Give notice of a marriage or civil partnership

If you are planning to get married or form a civil partnership, you must give at least 28 days notice at a register office. You can only give notice at a register office if you have lived in the registration area for at least seven days. The procedure may be different for some religious ceremonies.

You may also need to give notice if you are planning to marry or form your civil partnership abroad. Ask the relevant embassy for advice, including any documentation you will need.

There are exceptional circumstances that may change the way you give a notice of intention. For example if either person is terminally ill, housebound or detained.

In most cases you will need to marry or form the civil partnership within one year.

You will need to book an appointment to give notice

We no longer hold ceremonies at Ealing Town Hall. All our ceremonies now take place at The Brentham Club, 38a Meadvale Road, Ealing, London W5 1NP.

If you are getting married in a civil venue in the borough of Ealing, you will need to have paid a deposit for a ceremony before your notice will be taken. If you attend your appointment and have not already paid a deposit or are not able to pay the deposit at the time you give notice, we will not be able to take your notice of marriage. You will need to book a new notice appointment and pay the fees again. Any changes are subject to three working day's notice.

Documents you will need

You and your partner will need to give the following information when giving notice:

  • full name
  • date of birth (you must be a over the age of 18)
  • usual address
  • nationality
  • immigration status, if applicable
  • current marital status
  • occupation
  • intended venue for your marriage or civil partnership

You will be asked to provide proof of nationality, address and marital status, including:

  • valid current passport
  • for proof of address a bank statement issued within the last month, or current council tax bill, or UK driving licence, or two utility bills from two separate suppliers issued within the last three months
  • for non-British nationals, valid evidence of immigration status is required
  • a passport quality photograph for both parties if either of you are not a UK national, EEA or Swiss national with settled status
  • if previously married, Decree Absolute, now known as the Final Order, or death certificate of the former spouse (must include English translation). If you have a digital PDF copy of your UK divorce, we will need to see the accompanying email from the court. Foreign divorces will incur a fee of either £50 or £75 due at your appointment.  Please have a card available for this payment as Ealing Council is now cashless.
  • please note, an EU identity card is not acceptable for the purposes of giving notice

It is essential that you arrive for your appointment on time. You will not be able to enter the building before your appointment start time or if you are late.

Once you have given notice and the waiting period has expired (either 28 days or 70 days), we will issue one marriage schedule. If a registrar from Ealing Register office is officiating at your ceremony, then we will keep this document and bring it to your ceremony on the day of the wedding or civil partnership. If you are getting married in a religious building in Ealing, we will post the schedule to you, provided it is not a designated notice. You will not be able to get married without your schedule. In an emergency eg where the marriage is taking place in less than a week, it can be collected in person with a booked appointment - provided it is not a designated notice. Either you or your partner can attend this appointment at Perceval House.

If you are a designated couple, for example one of you is an EEA national without EUSS settled status, EUSS pre-settled or pending application to the EUSS or any other person from outside the EU, we will  post your paperwork directly to your marriage venue. In this case you will need to email us to ask us to post the schedule to your religious venue. In an emergency eg where the marriage is taking place in less than one week, the specified person from your venue can book an appointment to collect the document in person.

Appointments are held Monday to Friday 10am until 3pm. We will need at least one working days' notice. Please book an appointment online.

Please note this only applies to people getting married in England or Wales (not abroad). Couples getting married abroad will still need the original blue authorities. You may also need to get these documents legalised in order to authenticate them.

Fees and cancellations

There is a charge of £35 per person, or £47 per person if you are a non-European Economic Area (EEA) passport holder and do not have evidence of settled status in the UK, or a valid marriage or civil partnership visa. There is also a non-refundable admin fee of £5 per person.

You must pay a deposit when you book. The deposit will be used towards payment for the service. If you cancel or change your appointment you may be charged an additional fee. If you do not bring all of the required documents this will be considered a cancellation.

Foreign divorces will have to pay a fee of either £50 or £75 due at your appointment.

Book a marriage notice appointment

Book a civil partnership notice appointment


Important information

If on the day of your appointment you are experiencing any coronavirus symptoms, please do not attend your appointment. You will need to contact us to tell us that you cannot attend due to having symptoms.


Foreign nationals

There are different rules if you or your partner are a foreign national from outside the European Economic Area or Switzerland. For more information go to GOV.UK.