Documents for marriage license uk

You may be emotionally blackmailed or physically threatened, usually by your family. It is not the same as an arranged marriage, where both parties have a choice and agree to the marriage. In England and Wales, forced marriage is a criminal offence. If someone forces you into marriage, they could go to prison for up to seven years. If you're afraid that you or someone else may be forced into marriage in the UK or overseas, you should contact the Forced Marriage Unit for advice. In an emergency, you should call the police on If you are being forced into marriage or are already in a forced marriage, you can apply to the county court for a Forced Marriage Protection Order to protect you.

It can also require family members to reveal where you are. The police can also apply for a Forced Marriage Protection Order.

If someone breaks the order, it is a criminal offence and they could be sent to prison for up to five years in England and Wales. You should get legal advice as soon as you can. You may get legal aid. Karma Nirvana is a charity that supports victims of honour-based abuse and forced marriage. You can call their helpline on or get help on the Karma Nirvana website.

You can find out more about forced marriage on GOV. Its contact details are on the GOV. As a charity, we rely on your support to help millions of people solve their problems each year. Please donate if you can to help us continue our work. We use cookies to improve your experience of our website. You can find out more or opt-out from some cookies.

Home Family Living together, marriage and civil partnership Getting married. Getting married This advice applies to England. Who can get married In the United Kingdom, opposite sex couples can marry in a civil or religious ceremony. Transgender people A transgender person who has applied for and has been granted a full gender recognition certificate by the Gender Recognition Panel can get a new birth certificate which reflects their acquired gender.

Who cannot get married Some relatives are not allowed to marry. A person cannot marry any of the following relatives: a child, including an adopted child a parent, including an adoptive parent a brother or sister, including a half-brother or half-sister a parent's brother or sister, including a half-brother or half-sister a grandparent a grandchild a brother's or sister's, including half-brother's or half-sister's, child. People who are step relations or in-laws may marry only in certain circumstances.

Getting engaged Engagements are mainly for cultural reasons and have limited status. Pre-nuptial and post-nuptial agreements A pre-nuptial agreement is a contract entered into before marriage which outlines how a couple wish to divide their money and property if they get divorced.

Where can a marriage take place A marriage can take place in:- a Register Office premises approved by the local authority such as a hotel a church of the Church of England, Church in Wales a synagogue or any other private place if both partners are Jewish a Meeting House if one or both partners are either members of the Society of Friends Quakers or are associated with the Society by attending meetings any registered religious building England and Wales only the home of one of the partners if the partner is housebound or detained, for example, in prison a place where one partner is seriously ill and not expected to recover, for example, in hospital a licensed naval, military or air force chapel Same sex couples can only marry in a religious ceremony, if the religious organisation has agreed to carry out same sex weddings, and the premises have been registered for the marriage of same sex couples.

Local authority approved premises Local authorities in England and Wales may approve premises other than Register Offices where civil marriages may take place. How to marry You can get married by a civil ceremony or a religious ceremony.

In both cases, the following legal requirements must be met:- the marriage must be conducted by a person or in the presence of a person authorised to register marriages in the district the marriage must be entered in the marriage register and signed by both parties, two witnesses, the person who conducted the ceremony and, if that person is not authorised to register marriages, the person who is registering the marriage.

Civil marriage ceremonies Giving notice You and your partner must give notice of marriage in your local Register Office, whether or not you wish to marry in that district. Documents you'll need to give notice You and your partner will be asked for certain information when giving notice of your intention to marry. Giving false information is a criminal offence. The information which may be required is:- evidence of name and address evidence of date of birth if one partner has been married before or in a civil partnership, documentary evidence that the marriage or civil partnership has ended, for example, a death certificate or decree absolute.

This can take about a week evidence of nationality. If you or your partner are from outside the UK People from overseas may be asked to show their passports. You won't be subject to immigration control if any of the following apply: you're a British citizen or someone with right of abode in the UK or you're an EEA national or you don't have any conditions attached to your stay in the UK because you are for example, a diplomat, or a member of visiting armed forces you have indefinite leave to remain or settled status in the UK You can find more information on coming to the UK to marry on GOV.

What happens at the ceremony The marriage ceremony in the local Register Office or local authority approved premises will take approximately minutes. Signing the marriage register After the ceremony, the marriage register is signed by both partners and the registrar.

Paying the registrar fee A fee must be paid for the ceremony. Religious marriage ceremonies The Church of England and the Church in Wales are allowed to register a marriage at the same time as performing the religious ceremony. Marriages in the Church of England and Church in Wales opposite sex couples only Instead of going to the Superintendent Registrar before the ceremony, banns a notice of the proposed marriage can be read in the parish church of each of the partners and in the church where it has been agreed the marriage can take place.

Religious ceremonies and civil ceremonies If a couple has been married in a Register Office, the partners can have a religious marriage ceremony afterwards. Marrying outside England or Wales If you want to get married outside England and Wales you will need to follow the procedure of the law in that country. Marrying in England or Wales if one partner lives elsewhere If one partner lives in Scotland or in Northern Ireland, the marriage can take place in England or Wales but certain procedures must be followed.

Overseas recognition of United Kingdom marriages A legally valid marriage performed in England or Wales is recognised in many other countries. Marriages by proxy A marriage by proxy is one where one or both partners are not physically present at the ceremony. These indexes are also available on a pay-per-view basis on the EnglishOrigins website mentioned above.

The bonds for Faculty Office licenses, , also at Lambeth Palace Library, will provide the occupation of the groom if this does not appear in the allegation [not filmed by FHL ]. Prior to January the Vicars General and after that date the Archbishop of Canterbury through his Faculty Office could also issue "Special" Licenses allowing marriage "at any time and in any church or chapel or other meet and convenient place". Considered to be "special acts of grace and favor" on the part of the Archbishop, their granting was much restricted in From about they begin to specify the place of marriage.

The numbers issued were tiny six in , twenty-two in compared with 2, common licenses issued annually through the Vicar General and Faculty Offices, but the number greatly increased after the Second World War.

The allegations, always made through a proctor, were bound with those of the Faculty Office and their indexes have been published to as described above. Different marriage laws in Scotland mean that very few marriages followed license, although they may be found in periods in the 17th century when the Episcopalian Church was in the ascendant.

From to all marriages in Ireland, excepting only those of Quakers and Jews, were supposed to take place according to the rites of the Church of Ireland, and licenses were issued in much the same way as in England. Extracts from those issued by the Archbishop of Armagh and by the Bishop of Dublin , with copies of parts of the calendars of licenses for the other dioceses except Derry , survive at the National Archives of Ireland, but practically all the allegations and bonds have been destroyed.

Details are given in the Gibson Guide mentioned below. From 1 July it has also been possible for a marriage to take place, without banns, in a District Register Office or in a certified building usually a Roman Catholic or Nonconformist church or chapel , either by Certificate or by License, both issued by the Local Superintendent Registrar.

Most have been microfilmed by the Family History Library. A catalogue of the collection at the Society of Genealogists is provided by Marriage licenses abstracts and indexes in the library of the Society of Genealogists Society of Genealogists, 4th edition, [ FHL has 3rd ed.

The marriage bond index may be searched on the internet using the ISYS:web catalogue. A useful index, with abstracts of about 20, original marriage licenses , collected mainly from churches in the London area by Frederick Arthur Crisp some of the originals have since been dispersed , is at the Society of Genealogists [not filmed by FHL ]. To learn more about England Church Records click here. Family History Library.

Memories Overview Gallery People Find. Sign in Create Account. Family Tree. From FamilySearch Wiki. Couples in a hurry or requiring privacy might include those where: 1. The bride was pregnant or the groom was on leave from the Army or Navy. The parties differed in social standing, such as a master marrying a servant.

The parties were of full age but still faced family opposition to their marriage. Allegations and Bonds The church had issued licenses to marry, dispensing with banns, at least from the 14th century. Overseas divorce papers This must be the original and final divorce. If the divorce is not in English you will need to provide a full 3rd party translation. You or your partner cannot do the translation, but a friend or relative can.

There is no need to pay for a professional translation. A death certificate This must be the original death certificate and link you to your former husband or wife. You may need to provide the original marriage certificate so we can establish a link. Documents confirming annulment If a marriage has been annulled you will need to show an original document proving this. Back to top Book your appointment Ongoing instability with the national registration system, Registration Online RON , means that there may be delays at appointments.

Book a Notice appointment Please note: do not book an appointment before 9am, after 4pm or on a Saturday if available if: you are subject to immigration you need an interpreter you have an overseas divorce the Register Office does not provide interpreters Please email registrars haringey.

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