Marriage Procedures
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The Marriage (Northern Ireland) Order 2003
Guidance to Marriage Procedures in Northern Ireland
A couple wishing to marry, regardless of where they live, may marry in Northern Ireland provided that:
- Both persons are at least 18 years of age on the day of their marriage;
- Persons over 16 and under 18 years of age have obtained the necessary consent for marriage;
- They are not related to one another in a way which would prevent their marrying - if in doubt consult the local registrar;
- They are unmarried (any person who has already been married must produce documentary evidence that the previous marriage has been ended by death, divorce or annulment);
- They are not the same sex;
- They are capable of understanding the nature of a marriage ceremony and of consenting to marrying;
How to give Notice of Marriage
A Marriage Notice Application Form, a GRO 446 must be completed by both persons and submitted with identification and fee to the Registrar for the district in which the wedding is to take place.
Marriage Notice Application Forms may be downloaded from the G.R.O. website or may be collected or posted to you, by contacting the local registration office.
Timing is important
You must submit the notices early enough to enable the registrar to be satisfied that you are free to marry one another. Notice can be given up to one year before the proposed date of marriage. Normally notices should be with the registrar about eight weeks before the marriage. The minimum period is 14 working days (not including Saturday, Sunday or Public Holidays) before the date of the proposed marriage, but if you leave things as late as this you could be faced with the need to postpone your marriage.
Although you need not both attend personally at the Registrar’s Office to hand in your marriage notice, at least one of you must attend there personally before the marriage. You will need in the case of a religious marriage, to collect the Marriage Schedule or, in the case of a civil marriage, to finalise arrangements with the Register.
Civil Ceremonies may be solemnised in the Registrar’s Offices or in an approved venue. Approved venues for the solemnisation of marriages in The Down District can be found here.
Religious Marriages with the approval of the Religious Body, may be solemnised anywhere in Northern Ireland. If you are intending to marry by religious ceremony, the notice form should be posted or given to the Registrar of the district in which the marriage is to be solemnised.
Persons Marring Abroad may be required to produce a Certificate of No Impediment, this Certificate is issued for two British Citizens getting married abroad under the British Facilities Act 1915. If the couple live in Northern Ireland they should each fill in a Notice Application Form and submit it to their local Registration Office.
If a British Citizen is being married overseas to a Foreigner a Certificate of No Impediment, under the Marriage with Foreigner’s Act 1906 should be applied for in the same way.
For more information, please view the documents (PDFs) below.
Registration Office
Down District Council
24 Strangford Road
Downpatrick
BT30 6SR
T: 0 28 4461 0825
The General Register Office
The Deed Poll