Legal Weddings FAQs

A civil marriage is a non-religious, legal wedding, which is conducted by legally authorised officials known as a Superintendent Registrar and Registrar. A civil marriage can take place in a register office or on premises approved for legal weddings. Venues will usually tell you if they are approved for legal weddings if you enquire.

A legal religious marriage can take place in 4 different ways:

• A church of England wedding
• A Jewish wedding
• A Society of Friends (Quaker) wedding
• A religious wedding of any other religion

Each of these religious weddings has specific requirements which have to be met to be legally recognised. A Nikah wedding alone does not meet the requirements for a legal religious marriage. To be legally valid, it requires notice to be given, a ceremony with some forms of prescribed words in addition to the Nikah, and to be in the presence of an authorised person or a Registrar.

In England and Wales, you need to be aged 18 or older to be able to get married. You must not already be in a legal marriage or civil partnership. Finally, you must not marry a close relative which is defined as certain people such as your siblings, parents, current of former adoptive child, etc. This is different to Scotland and Northern Ireland, where you can marry from age 16.

A man cannot marry his:

• mother
• adopted mother
• former adoptive mother
• daughter
• adoptive daughter
• former adoptive daughter
• grandmother
• granddaughter
• sister
• aunt
• niece

A woman cannot marry her:

• father
• adopted father
• former adoptive father
• son
• adoptive son
• former adoptive son
• grandfather
• grandson
• brother
• uncle
• nephew

There are also some restrictions regarding marrying a ‘step’ relative or a relative ‘in-law’. It would be advisable to seek legal advice if you need it.

You must ‘give notice’ at your local register office by signing a legal statement that you intend to marry. Regardless of where you plan to marry, you must still give notice to the local register office. You need to book your venue beforehand as you will need to provide information about the date and venue of your wedding when giving notice and you must marry at the time and venue you specify in the notice. You must ‘give notice’ at least 29 days before the planned ceremony date and not more than 12 months before that date. If you have to change the venue or move the date outside the validity period, you must give notice again at least 28 clear days before the date of the ceremony. If one or both of you needs approval to get married from the Home Office due to your immigration status, your notice period will be longer. Up to date information is available on the government website: www.gov.uk/marriages-civil-partnerships/from-outside-the-uk-or-ireland

Both parties need to give notice at their own local register offices and attend an appointment in person. If one or both parties is subject to immigration control, you will need to ‘give notice’ of marriage or civil partnership together at a district where either one or both parties live. You need to have been living in an area for at least seven days before you can ‘give notice’ to marry at the local register office there.

It is important to check with your local register office, but generally, it is likely that you will need the following documents:

1. The name and address of your venue
2. A valid passport or birth certificate
3. Proof of your address, such as a utility bill or tenancy agreement
4. Proof of any past name changes (if applicable), such as a copy of a deed poll
5. Proof of your divorce (decree absolute or final order), or your former spouse’s death certificate, if you have been married before

If you or your partner is from outside the UK, you will need to provide additional documents. Your local register office will be able to specify what these are. Information about the fee will be available on your local council’s website.

A wedding can only take place at certain venues for it to be legally valid. The ceremony must be held at one of the following: a register office approved premises – indoor or outdoor an Anglican Church (i.e. a Church belonging to the Church of England and Wales) any registered place of worship which is registered to conduct weddings You can find a list of approved venues on the gov.uk website or check with your local council: www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-marriages-and-partnerships-approved-premises-list Some, but not all mosques are registered places of worship where a legally valid ceremony can be performed.

A legal religious wedding ceremony (conducted at a place of worship registered for legal weddings) can be conducted by an ‘authorised person’ or a Registrar. An authorised person must be registered with the Registrar General. You can check who is authorised with your local authority or register office. This might be an imam or other religious cleric, for example. For a civil (non-religious) wedding ceremony, a Superintendent Registrar and Registrar are needed to conduct the service whether this takes place at a register office or on Approved Premises.

A woman does not need to change her name after marriage and can keep her maiden name. In Muslim traditions, a woman usually retains her father’s family name after marriage. The marriage schedule has the details of the bride’s maiden name and does not indicate what surname she will use after marriage. If a woman wants to change her name after marriage, she can apply for a new passport with the marriage certificate and then use her updated passport to inform other relevant authorities, such as her employers, HMRC, the DWP, etc.