MARRIAGE IN DENMARK AND UK

Persons wishing to marry in Denmark, please contact your local council for information. The procedures will vary depending on the council.
 
Persons wishing to marry in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, regardless of the country in which they are citizens or residents, are subject to specific legal regulations. 
 
You will find useful information on both civil and religious ceremonies including details on where those ceremonies may take place. You will also be able to obtain information on the legal formalities you are required to follow before marriage, together with information on the current fees and any documents you may need to produce before marriage.
 
General Requirements
Two unmarried people of opposite sex who are at least 18 years of age are free to marry, provided they are not closely related members of the same family. Persons between the ages of 16 and 18 may marry under the same conditions, but with the written consent of their parents or legal guardians. If the parents or guardians are overseas, a notary or consular officer should witness their signatures.
 
When notifying a religious or civil authority of intent to marry, proof of identity is required in the form of a passport or birth certificate. Those who have been previously married will be required to produce documentary evidence of the death of their former spouse or of the dissolution of the marriage, in the form of a certified (NOTE: notarised by a lawyer or notary public) copy of a death certificate or divorce decree. If any of these documents is written in a foreign language, certified English translations will need to be provided.
 
A marriage ceremony may be performed in a place of religious worship, a register office, or public premises that have been registered for marriages by the Registrar General of England and Wales. Civil marriages may, therefore, occur in stately homes, castles, civic buildings or hotels (but not in open-air venues) which have been officially registered for this purpose.
 
Warning: All Overseas residents wishing to be married in Britain are warned against marriage agents who claim the ability to procure marriages quickly without meeting the necessary residency requirements. It is not legally possible to achieve this. In addition, any person making a false statement as to residence or any other particular contained in a notice of marriage is liable to prosecution for perjury.
 
How to contact us
If you have any further questions which you feel have not been answered by our web site pages you can contact us:
 
Marriages Section
General Register Office
Smedley Hydro
Trafalgar Road
Southport
PR8 2HH
Tel: +44 (0)151 471 4803/4814
Fax: +44 (0)151 471 4523
marriages.gro@ons.gov.uk
 
If you wish to marry by civil ceremony, at a register office or other building approved for civil marriage, you will need to contact the superintendent registrar of the district where you wish to marry. You may marry at any register office or approved premises of your choice in England or Wales.
 
However, for a marriage in an approved premise e.g a hotel licensed by the local authority, you will also need to make arrangements at the venue. In addition, you will both need to personally give a formal notice of your marriage to the superintendent registrar of the district(s) where you live.
 
Local Services can provide you with a paper copy of the list for £5.00. You can pay by credit or debit card over the telephone or apply in writing enclosing a cheque or postal order (for £5.00) made payable to ONS.
 
How to contact Local Services:
 
Office for National Statistics, ONS
Local Services
PO Box 56
Southport PR8 2GL
United Kingdom
Tel: 0044 151 471 4458 or Tel: +44 (151) 471 4817
local.services@ons.gov.uk
 
Marriage in Church of England or Church in Wales

If you wish to be married in the Church of England or Church in Wales - and generally you will be able to do so only if you or your partner live in the parish - you should first speak to the Vicar. If he agrees to marry you he will arrange for the Banns to be called on three Sundays before the day of your ceremony or for a common licence to be issued. The marriage will also need to be registered by the Vicar. There is usually no need to involve the local superintendent registrar.
 
A Church of England marriage ceremony may be solemnised in either of the following ways:
 
The Publication of Banns
The publication of banns is the procedure used for announcing aloud during a church service that a couple intends to marry. Application for the publication of banns should be made to the clergyman of the parish in which each party is resident. Banns are published on three successive Sundays, after which the couple can marry at any time within the next three months.
 
Common Licence
This procedure dispenses with the need to have banns published. One of the parties must swear an affidavit indicating that there is no legal impediment to the marriage and that one of the parties has been resident in the parish where the marriage will take place for at least fifteen consecutive days prior to the affidavit being sworn. The marriage may then take place at any time within the next three months. Marriage by common licence also requires that one of the parties has been baptised, and that neither party has a former spouse who is still living.
 
Note: Church authorities advise that marriage in a Church of England venue between two foreigners or between a foreigner and a British subject should be by common licence and not after the publication of banns.
 
Further information is available from:
 
Church of England
Enquiry Centre
Church House
Great Smith Street
London SW1P 3NZ
United Kingdom
Tel: 0044 207 222 9011
 
Other places of religious worship
If you wish to marry by religious ceremony other than in the Church of England or Church in Wales you should first arrange to see the minister or other person in charge of marriages at the building. However, the Church or religious building in question must normally be in the registration district where you or your partner live. It will also be necessary for both of you to give formal notice of your marriage to the superintendent registrar of the district(s) where you live. A registrar may also need to be booked from the Register Office in order to register the marriage.
 
Information on Roman Catholic, Jewish or Quaker marriage ceremonies can be obtained from the following addresses:
 
Catholic Marriage Care Limited
1 Blythe Mews
Blythe Road
London NW3 0NW
Tel: 0044 207 371 1341
Fax: 0044 207 371 4921
 
Jewish Marriage Council
23 Ravenshurst Avenue
London NW1 4EL
United Kingdom
Tel: 0044 208 203 6311
Fax: 0044 208 203 8727
 
Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)
Friends House
173-177 Euston Road
London NW1 2BJ
Tel: 0044 207 663 1000
Fax: 0044 207 663 1001
 
Civil Ceremonies

In order for a civil marriage ceremony to take place, one of the following certificates is required. Although a period of residence in the district of registration is required, the marriage may take place at a venue in a different part of the country.
 
Superintendent Registrar's Certificate
Both parties are required to give notice (commence marriage proceedings) and must have been resident in the district where notice is given for seven preceding days. A period of 21 clear days (excluding a Sunday, Christmas Day or Good Friday) must then pass before the Superintendent Registrar can issue the certificate that allows you to marry. The marriage can then take place any time within three months.
 
Superintendent Registrar's Certificate and Licence
One party must have resided in the registration district for 15 consecutive days preceding the giving of notice. However, both parties must be resident in England or Wales on the day that notice is given. One clear day must pass before the Registrar can issue the certificate and licence, after which the marriage may take place any time within the following three months.
 
Further information about these procedures and details of local register offices can be obtained from:
 
Registrar General for England and Wales
Marriages Section
Smedley Hydro
Trafalgar Road
Southport PR8 2HH
United Kingdom
Tel: 0044 151 471 4800
Fax: 0044 151 471 4523
www.gro.gov.uk 

Scotland
In Scotland, people aged 16 or over do not require parental consent to marry and, unlike England and Wales, there is no residency requirement. Both parties must submit, either in person or by post, completed marriage notices. The notices must be submitted to the registrar a minimum of 4-6 weeks, and a maximum of three months, prior to the date of the proposed marriage. This preliminary procedure applies for both civil and religious marriages. Documentation that must accompany the marriage notices includes original or certified birth certificates and original or certified divorce decrees.
 
For a list of registrars in Scotland, to order marriage notice forms, or to receive further information, contact:
 
General Register Office for Scotland
New Register House
Edinburgh EH1 3YT
Scotland
Tel: 0044 131 314 4447
Fax: 0044 131 314 4400
www.gro-scotland.gov.uk

Northern Ireland
Parental consent is required for persons under 18 years of age who wish to marry in Northern Ireland. For civil marriages, prior residence is required on the part of both parties. After notice has been given to the registrar, there is an additional waiting period after which the registrar may issue authority for the marriage. In certain religious marriages, it may not be necessary to serve notice on a registrar, but a period of residency may be necessary. In addition to providing original or certified birth certificates and original or certified documentation of the death of a former spouse or the dissolution or annulment of a marriage, marriages involving a person from abroad require that an official travel or identity document be provided for that person.
Further information about marriage procedures and requirements in Northern Ireland is available from:
 
General Register Office
Oxford House
49-55 Chichester Street
Belfast BT1 4HL
Northern Ireland
Tel: 0044 1232 25200
 
Legal Formalities for Marriage
Unless you are marrying in the Church of England or Church in Wales by Banns or Common Licence, notice of marriage has to be given personally to your local superintendent registrar(s) at the Register Office in the district in which you and your partner reside.
 
A notice of marriage states the names of the parties to the marriage, age, marital status, address, occupation nationality and the intended venue for the marriage. It is a legal document covered by the Perjury Act 1911.
 
Both of you must have lived in a registration district in England or Wales for at least seven days immediately before giving notice at the register office. If you both live in the same district, you should both attend your local register office together to give your notices of marriage.
 
If you live in different registration districts then each of you will need to give notice separately in your respective district. After giving notice you must wait a further sixteen 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).
 
Your marriage cannot go ahead unless the legal formalities have been completed. Notices 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 to the superintendent registrar, once you are legally able to do so.
 
Registration Officers have a statutory duty to report any marriage they suspect has been arranged for the sole purpose of evading statutory immigration controls.
 
There are nationally set fees for giving notice to the superintendent registrar and the registrar's attendance at the marriage at a register office or religious building. However, the fee for the attendance of the superintendent registrar and registrar at a marriage in an approved premises (for example, at a hotel) is set by the local authority. The superintendent registrar of the district where you wish to marry will be able to provide you with details of the fees payable.
 
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.
 
If you wish to know more about marriage ceremonies at register offices or at approved premises please ask the superintendent registrar for details. While a marriage ceremony in the presence of a superintendent registrar cannot, by law, contain any religious aspects, it may be possible, with agreement, to include non-religious music and/or readings and for the wedding to be videoed.
 
This information is issued for general guidance and is not a complete statement of the law. For further information on any aspect of the formalities to, or the ceremony of marriage, please seek the advice of the superintendent registrar at the local register office. The telephone number and address can be found in your local telephone directory under 'Registration of Births, Deaths and Marriages'.
 
How Far in Advance May I Make a Booking?
A notice of marriage is valid for twelve months. However, you may be able to make an advance (provisional) booking with the superintendent registrar of the district where you wish to marry. The superintendent registrar will be able to give you more precise information on this.
 
Documents you may need to produce
When you attend before the superintendent registrar or Vicar to make the formal arrangements, you will need to produce certain documents. You will need to produce evidence of your name, age, marital status and nationality.
 
A current full passport would be the preferred document, (or, where appropriate, a Home Office Travel Document, A Standard Acknowledgement letter or a national identity card). If this is not available, two documents, such as a cheque book, cheque guarantee card, store/credit card or a birth certificate issued at or near the time of the registration of your birth would be acceptable.
 
If you have been married before, you will need to produce documents to confirm that you are now free to marry. These could include either a divorce decree absolute bearing the court's original stamp, or the death certificate of your former husband or wife.
 
Depending on your individual circumstances, other documents may be required, but your local superintendent registrar will be able to advise you. You should be aware that photocopies are unlikely to be accepted.
 
What's New?
The Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 introduced changes to the Marriage Act 1949. These changes came into effect on 1/1/2001. These changes consist of:

A common 15 day notice procedure
· A requirement for each party to the marriage to personally give notice of intention to marry
· A requirement for each party to the marriage to declare their nationality
· Powers to request evidence of identification by the Superintendent Registrar
 
Common 15 day notice procedure
The former procedures for giving notice for marriage by superintendent registrar's certificate and licence and superintendent registrar's certificate without licence are replaced by a common 15 day notice procedure.
 
This change may affect visitors to England and Wales who have specifically come for the purpose of marriage. This in practice will mean that visitors to England and Wales will need to satisfy the residential qualification of 7 days and then wait a further 15 clear days before they will be eligible to marry.
 
Requirement for each party to the marriage to personally give notice of intention to marry
Each party to the marriage will need to attend at the register office in person and give notice of their intention to marry. This will be the case even when you live in the same registration district. You will not have to attend together but will be encouraged to do so.
 
Each party to the marriage is required to declare their nationality
This change has been introduced to enable the Superintendent Registrar to advise you whether any further administrative procedures or legal requirements are needed to ensure the recognition of the marriage in the country of which you are a national.
 
The preferred document as evidence of nationality will always be a passport, however for people born abroad an ID card, or a Home Office travel document or acknowledgement showing nationality will also be acceptable. In the absence of such a document, advice should be sought from the Superintendent Registrar in the district where the notice is to be given.
 
Power to request evidence in respect of identification
You may be asked to produce documents as evidence of name and age, usually in the form of passports, birth certificates, ID cards etc. This list is not exhaustive and other documents may also be acceptable.
 
If you have been previously married, you will be required to provide evidence of the termination of that marriage by death, divorce, or nullity.
 
Overseas Marriages
The Overseas section holds records of the births, marriages and deaths of British citizens overseas that have been registered with the British registering authorities, e.g. British Consuls, High Commissions, HM Forces, Civil Aviation Authority and The Registrar General of Shipping and Seamen.
 
Registration with the British registering authorities is not compulsory and we do not receive automatic notification of every event that occurs to British citizens overseas.
 
We hold overseas birth, death and marriage records and issue certificates for members of HM Forces and their families, only if the events were registered with the Service Departments Registering Officer at the time. (This does not include Northern Ireland).If an event was not registered, you can contact the Overseas Section on +44 (0)151 471 4801 for advice on how this might be done now.
 
Overseas certificates can be applied for in person, by post or by telephone and will usually be produced within five working days. For copies of marriage documents deposited under Article 7 of the Foreign Marriage Order 1970 - allow 7-10 working days.
 
Foreign Marriage Order 1970
A marriage solemnised in accordance with the local law of a foreign country cannot be registered in this country.
 
The original marriage documents (together with a translation if necessary) can be deposited with the General Register Office. This facility is only a means of readily obtaining further copies of the documents in this country rather than the authorities overseas. Only the party to the marriage who is a British citizen may apply to deposit the documents and only the Consul for the district where the marriage took place may send the documents to the General Register Office.
 
If you wish to apply for the deposit you should contact the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Consular Division, 1 Palace Street, London SW1E 5HE. Tel: +44 (20) 7238 4567 (am only; 09:30- 12:30). You may send the documents to the Consul (or Foreign and Commonwealth Office) anytime after the marriage, there is no time limit, but you must send original documents or photocopies which are certified by the issuing authorities. Once you have deposited the original documents, they cannot be released from the Registrar General's custody.
 
When an application for copies is made you will receive certified black and white photocopies of the documents. You will not receive a British style certificate. The photocopies are issued under the seal of the General Register Office and are usually acceptable as evidence as if they were certificates issued by the authorities of the country where the marriage took place.
 
A note would be made in the indexes to the records held at the General Register Office for research and certificate application purposes.
 
Validity of Marriages in Foreign and Commonwealth countries
It is not within the province of the Registrar General to pronounce on the legal issues of any marriage, that is a matter for a court of competent jurisdiction. However generally speaking, provided that the marriage is contracted according to the laws of another country and is considered to be valid in that country, there is no reason to suspect that it would not be valid in the UK.