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Giving notice

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Definition of 'giving notice'

'Giving notice' is a legal requirement that a couple must complete before a marriage or civil partnership can take place.

Giving notice must be done in-person. When giving notice, you must declare:

  • Who you intend to marry or form a civil partnership with
  • Where the ceremony will take place
  • That you are both legally free to marry or form a civil partnership

This procedure applies to:

  • All legal ceremonies held at a Register Office or licensed ceremony venue
  • All religious ceremonies except those conducted through the Church of England (the Church of England reads banns instead)
  • Anyone intending to marry through the Church of England but who is not a British or Irish citizen, or does not hold EU Settled Status, have 'right of abode' in the UK, or have a Forces Immigration Exemption
  • Anyone intending to marry through the Church of England who has a foreign divorce

When to give notice

You must have booked your ceremony venue and the person conducting your ceremony (registrar or authorised person) before you can give notice.

You must also have decided on the type of ceremony you will have, which could either be a marriage or civil partnership.

Once notice has been given, you cannot change the type of ceremony you have or the venue.

  • There must be at least 28 days between the date you give notice and the date of your ceremony. This may be extended to 70 days depending on your immigration status.
  • You can give notice up to 12 months in advance of your ceremony - the legal paperwork for your ceremony is valid for a maximum of 12 months from the date that you give notice.
  • If your marriage or civil partnership does not take place within 12 months of giving notice, you will need to give fresh notices and pay the notice fee again.
  • If you change the venue for your ceremony, you will need to give fresh notices and pay the notice fee again.

Where to give notice

This will depend on your nationality and immigration status. Where you give notice is based on where you live, not where your ceremony will take place. A good guide to which district you live in is who you pay your council tax to.

If you are both: a British or Irish citizen, hold EU Settled or Pre-Settled Status, have right of abode in the UK, or have a forces immigration exemption, each of you gives notice in the district where you live. If you live together in the same district, you will give notice together in that district. If you live in different districts, you give notice separately in the districts you each live in.

If either of you fall under another category, you must both give notice together. If you live together in the same district, you will give notice together in that district. If you live in different districts, you give notice together in one of those districts.

If you intend to hold your legal ceremony outside the UK, visit our getting married abroad page. 

If one or both of you live abroad, you must have lived within the registration district for at least seven full days immediately before you give notice. The day you arrive and the day you give notice do not count towards the seven day residency requirement. You must prove the residency period at your notice appointment. This rule has no exceptions, even if you are a British citizen living abroad.

If you can't physically attend Peterborough Register Office to give notice, because you are seriously terminally ill, housebound, or detained, please visit our exceptional circumstances page.

Notice fees

The notice fee does not go towards the cost of your ceremony. It is a separate national fee set by the General Register Office.

We take payment of the fee when you book your notice appointment. We accept card payments only.

The notice fee is £46.50 per person for couples who both:

If either of you do not fall into one of the above categories, you must both pay a notice fee of £63 per person.

If either or both of you are divorced and the country of divorce was outside the British Isles (that is the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man), there will be a fee payable for consideration of each divorce document, either £55 or £83 per divorce depending on where it took place.

Documents you must take to your giving notice appointment

You need to bring certain documents to your notice appointment. It is important you check you have all the paperwork you will need.

If you arrive at your notice appointment without the correct documents, we will be unable to complete the process. You will need to make a new appointment and pay the fee again. 

You will also need to tell us the venue for your ceremony.

Please note:

  • All documents must be original or official copies
  • Photocopies or scanned copies are not acceptable
  • The court must stamp any court-issued documents or, if you received the original version via email, proof of the sender must be shown to the registrar at the appointment
  • If a document is not in English, please bring the original version with you and a certified translation, as well as the name, address and phone number of the translator

If you have any doubts as to which documents you will need to bring to your appointment, please contact us before making a booking.

British nationals

One of the following:

  • A valid British passport
  • A British birth certificate (see further details below)
  • A British naturalisation or registration certificate

If you provide a British birth certificate and were born in the UK after 1 January 1983, this must be the full birth certificate showing details of your parents. You will also need your mother’s pre-1983 British birth certificate. Please contact us to discuss this before making an appointment.

Other nationalities

One of the following:

  • A valid passport
  • A valid Home Office biometric card
  • A 'view and prove' share code

Get a 'view and prove' share code on the GOV.UK website.

When you generate the code, please select "other" as the option. Please print or make a note of the code and bring it with you. Please do not email the code to us in advance of your appointment.

  • If you have settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) - you will need a valid EUSS 'view and prove' share code. This is the only evidence we can accept of your EUSS status. When you generate the code, please select 'other' as the option. Please print or make a note of the code and bring it with you – please do not email the code to us in advance of your appointment.

    Get a 'view and prove' share code on the GOV.UK website.

  • If you have any other immigration status - please make sure that you bring evidence of this with you to your appointment. This could be, for example, evidence of indefinite leave to remain in the UK, a marriage or civil partnership visa, right of abode or a forces immigration exemption. This could be in the form of a 'view and prove' share code, or a stamp in your passport, or a valid biometric card.

Depending on your nationality and immigration status, you may both need to bring recent passport-sized photos to your appointment.

Photographs are not required if you both:

  • Are British or Irish nationals
  • Have EU Settled or Pre-Settled Status
  • Have indefinite leave to remain in the UK
  • Have right of abode in the UK
  • Have a forces immigration exemption

If either of you have any other status, you will both need to provide photos. This includes those with a marriage or civil partnership visa.

You must both provide proof of your current address.

Each person should bring one of the following:

  • A valid UK driving licence (full or provisional)
  • A bank statement - dated no more than one month before giving notice
  • A utility bill - dated no more than three months before giving notice
  • A current tenancy agreement
  • A council tax or mortgage statement - dated no more than 12 months before giving notice

We can accept sight of a digital bank statement or utility bill, provided that this shows your full name and address. You must print and bring in any other type of document to the appointment.

Please contact us for advice if you do not have one of the above documents.

  • UK, Channel Islands or the Isle of Man divorce - please bring the original decree absolute, civil partnership dissolution document, or final order. If you have only received an electronic version, please print a copy and be prepared to show us the original email to which it was attached.

  • Non-UK divorce - please bring the original divorce documents in their original language and an English translation. The translation should include the translator's name, address and telephone number, and they must confirm that it is a true and accurate translation. A non-refundable consideration fee of £55 or £83 per divorce will be payable at the appointment. Please note that this fee is not a guarantee of approval. In some cases, divorce documents may need to be sent to our head office for clearance.

  • Death of spouse or civil partner - please bring the original of your spouse or civil partner’s death certificate. If you are not named on the death certificate as their spouse or civil partner, please also provide your marriage or civil partnership certificate. If any of these documents are not in English, we will also need to see both the original and an English translation. The translation should include the translator's name, address and telephone number. They must confirm that it is a true and accurate translation.

If your name on any of the documents above is not the same as your current name, please provide evidence linking these names. For example, a marriage certificate, civil partnership schedule, or change of name deed.

What happens at your giving notice appointment

In addition to verifying your details using the above documents, we also interview each of you separately. We ask you questions about your ceremony, yourself and the person you are marrying or forming a civil partnership with.

Book a notice appointment

Please note you are not booking your marriage or civil partnership ceremony. You are booking an appointment to give notice and show legal documents. This must be done before your ceremony can take place.

Notice appointments are held on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays (excluding bank holidays).

To make an appointment, please contact us:

Your notice appointment will take place at Peterborough Register Office. It should take about one hour.

Visit our Peterborough Register Office page for our address and information on parking, facilities and accessibility.

We mainly use rooms on the first floor of the building to conduct notice appointments. The first floor is only accessible by stairs. If you have access requirements, please let us know in advance so we can make sure your appointment takes place in a ground floor room.

If one of you does not speak English well, please bring someone else to translate. A couple cannot translate for each other. If you do not understand the questions being asked, the appointment will be stopped and you will need to pay for a new appointment.

If you are running late for your appointment, please let us know by calling 01733 864646 (open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm).

Please contact us in advance if you need to reschedule your notice appointment. You can only reschedule a notice appointment once, and you must inform us in advance.

If you want to cancel your notice appointment altogether, we can refund your notice fee providing that you request this by email seven days or more before the appointment date.

If you need to give notice but can't physically attend an appointment at the Register Office, due to ill health, a mobility issue, or any other reason, please contact us to discuss options.

Last updated: 28 April 2026
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