Unless you are marrying in the Church of England or Church of Wales by Banns or Common Licence you must both attend a Register Office in person to give your Notices of Marriage. A Notice of Marriage is the legal preliminaries to a civil marriage whereby each party to the proposed marriage must attend in person before a Superintendent Registrar and declare that they are legally free to marry and produce certain documents. A fee is payable for this service.

If you are BOTH British, Swiss or EEA Nationals you are not subject to immigration control and must therefore, give your Notices of Marriage to the Superintendent Registrar for the district(s) in which you live.

If you live in Surrey and pay your council tax to one of these boroughs, Elmbridge, Epsom & Ewell, Guildford, Mole Valley, Reigate & Banstead, Runnymede, Spelthorne, Surrey Heath, Tandridge, Waverley, Woking, you can give notice at any one of four offices, Guildford, Frimley, Farnham, Leatherhead or Weybridge. Please telephone 0300 200 1002 to make an appointment.

If you live outside of Surrey, you will need to give your notice of marriage at the Register Office in the district(s) where you live.

If either of you is NOT a British, Swiss or EEA National, you may be subject to immigration control. We have more information on legal requirements for marriage for foreign nationals.

You will need to decide where and when you want to have your ceremony before you give your notices of marriage. Both of you must have lived in a registration district in England or Wales for at least eight nights immediately before giving notice of marriage at the Register Office. For example, if you arrive in a district on a Monday the earliest you can give notice is Tuesday week.

If you both live in the same district two notices must still be given. If you live in different registration districts then each of you will need to give notice in your own area.

After giving notice you must wait a further fifteen clear days before the marriage can take place. For example, if notice is given on 1 July the marriage may take place on or after 17 July. A fee is payable for giving each notice.

How far in advance may I make a ceremony booking?

A booking can be made up to a year in advance of the ceremony with the Superintendent Registrar of the district where you wish to marry. The sooner you arrange to book the more likely it is that you will get the date and time of your choice. Dates and times are allocated on a first come, first served basis and priority is given to personal callers at the office. The Superintendent Registrar will be able to give you more precise information in this respect. Remember, once you have booked your ceremony you must give notice of marriage.

Documents required

When you meet with the Superintendent Registrar to make the formal arrangements you will need to produce certain documents, which will be explained when you make your appointment. Please note that in all cases photocopies are not acceptable.

It is important that you remember to bring everything to the notice appointment. Failure to produce all the necessary paperwork may mean that we are unable to take your notice and you may have to rebook for a later date.

You will need to produce your passport as proof of your nationality. If you were born in the United Kingdom and have never held a passport your birth certificate may suffice. In this case, if you were born after 1 January 1983, your full birth certificate must be produced, together with the birth certificate of your mother or father to confirm your nationality. When you make your appointment booking, this will be discussed further if it applys to you.

You must also provide proof of residency e.g. recent utility bill or bank statement.

If either of you have been married before or through a previous civil partnership formation, you will need your original final divorce/dissolution papers bearing the court's original stamp*. If divorce/dissolution papers are not in English, you must provide a translation in addition to the original documents. If you are giving notice and following your divorce, you have reverted back to your maiden/previous name (which is different to that on the decree absolute); then your previous marriage/civil partnership certificate will be required to confirm the original name. Please ask when you make your appointment booking if you think that this may apply to you.
*Copies of divorce/dissolution papers can be obtained from the court where the decree absolute was granted.

If your husband, wife or civil partner died, a certificate of their death must be produced. If your name does not appear anywhere on that death certificate, then we will require to see your previous marriage/civil partnership certificate to confirm your relationship to the deceased.

Other documents may also be required depending on your circumstances. For example, any change of name documents such as deed poll or change of name deed. The consent of parents to a marriage where one of the couple is under the age of 18.

An appointment is required to give notice at Guildford, Frimley, Leatherhead or Weybridge, please telephone 0300 200 1002.

Please Note

On the day of the wedding, you will need to bring with you at least two other people who are prepared to witness the ceremony and sign to that effect (if an interpreter is required they must act as a witness).

Your marriage cannot go ahead unless the legal formalities have been completed. Notice of marriage must be given in person to the Superintendent Registrar by you and your partner. No one else can do so on your behalf. Where an advance booking for a marriage has been made it is essential that a formal notice is given at the prescribed time to the Superintendent Registrar of your residential district.