Marriages

To marry at a Church of England or Wales, you or your partner normally need to live within churches' parish. Although, you can often marry at a church if you are a regular worshipper there.

If the vicar will marry you, they will arrange for 'Banns' being read or a Common Licence issuing. The vicar will also register the marriage. Generally, there is no need to give notice of your marriage at a Register Office. If you do need to do this, the vicar will advise you.

After your marriage ceremony your vicar will return your completed marriage document to the local Register Office, for your marriage registration to be completed. If your marriage takes place in Calderdale, you can then order marriage certificates online to be posted to your home address see: Copy Certificates.

The church or religious building must normally be in the registration district where you or your partner live. If outside the district, it should be a place of regular worship for either or both of you. The service will be conducted by the Minister, but at times a Registrar is required to register the marriage.

To book marriages at these venues, contact the Church Minister. They will advise you if you also need to arrange for a registrar to be present.

You will need to give notice of your marriage to your local Register Office. They will issue you with a schedule to deliver to the person conducting the ceremony.

After your marriage ceremony, the completed schedule is returned to the local Register Office, for your marriage registration to be completed. If your marriage takes place in Calderdale, you can then order marriage certificates online to be posted to your home address, see: Copy Certificates.

Note: This information is a general guide only. For marriages outside England or Wales, or where the circumstances are not straightforward, contact the Superintendent Registrar for advice.

For more details, visit: Marriages and Civil Partnerships (GOV.UK).

Notice of marriage must be given by each of you personally to your local Superintendent Registrar(s). (Unless you are marrying in the Church of England or Church in Wales by Banns or Common Licence.)

Both of you must have lived in a registration district in England or Wales for at least seven consecutive nights. This is directly before giving notice at the register office. If you both live in the same district, you will give notice at the same office. If you live in different registration districts, you will give notice separately, in your own district. (Unless one or both of you are subject to immigration control.)

• A notice of marriage is valid for twelve months.

  You cannot give notice of marriage more than twelve months before the date of your wedding.

• A notice of marriage is valid only for the venue named on the notice.

  You can alter the date of your marriage, provided it is before the expiry date of the authorities. To change the location you need a new notice and fee.

After giving notice, you must wait a further 28 clear days before the marriage can take place. For example, if notice is given on 1st July, the marriage may take place on, or after, 30th July.

Marriage notices are taken by appointment only at Calderdale Register Office.

Due to the high demand for appointments, we are booking these in ceremony date order, up to 2 months in advance of a confirmed ceremony. Appointments can be requested by emailing ceremonies.team@calderdale.gov.uk. Please do not request an appointment unless you have a confirmed ceremony date within the next two or three months. If you have booked a last-minute ceremony, we will do our best to arrange an appointment for you. It may not always be possible to do this without at least two weeks' notice.

Please note:

• Ceremonies in Calderdale can be booked up to 12 months in advance. To avoid disappointment, you should contact the register office to make your booking as soon as possible within this timescale.
• We are not able to take notices for ceremonies where the date and venue have not been arranged.
• Both authorities must have been issued on, or before, the day of the marriage, for it to take place.

To give notice of marriage to a Superintendent Registrar, you must produce documents that confirm your:

• Name;
• age;
• marital status;
• and nationality.

Evidence of Name, Surname, Date of Birth and Nationality

• A current valid passport;
• valid biometric immigration document issued by the Home Office
• or for people born in the UK only, a full UK birth certificate. If you were born after 1st January 1983, you need your mother's birth certificate. If you do not have this, you will need other proof of her nationality. (Valid at the time of your birth.)

Evidence of Place of Residence

• A utility bill, dated no more than 3 months before the appointment. This can be for gas, electric, water, landline, broadband, cable, but not a mobile phone bill);
• or a bank statement, dated no more than one month before the appointment;
• or a Council tax bill dated, no more than one year before the appointment;
• or a mortgage statement dated, no more than one year before the appointment;
• or a valid driving licence, showing the expiry date.

Other required evidence

• If you have been widowed, the death certificate of your former spouse/civil partner.
• If you are divorced or your previous civil partnership has been dissolved, the decree absolute/dissolution certificate.*
• If you have changed your name, Deed Poll documents.
• If you are under 18 years old, a completed consent form.

* For divorces granted outside the British Isles, you must send a copy of your paperwork to the Register Office. They can then check this before your appointment. If the paperwork is not in English, you must provide a certified translation.

There is a fee to process a foreign divorce. The fee depends on where your divorce was granted. You will be advised of this when you submit your paperwork.

Note: This fee is to be paid at time of booking your appointment, as well as your notice fee.

You must book your venue, before booking a notice appointment.