Give notice

You must sign a legal statement at a register office to say you plan to marry or form a civil partnership. This is known as ‘giving notice’.

You must give notice in person at least 29 days before the day of your ceremony.

Find out if you can give notice in Hackney and what you need to bring with you when you do.

 

Giving notice in Hackney

You and your partner must give notice at the register office in the borough where you live. You must have lived there for at least 7 full days before you can give notice.

If one of you does not live in Hackney, you must go to your local register office to give notice separately. You do not have to do it on the same day.

If you do not live in Hackney, go to GOV.UK to find a register office in your borough.

If you or your partner is from outside the UK

You and your partner must give notice together if one of you does not have the following:

• British or Irish citizenship
• settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme
• an application to the EU Settlement Scheme that you made before 30 June 2021 that you’re waiting for a decision on

You can do this together in Hackney if one of you has lived in the borough for at least 7 full days before you can give notice.

GOV.UK has more advice on marriages and civil partnerships from outside the UK.

When to give notice

You must wait at least 29 days after giving notice to have a ceremony. In some cases, depending on your immigration status, it can take up to 71 days.

You have up to 12 months from the date of your notice to have your ceremony.

We recommend you give notice in Hackney at least 3 months before your ceremony.

What you should know before your appointment

You need to know what type of legal contract you wish to create because a registrar cannot advise you on this at your notice appointment.

The venue for your ceremony

You need to know the venue for your marriage or civil partnership ceremony, for example, a church, mosque, synagogue, or a civil venue such as Hackney Town Hall.

You must bring the booking details for your venue (full name and address) to your notice appointment.

You will usually have to pay for a new notice and start the waiting time again if you:

• want to change the venue for your ceremony
• do not have all the documents with you at your notice appointment

GOV.UK covers the different marriages and civil partnerships in England and Wales.

Find out about the venues we offer at Hackney Town Hall

If you need an interpreter

If you or your partner do not speak English, you should bring someone who can translate for you. Partners cannot interpret for each other.

Documents you need to give notice

Each person must bring original documentation to prove:

• nationality or current immigration status
• home address
• confirmation and details of the venue for your ceremony
• any changes to their name (if done)
• proof of marital status if they have been widowed or divorced

If you live in Scotland

The person living in Scotland must make an appointment to get a ‘certificate of no impediment’ from their local register office.

This is only valid for 3 months, so you should apply for a certificate of no impediment as close as possible to the date of your notice appointment in England and Wales.

Make sure your certificate will be valid on the date of your ceremony.

Find out more about the documents you need in our Giving notice: checklist of documents (google doc).

There is also more guidance on documents you might need on GOV.UK’s Marriages and civil partnerships in England and Wales.

If you live in another country

If you or your partner live in a different country, you may need to bring other documents to your appointment.

If you have a visa, you must bring a 6-digit number (called a ‘share code’) to your notice appointment.

You can apply for a share code to prove your immigration status on GOV.UK

You should check if you or your partner need a visa. If you do, the type you need depends on where you are from and if you want to live in the UK after your ceremony.

If you do not live in the UK, you may be able to still give notice in Hackney, but we must tell the immigration authorities at the Home Office, and they may ask for more information or refuse your notice.

Get advice on visas and immigration on GOV.UK.

Book a notice appointment in Hackney

Notice appointments are available on weekdays (Monday to Friday). Usually, appointments are made available on our online booking system about 2 or 3 weeks in advance.

If there are no appointments on the date you are looking for, you should check later or email us (see the contact at the bottom of this page).

Book a marriage notice appointment

Book a civil partnership notice appointment

Marrying or forming a civil partnership outside the UK

If you are a British citizen, you should still be able to give notice in Hackney to get married abroad.

But you should check this with a government department in your chosen country, as they should advise you on what documents you need.

Find out more about getting married or registering a civil partnership abroad on GOV.UK.

Marrying or forming a civil partnership in a religious buildings

Usually, you do not need to give notice for a ceremony in a church that is Church of England or Church of Wales. But you should always check this.

The Church of England and the Church of Wales do not conduct marriages for same-sex couples.

Find out about getting married or forming a civil partnership in another religious building.