Marriage, civil partnership and other ceremonies

Congratulations, celebrating a commitment to a loved one is a wonderful occasion and we look forward to helping you to arrange your ceremony.

Marriage and civil partnership is for opposite sex couples and same sex couples. You can arrange a civil (non-religious) ceremony in a building licensed for civil ceremonies, or a religious ceremony in a religious building.

The difference between a marriage and a civil partnership

To view a table setting out the similarities and differences between civil partnership and civil marriage as it applies to same-sex and opposite-sex couples visit GOV.UK.

Changes to marriage registration law from 4 May 2021

The Civil Partnerships, Marriages and Deaths Act was amended in March 2019 and the changes have been implemented for all ceremonies taking place from 4 May 2021.

The Act provides for the modernisation of marriage registration for the first time since 1837. It removes the need for paper-based registers and introduces a marriage schedule system and a more secure electronic register.

Age of consent

The Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act 2022 came into force on 27 February 2023. It means that 16 and 17 year olds are no longer allowed to marry or enter a civil partnership, even if they have parental consent. The legal age of marriage and civil partnership is now 18 in England and Wales.

Giving notice

Before traveling to the UK to give notice, get married, or register your civil partnership, you must have the correct entry clearance. Hackney Registration Services cannot provide advice on immigration matters, including the specific visa you need for entry into the UK. You can learn more about marriage immigration at GOV.UK – marriages and civil partnerships . It is your responsibility to ensure that you follow Immigration Law. We cannot accept any responsibility if you fail to comply with the correct immigration procedures. If you need help, you can find approved immigration advisors at GOV.UK – find an immigration advisor. Low-cost or free legal advice may be available from a Law Centre or Citizens Advice.

Before you marry or enter a civil partnership, you have to give notice. You will need to have chosen the venue for your ceremony, so it’s best to contact the venue to check they’re available. Otherwise, if you decide to have your ceremony elsewhere you will need to pay and give your notice again.

The minimum waiting period from notice to ceremony is 29 days, with some couples subject to a 71 day wait. The law requires an face to face interview with a registrar to give notice. This can not be given by proxy, in writing, video call, online or any other method.

For more information, visit give notice.

Civil partnership conversions to marriage

If you have a same sex civil partnership you can convert it to a marriage, even if your civil partnership took place in another district. Please email your completed form to ceremonies@hackney.gov.uk to enquire.

See civil partnership conversion booking form (google docs)

Civil ceremonies

Civil marriage and civil partnership ceremonies must take place in a register office or approved premise which is licensed for civil ceremonies. Civil ceremonies must be conducted by registrars and be strictly non-religious.

There are 3 options for civil ceremonies in Hackney

1. Contact us to arrange a ceremony in Hackney Town Hall Lanchester Suite
2. Contact us to arrange a Statutory ceremony in Hackney Town Hall
3. Contact one of our approved premises to arrange your ceremony there

Statutory ceremonies

Statutory ceremonies are basic legal ceremonies held in an office at Hackney Town Hall (Room 62).

Only two guests can attend. These guests will be your witnesses and must speak and understand English.

The ceremony costs £56 and is non-refundable. You will also need to pay £12.50 for a marriage or civil partnership certificate, which you can order online after the ceremony.

For a marriage, you must say the required legal vows. For a civil partnership, you don’t need vows. You only need to sign the paperwork with your witnesses present.

During the ceremony, we do not allow:

• music
• readings
• photography

Ceremonies only take place on a Tuesday morning, and we have limited availability.

To check availability and book, email ceremonies@hackney.gov.uk.

Frequently asked questions for outdoor ceremonies

See frequently asked questions for couples (PDF 57kb)

Religious ceremonies

A religious marriage ceremony can take place in a religious building which has been registered for worship and for solemnisation of marriages.

Civil partnerships can be registered in a religious building which has been specially approved and your civil partnership registration may be followed by a separate religious ceremony.

Ceremonies abroad

If you are planning on getting married abroad there are some things you need to do to make sure your marriage or civil partnership is legal.

First you need to find out the rules in the country where you are getting married. Use the GOV.UK tool to check this or contact the relevant consulate or embassy for advice about the documents you need.

If you need to provide a Certificate of No Impediment (legal document showing that you are free to marry or register a civil partnership) you can normally do this through your local register office.

You can apply for a Certificate of No Impediment in Hackney if:

• you are a British subject
• you live in Hackney
• your proposed spouse or civil partner is a foreign national
• the marriage or civil partnership ceremony will be in a foreign country
• you have lived in Hackney for at least the full seven days before the day of your notice appointment

or:

• you are two resident British subjects (some residence restrictions apply)
• the marriage or civil partnership ceremony will be in a foreign country

Commitment, renewal of vows and naming ceremonies

We offer other ceremonies such as renewal of vows, commitment and naming ceremonies.

Urgent marriages and civil partnerships – Registrar General’s licence

For those that are seriously ill and not likely to recover, a wedding or civil partnership, civil or religious, can take place any time, anywhere including your home or hospital 24 hours a day using a Registrar General’s licence (RGL). The RGL is obtained from the borough where the ceremony is to take place.

The fee for obtaining an RGL is £18 and medical evidence that the person is not likely to recover is required, usually in the form of a letter from the doctor treating the unwell partner.

A letter from the doctor treating the unwell partner should outline the following:

• the doctor is in medical attendance of the person concerned
• the person is seriously ill and not expected to recover
• the person cannot be moved to a place registered for marriages
• he / she understands the nature and purport of the marriage ceremony 

One of the parties wishing to get married/form a civil partnership must give notice (normally the person that is well)

Contact 020 8356 7442/3809 or email ceremonies@hackney.gov.uk to arrange this during office hours.

Outside of office hours tel 020 8356 3355 to arrange for the superintendent registrar or a deputy to contact you. The notice is normally taken at the Register Office, 1 Hillman Street Hackney E8 1DY.

After taking the notice, the superintendent registrar will forward the medical letter to the General Register Office so that the application for an RGL can be considered.

If an RGL is granted the ceremony can then take place.

For a civil ceremony, a registrar and a superintendent registrar will attend. For a religious ceremony, only a registrar will attend. You’ll need to arrange for any religious person to attend.

The General Register Office can be contacted out of hours to the Custodians Office by calling 0151 471 4223.

Template letters when applying for an RGL

Ask the consultant responsible for the care of the patient to use the templates below to prepare their letter. The letter should be on headed paper. Please note that there are 2 templates so take care to use the correct one:

• RGs civil partnership template
• RGs marriage template

Registering a building for worship

If your religious congregation uses a specific building regularly for worship, you may be able to register that building as a place of worship. You can also apply for it to be a registered place for marriages.

Copy certificates

You can order a certificate for a marriage or civil partnership that happened in Hackney from us.

Standard certificate orders are charged at a statutory fee of £12.50 per certificate, plus postage fees.

We aim to process and dispatch standard certificate orders within 20 working days.

Express certificate orders are charged at a statutory fee of £38.50 per certificate, plus postage fees.

We aim to process and dispatch express certificate orders within 10 working days.

How long it takes for you to receive your order once it’s been dispatched depends on the delivery option selected.

If for any reason we cannot produce your requested certificate, we will process a partial refund instead

Order a copy certificate

Corrections

If you discover that the details on a marriage certificate are incorrect you can apply to the GRO for a correction (fees apply).

To apply you must submit supporting documents showing the error along with the correct application form.

Applications can be made via the registrars@hackney.gov.uk or direct to GRO. See the forms for corrections at gov.uk.

Please note that GRO do not have a form for Civil Partnership corrections.

Applications for corrections to Civil Partnerships should be made in writing direct to GRO with supporting evidence of the error.

There is a non-refundable correction consideration fee of £99 for each correction application.

This is a statutory fee set by the General Register Office. It is not set by the Council.

The £99 is separate from the cost of new certificates. New certificates after the correction has been made cost £12.50 each.

Fees and charges

Visit Registrars fees

Terms and conditions

See terms and conditions for ceremonies and notice appointments (google doc).