Documents required for marriage

When you attend before the superintendent registrar or vicar to make the formal arrangements, you will need to produce documents containing evidence of your name, age, marital status and nationality.

A birth certificate or current valid full passport would be the preferred documents – or, where appropriate, a Home Office travel document, a standard acknowledgement letter or a nationality identity card.

If you have been married before, you will need to produce documents to confirm that you are now free to marry again. These can include either a decree absolute bearing the court's original stamp or the death certificate of your former spouse and your marriage certificate.

Depending on your individual circumstances, other documents may be required. Your local superintendent registrar will be able to advise you. You should be aware that photocopies are not accepted.

On the day of the wedding, you will need to bring with you at least two other people who are prepared to witness the marriage and sign the marriage register.

Your marriage cannot go ahead unless the legal formalities have been completed. You and your partner must give notices of marriage in person to the superintendent registrar. No one else can do so on your behalf.

Registration officers have a statutory duty to report any marriage they suspect has been arranged for the sole purpose of evading the statutory immigration controls.