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees done at Geneva on 28 July 1951

• Valid travel document issued pursuant to Article 28 of the Stateless Convention

  If you are exempt from immigration control you should also bring proof of your exemption e.g. Right of Abode, Military Exemption, or Diplomatic Exemption. This can be in the form of:

• Valid UK certificate of entitlement in passport

• Valid UK entry clearance in passport

• Valid Home Office endorsement in passport

If you are unsure about whether you have a qualifying exemption, please phone us on 0300 123 6705 during opening hours, which are Monday to Friday 9am to 4.30pm.

If you have settled status (not connected with the EUSS), i.e. indefinite leave to enter or indefinite leave to remain, you should also take proof of your settled status. This can be in the form of:

• Valid e-visa (to share your e-visa information, you must request a share code no more than 30 days before your notice appointment)

• Valid Home Office endorsement in passport

• Valid UK residence permit in passport

If you have a valid marriage visitor or fiancé(e) visa/entry clearance you should also take:

• Valid UK visa/entry clearance in passport

You and your partner must additionally each take a passport style photograph to the appointment to be retained by the registration officer (see below for guidance).

If you have any other type of visa or immigration status or cannot prove your immigration status your marriage/civil partnership will be referred to the Home Office, and your notice period may be extended to 70 days for further investigation. The marriage/civil partnership cannot take place until approval is granted by the Home Office.

You should take proof of your immigration status, if available.

You and your partner must additionally each take a passport style photograph to the appointment to be retained by the registration officer (see below for guidance).

If either party to marriage or civil partnership is a citizen of any country other than UK and Ireland, without EUSS leave, an immigration control exemption, or settled status, both parties must take a passport style photograph to the appointment to be retained by the registration officer.

Your photo should:

• have been taken recently and show a current likeness

• be taken against a plain, light-coloured background

• include your head, shoulders, and upper body

• not contain other objects or people

• not have ‘red eye’

• not be marked, altered, torn, or creased

In your photo you should:

• be in clear contrast to the background

• be facing forwards, and looking straight at the camera

• have a plain expression (not smiling)

• have your mouth closed

• have your eyes open and visible

• not have hair in front of your eyes

• not have a head covering (unless it is for religious or medical reasons)

• not have anything covering your face

• not have any shadows on your face or behind you

If you do not take a photograph each to your appointment, and photographs are required, the registration officer will not be able to take your notices.

The registrar also needs proof of your individual address. Only items from the following list may be accepted.

Please make sure all documents are original and not photocopies. If your proof of address document is issued electronically only (for example you receive bank statements online), please be prepared to show this during the appointment on your electronic device. If your proof of address document is issued in paper form, you must present the paper document at your appointment.

Failure to bring original documents, or failure to be able to show your electronic proof of address document (if applicable), would prevent your appointment from proceeding. You would then need to re-book and pay another fee. Please note that electronic documentation can only be presented for proof of address.

Please bring one item from the list for each person attending:

• Gas, water, electricity, or landline telephone bill dated no more than three months before the date of your notice appointment. Mobile telephone bills are not acceptable.

• Bank or building society statement or passbook dated no more than one month before the date of your notice appointment. Please note credit card statements are not acceptable.

• Most recent Council Tax bill dated within 12 months of the date of your notice appointment.

• Mortgage statement dated within 12 months of the date of your notice appointment.

• Current residential tenancy agreement.

• Valid UK driving licence which shows your current address (Full or provisional issued by the UK, Isle of Man or Channel Islands).

• Letter from the owner or landlord confirming you live there at the time notice is given (dated within 1 month of your notice appointment). The letter should confirm:

  • Period of time at the address to include date of arrival

  • Name and address of the householder and their signature dated no more than one month of your notice appointment

  • Landlord’s name, address and their signature dated no more than one month of the notice appointment.

  • The letter must be accompanied with the householder’s gas, water or electricity bill dated no more than three months before the notice appointment.

Please bring the original court stamped final order (known as a decree absolute prior to 6 April 2022) with you when you come to your notice appointment. Photocopies are not acceptable. If your divorce was not granted in a UK court, additional fees of up to £83 for each divorce will be payable on the day of your appointment.

If you are not using the name on the final order (decree absolute) and do not have a change of name document to evidence this, you will also need to provide a copy of your marriage certificate(s).

If your dissolution was not granted in a UK court and the documents are not written in English, we will need a full translation of your documents, including any stamps. Depending on the country where your dissolution took place, the registration officer may also need to get in touch with the General Register Office to confirm if your proposed Marriage or Civil Partnership can go ahead.

Please note that this could delay the issue of your Marriage or Civil Partnership Schedule and may affect how soon you can get married/form a Civil Partnership. Please phone us for advice, if needed, on 0300 123 6705 during opening hours, which are Monday to Friday 9am to 4.30pm.

• The death certificate of your former spouse/civil partner.

If you are not recorded on the death certificate as the spouse/civil partner of the deceased person you will need to provide your marriage or civil partnership certificate.

• All documentation related to your name change will be required

If you have lost your name change documentation, reverted to a previous name, or have inherited a name by common usage, please phone us on 0300 123 6705 during opening hours, which are Monday to Friday 9am to 4.30pm for further advice about what documentation to bring with you. If the registration officer is unable to link your documentation, they will be unable to proceed with your appointment.