Giving notice – what to bring

Find out what documents to bring to your appointment to give notice for a marriage or civil partnership.

If you do not bring all of the correct documents to your appointment, you will lose your fee.

Checklist

You must bring proof for both you and your partner.

Make sure you each have enough documents to check off all 7 sections of the list.

1. Venue details

You will need to tell us the:

  • name of the ceremony venue
  • location of the ceremony venue

We may need extra information if:

  • your ceremony will be in a religious building (such as a church or temple), military chapel or prison
  • it will be a Jewish or Quaker ceremony
  • you or your partner is housebound or terminally ill
  • your ceremony will be held outside of England or Wales

To find out what extra information you will need in these cases, contact us.

2. Passport photos 

If you or your partner is not a British or Irish citizen or have EU Settled status, you must bring a recent passport style photo for each of you.

3. Name and date of birth

To prove your name and date of birth we will accept a valid:

  • passport, of any nationality
  • Home Office travel document
  • UK photocard driving licence, full or provisional
  • full British birth certificate combined with supporting documents

You should also bring a copy of a deed poll if you have ever changed your name.

4. Nationality

To prove your nationality we will accept a valid:

  • passport, of any nationality
  • Home Office travel document
  • naturalisation certificate, if you have become British
  • full British birth certificate combined with supporting documents

5. Address

To prove your address we will accept original paper copies of your:

  • utility bill, no older than 3 months (gas, electricity, water, broadband, cable, landline)
  • bank or building society statement, no older than one month
  • valid UK driving licence, full or provisional, paper or card
  • most recent council tax bill
  • most recent mortgage statement
  • current residential tenancy agreement
New to the UK

If you have recently entered the UK, you will need both:    

  • a letter signed by the person you are living with, confirming you have spent at least 8 consecutive days at their address
  • proof of their address such as their driving licence or most recent utility bill, bank statement, council tax bill or mortgage statement
    
    
We are unable to accept digital versions of these documents.

6. Immigration status

To prove your immigration status we will accept a valid:

  • British passport
  • proof of indefinite leave to remain or enter (settled status)
  • proof of right of abode
  • proof of military or diplomatic exemption
  • marriage or civil partnership visa
  • naturalisation certificate, if you have become British
  • full British birth certificate combined with supporting documents
  • your EUSS share code
Unable to show proof of immigration status

If one of you does not have any proof of your immigration status, your notice will be sent to Immigration Enforcement for their approval.    

You both must pay an additional £12 each for this, and your notice waiting time may be extended to 70 days. This means it may delay the date of your ceremony.    

    
    

7. Marital status

If you have ever been married or in a civil partnership, in any country, you must bring proof that you are now divorced or widowed.

Divorced in the UK

To prove you are divorced, you must bring an original court stamped copy of your decree absolute External link.

Divorced in another country

To prove you are divorced, you must provide:

  • the original document issued by the country where the divorce took place
  • an English translation of this document if it's in another language
Extra fees and waiting times

We will need to do checks to make sure the divorce is valid. This will cost you either £50 or £75, and it could take longer than the 28 day notice period. This means it may delay the date of your ceremony.    

    
    

Spouse or civil partner has died

You will need to bring the death certificate for your former civil partner or spouse, with an English translation if the certificate is in a different language.

If you are not named as spouse or civil partner on the death certificate, you will also need to show us your marriage certificate or civil partnership certificate, with an English translation if it's in a different language.


Supporting documents for birth certificates

We can only accept your full British birth certificate, which has your parents' details on it. It cannot be a short birth certificate or come from another country.

Extra proof of address

To use a full British birth certificate as proof you must confirm your identity by also bringing a second proof of address document.

The name on your proof of address should match the name on your birth certificate. If you've changed your name since birth, make sure you bring proof of this change, such as a deed poll or marriage certificate.

Born on or after 1 January 1983

If you were born on or after 1 January 1983, to use your birth certificate as proof you will also need supporting documents that prove the identity and British citizenship or settled status of one of your parents.

If this parent was born on or after 1 January 1983, you will also need proof for one of their parents (your grandparent).

To prove a parent's or grandparent's identity and British citizenship or settled status, we will accept:

  • a full British birth certificate
  • a British passport (issued before your birth)
  • a British naturalisation certificate (issued before your birth)
  • proof of their settled status (issued before your birth) such as permanent residence, right of abode or indefinite leave to remain or enter

Contact us

Phone

0113 222 4408
(Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm, except Wednesdays when we're open from 10am)

Email

register.headoffice@leeds.gov.uk

Use this form to give us your comments. Do not use it to give us personal information - please contact us if you need to get in touch.