Giving notice

Anyone wishing to marry or form a civil partnership in England or Wales must give notice before their ceremony can take place.

Giving notice involves attending an appointment where you will declare:

• who you intend to marry or form a civil partnership with
• where the ceremony will take place
• that you are legally free to get married or form a civil partnership

Giving notice is a legal requirement.

You will need to provide certain documents to the registrar at your notice appointment, so it is important you check you have all the paperwork you will need.

Confirming your venue

You will need to have booked or confirmed the venue where your ceremony will take place before giving notice –

• if you plan to hold your ceremony in Lincolnshire, please book a ceremony date with us before attending your appointment
• if you plan to hold your ceremony outside of Lincolnshire, please ensure you have a ceremony booking in place with the local registrars

You must also decide on the type of ceremony you will have either a civil marriage or civil partnership. Neither the type of ceremony or venue can be changed once notice has been given.

When to give notice

• notice can be given up to 12 months in advance and are valid for 12 months.
• if your marriage or civil partnership does not take place within 12 months of giving notice, you will need to give fresh notices and pay the notice fee again
• if you change the venue for your ceremony, you will need to give notice again
• you must both give your notices at least 29 days before your ceremony date, however we recommend giving notice at least three months before
• if you or your partner are foreign nationals and are subject to immigration control, we may have to refer your marriage to the home office. So you both must give your notices at least 70 days before your ceremony date.

Where to give notice

• notice must be given in the district where you live, regardless of where your marriage or civil partnership occurs
• if you live in Lincolnshire, you can book an appointment to give notice at any of our registration offices
• if you live outside of Lincolnshire, you must give your notice of marriage or civil partnership at the registry office in your district(s)
• if you or your partner are foreign nationals subject to immigration control, you must both give notice together. Notices must be given in the district where you live.
• you can choose which district to give notice in if you live in separate districts.

If one or both of you live abroad, you must have lived within the registration district for at least seven full days immediately before you give notice. The day you arrive and the day you give notice do not count towards the seven-day residency requirement. You will be required to prove the residency period at your notice appointment. This rule has no exceptions, even if you are a British citizen living abroad.

If you live outside of Lincolnshire, you will need to contact your local council to arrange to give notice.

If you intend to hold your legal ceremony outside the UK, visit our getting married abroad page.

Documents you will need to give notice

To help ensure your notice of marriage or civil partnership appointment is completed successfully please bring details of the final venue for your ceremony as well as the legal documents listed below.

• all documents must be original or official copies

• photocopies are not acceptable

• the court must stamp any court-issued documents or, if you received the original version via email proof of the sender must be shown to the registrar at the appointment

Evidence of name and nationality

British citizens 

You will need to provide one of the following:

• a valid UK passport
• a UK citizenship certificate
  or
• the following, dependent on your date of birth

Please note: where using a birth certificate you must include nationality

There must be a clear link between your parents names on your birth certificate and any supporting evidence provided for your parents. If your parents have ever changed their names, then you may need to prove the link between names. This may be in the form of a certified change of name deed, marriage certificate or civil partnership certificate.

If you are using one of your parents birth certificates as proof of their nationality and your parent was also born on or after 1 January 1983, you may also need to provide additional proof from grandparents, Please contact us if this is the case

Irish citizens

A valid Irish passport.

EU citizens with the EU Settlement Scheme (settled and pre-settled status)

A valid EU passport and a EUSS check code. You can get a share code on the gov.uk website. You must provide this code to the registrar at your notice appointment. View and prove your immigration status

All other nationalities

• you should bring your passport
• evidence of your appropriate visa for marriage or civil partnership, or immigration status

If you do not have an appropriate visa your case will be referred to the Home Office at the appointment

Evidence of your address

One of the following:

Proof of marital status

If you have been married or in a civil partnership before, you must provide evidence of the legal ending of your previous marriage or civil partnership.

This could be in the form of the following:

The court must stamp any court-issued documents or, if you received the final documents by email, proof of the sender must be shown to the registrar at the appointment.

Evidence of change of name

If you use a different name than the one used on any of your supporting documents, you must provide further evidence to link all your names.

This may be in the form of a:

• previous marriage or civil partnership certificate(s)

• change of name deed(s)

Photographs

If either you or your partner are foreign nationals and you are subject to immigration control, each of you may be required to provide a photograph that must be a UK passport style and size, which;

• clearly shows the face of the party, which must:

  • have a neutral expression

  • not be wearing any head covering (other than for religious or medical reasons)

• shows only the party and no other person or object

• is unmarked, unaltered and without tears or creases

• was taken recently and shows a current likeness of the individual

Book a notice appointment

Appointment fees 

• your notice of marriage or civil partnership fee is £42 per person
• if your notice of marriage or civil partnership is referred to the Home Office it is £57 per person

If your last marriage was dissolved or annulled and your divorce document was issued outside the British Isles, it will need to be validated by Lincolnshire Registration Service or the General Register office.

• £55 if Lincolnshire Registration Service can clear the documents
• £83 if the documents require referral to the General Register Office (GRO)

All notice appointment fees are payable at the point of booking.

Book an appointment

Please note you are not booking your marriage or civil partnership ceremony. This appointment is to complete the legal paperwork only.

Before booking an appointment to give notice, it is your responsibility to read and understand the following:

• your appointment will last approximately 30 minutes per person.
• if there are any language difficulties, you must arrange for a suitable translator to attend with you.
• a booking fee will be required to secure your appointment. This will be the total cost of your notice appointment.
• you must bring all required documents to your appointment. Failure to do so will result in us not being able to take your notice.

Give notice of marriage

Give notice of civil partnership

Next step: make your day special