Documents needed to get married

Before you can get married in Belfast, you and your partner need to produce certain documents. Each partner must also fill out a marriage notice form to help the Registrar collect information about your ceremony and prepare your details for registration.

All relevant documents, notice forms and fees must be submitted to the Registrar before a wedding can take place.

Marriage notice forms

These forms, which give formal 'notice' to the Registrar of your intent to marry, must be completed by you and your partner.

Download marriage notice form and guidance notes (PDF - 179KB)

They are valid for 12 months from the date of notice. This means you must tell us about your plans to get married in the 12 month period before your wedding date, and no later than 14 days before your ceremony.

Notice forms should be returned to the Registrar of the district in which you intend to marry, along with the relevant documents (listed below) and fees. For example, if you are getting married in Belfast but you live in Armagh, you will need to return your forms to our Registrar's office which is located in Belfast City Hall.

List of district registrars in Northern Ireland

You do not have to make an appointment, however, your forms should be submitted about eight weeks before your ceremony. If you or your partner have been married previously, forms should be returned ten weeks beforehand.

If you are having a religious ceremony, you should speak to your officiant before filling out your marriage notice forms as s/he will need to sign them.

Essential documents

These should be provided by both you and your partner when returning your marriage notice forms:

your full (long version) birth certificate (authorised photocopies are not acceptable)
your passport or national identity card - the Registrar can advise on alternatives if you do not hold either of these
a consent form (if you aged 16 or 17) - these are available from the Registrar
if you have been married before and the marriage was dissolved, a certificate of divorce or annulment or a certified copy decree (decrees must be absolute or final)
If you have been married more than once, only the documents for your most recent marriage are required
if you have entered into a civil partnership before, a court order of dissolution for that partnership
if you are a widow, widower or surviving civil partner, the death certificate of your former spouse or civil partner.

More information about each of these documents is available from the guidance notes which accompany your marriage notice form (see above).

Don't delay submitting your notice forms to the Registrar because you don't have the relevant documents - it is better to give notice first and then return any outstanding documents at a later date.

Marriage schedule

If you are having a religious wedding, either you or your partner must visit the Registrar's office beforehand to collect your marriage schedule.

For civil ceremonies, either you or your partner must visit the Registrar's office in advance to finalise arrangements for your service.

For both types of wedding, you will be asked to sign a declaration, stating that the information both parties have given is correct. The Registrar may also need some further details from you, such as whether your parents were married.

We can then prepare your marriage schedule, which is needed for your wedding to take place. It is then signed by both partners, the Registrar (or religious officiant) and two witnesses aged 16 or older on the day of your ceremony.

Once the schedule is returned to us, we can officially register your marriage.