Civil and religious marriage ceremonies

For all marriages - except those that take place in the Church of England - you must give notice of your intention to marry at least 16 days before the wedding takes place.

Notices of marriage are valid for one year.

• If you live in Royal Greenwich, you must give notice at the Royal Borough's register office (regardless of where your ceremony is taking place). You must have lived in the Royal Borough for eight consecutive days before you can do this.
• If you and your partner live in different boroughs you will need to attend separate register offices.
• If you or your partner are subject to immigration control, then different rules apply. Please contact us for more information or go on to the Directgov website.

What you need to do

Firstly, you need to make an appointment with the registrar. You can contact the Register Office by phone or email.

You will both need to attend. You are required to supply the following information at your meeting with the registrar:

• two proofs of address each. These need to be original documents - photocopies are not accepted. For example, a recent utility bill, medical card, Council Tax statement or bank statement
• photo identification - passport or driving licence supported by a British birth certificate
• proof of nationality - passport or birth certificate.

The fee for the meeting is £35 per person - payable only by cash or cheque - and you'll need to bring this with you to the meeting.

Previous marriages

If either of you have been married or been been in a civil partnership before you'll need to bring along the original decree absolute or dissolution of partnership document to show that the marriage or civil partnership has ended.

If you are a widow or widower, you'll need to bring a death certificate with you.

If any documents are in a language other than English, you will need to get these translated before giving them to the registrar. They will be submitted to the Registrar General for verification.

If you have lost your decree absolute certificate, then you can apply for a new one from the Principal Registry of the Family Division (PRFD).