Giving notice of marriage or civil partnership

Visit the government’s website for a checklist to make sure you can get married or form a civil partnership. Please note, you must be aged 18 or above to get married or form a civil partnership.

Before you get married or form a civil partnership, you must give notice. 

Giving notice means that you must go to your local register office and sign a statement to say you intend to get married or form a civil partnership.

When to give notice

You need to decide where you will have your marriage or civil partnership ceremony before you give notice.

You must give notice at least 29 days before your ceremony.

For example, if you give notice on 1 June, the earliest date you can get married or form a civil partnership is 30 June.

You must hold your ceremony within 12 months of giving notice.

Where to give notice

You usually need to give notice at your local register office. You must have lived in that registration district for the past 7 days.

Find your local register office.

You and your partner will need to give notice separately if you live in different registration districts. You do not have to do this on the same day.

Each person wishing to get married or form a civil partnership has to give notice of intention to marry in person, no one else can do this for them.

If one of you is from outside the UK

You and your partner must give notice together, unless you both have one of the following:

  • British or Irish citizenship
  • settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme
  • an application to the EU Settlement Scheme that you made before 30 June 2021, which you’re waiting for a decision on.

You must give your notice together at a register office in the district where at least one of you lives. If at least one of you lives in Slough, you can give notice together at the Slough Register Office.

If your partner gave notice separately before 1 July 2021, they will need to give notice again with you.

Giving notice at Slough Register Office

You must contact the Register Office to make an appointment to give notice.

The cost of your notice depends on your circumstances.

It will cost £35 per person if you are a:

  • UK national resident in the UK
  • EU national resident in the UK
  • non-UK or EU national holding indefinite leave to remain who are resident in the UK
  • non-UK or EU national coming into the UK with a marriage or civil partnership visa.

It will cost £47 person if you are a:

  • non-UK or EU national resident in the UK 
  • non-UK or EU national coming into the UK with any other type of visa or no visa.

Contact the Register Office

Contact the register office