Community directory

Giving Notice of Marriage or Civil Partnership Formation

When you have decided on the venue for your ceremony and arranged the day and time, you will need to give a formal notice of marriage or civil partnership at the Register Office in the district where you live. If you live in Hertfordshire, you may attend any of the Register Offices' within the county as Hertfordshire is now one Registration District.

Notice must be given in person by each party to the ceremony. If you both live in the same district, you should normally attend the Register Office together. If you live in different districts you should each give notice in your own district. Before you can give notice you must have lived in the district for at least seven days prior to the giving of the notice.

Before attending at an office in Hertfordshire to give a notice please telephone for an appointment.

Giving notice of marriage or civil partnership means you are declaring that you are both free to marry or form a civil partnership with each other and you will be required to provide certain documents. You may do this up to twelve months before the day of your ceremony.
When you give notice, you will be asked questions about you and your partner. You will usually be asked the following:

• your full names and addresses
• your ages
• whether you have been married or in a civil partnership before and what your occupations are

If your ceremony is in a district which is not your own the authority must be taken to the District in which the ceremony is to take place before the day of the ceremony.
If you are to be married in a Religious building the authority must be handed to the person officiating at your ceremony.

Your ceremony must then take place within twelve months of the date you gave notice.