Giving notice checklist
Giving notice checklist
All parties giving a notice of marriage or civil partnership must bring specific documents to their appointment.
All documents must be originals and not photocopies.
Where any evidence is not in English, a full translation must also be provided.
It is a legal requirement for all people giving notice to produce at least 2 documents: 1 from Section 1 and 1 from Section 2, plus any extra documents as applicable: you may also have to produce documents from Sections 3 or 4 if they apply, as follows:
- section 1 - evidence of name, surname, date of birth and nationality
- section 2 - evidence of place of residence
- section 3 - evidence of ending of a previous marriage or civil partnership
- section 4 - evidence of immigration status
1 - evidence of name, surname, date of birth and nationality
1 of the following original documents:
- valid passport - (in current date)
- certificate of registration or naturalisation as a British Citizen granted by the Secretary of State
or if born in the UK and you do not have one of the above, then Birth Certificate as follows:
Born in the UK before 1 January 1983 – UK birth certificate and:
- 1 other piece of evidence from section 2 to confirm current use of name on birth certificate (but not the letter to confirm residency)
- if your current name is different to the one on your birth certificate, then you must also provide documents as evidence to link your names, for example, marriage certificate, change of name deed or statutory declaration
Born in the UK on or after 1 January 1983 – Full UK birth certificate showing parent’s details and:
- 1 other piece of evidence from Section 2 to establish current usage of name on birth certificate (but not the letter of residency)
- if your current name is different to the one on your birth certificate, then you must also provide documents as evidence to link your names, for example, marriage certificate, change of name deed or statutory declaration (see below)
and
Evidence of either of parent’s British Citizenship or settled status at time of your birth:
- if parents not married at the time of birth – mother’s UK birth certificate
- if parents married at the time of birth, then either parent’s UK Birth certificate
- UK Passport stating relevant parent as British Citizen or having Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) at the time of birth (also need marriage certificate if using father’s documents)
Evidence of Change of Name Links:
- 'Registered’ Deed Poll (3 stamps: in the Supreme Court of Deeds, Royal Courts of Justice)
- 'Unregistered’ Deed Polls/Statutory Declaration
- marriage certificate
2 - evidence of place of residence
One of the following documents must be provided as evidence of the place of residence within England and Wales of a person giving notice, and must show your current name and address:
- utility bill dated no more than 3 months before date of notice is given
- bank or building society statement or passbook no more than 1 month before date of notice
- council tax bill for current council tax year
- mortgage statement no more than 1 year old
- current residential tenancy agreement
- valid driving licence (includes provisional licence)
- letter from the owner/proprietor or tenant of the property where you have been residing.
The letter from the owner/proprietor or tenant of the property should state the address of the residence, your name, the owner or tenant’s name and address, and confirm they are the owner or tenant of the property. It must also confirm the dates you have been resident at the address which must be 7 full days (not including the day of arrival or day of giving notice). The letter should be signed and dated on the date the notice is to be given.
You must also bring proof of the owner or tenant’s residence at that property, which must be one of the documents listed above.
3 - evidence of ending of a previous marriage or civil partnership
If your name on your Decree Absolute, Dissolution Order or Final Order is different to the name you are using now, we need to see evidence from change of name list in section 1, to show the link of name.
One of the following documents must be provided as evidence of the ending of a previous marriage or civil partnership of a person giving notice of marriage or civil partnership:
- Decree Absolute of divorce/ or Dissolution Order or Final Order or nullity granted by a court in England or Wales
- dissolution order or nullity of civil partnership granted by a court in England or Wales
- documents confirming divorce or annulment granted by a court in any part of the British Islands and recognised in the UK
- documents confirming dissolution or annulment of a civil partnership in the UK
- documents confirming divorce or annulment from outside the British Islands and recognised in the UK - additional fees apply
- documents confirming divorce or annulment of civil partnership obtained outside the UK and recognised by the UK - additional fees apply
- death certificate of spouse or civil partner and marriage/civil partnership certificate (if not named on death certificate)
- presumed death certificate of spouse or civil partner
Read more about any additional fees you may be charged.
4 - evidence of immigration status
If you are subject to immigration control, you will need the following documents, in addition to those from the sections above. All would provide evidence of their nationality to support their statement.
- valid biometric residence permit
- valid UK visa or entry clearance in passport (both parties will need to bring passport sized photograph)
- valid Home Office endorsement in passport
- an endorsement added to a passport by the Home Office (including ILR vignette, RoA certificate, certificate of entitlement)
- valid UK residence permit in passport
- an endorsement added to a passport by the Home Office showing the person has an entitlement to be in the United Kingdom
- valid application registration card
- the Application Registration Card (ARC) is issued to asylum seekers, or their dependents, when their claim is officially registered in the UK
- valid immigration status document bearing a valid photo-endorsed vignette
- any other photographic status document issued by the Home Office or an immigration officer
- Home Office form IS96 (both parties will need to bring passport sized photograph)
- a temporary admission document
- no evidence (both parties will need to bring passport sized photograph)
- this option would be used if someone is making a statement but cannot provide any supporting evidence
