Marriage arrangement and ceremony

Please note that this service is not available from Stafford Borough Council.  For further information please contact Staffordshire County Council using the contact details below.

Births, Deaths and Marriages

If you wish to marry in England or Wales, you may do so either by civil or religious ceremony.

For further information please contact the Staffordshire County Council Website

• The Ceremony
• The Legal Formalities
• Documents Required by Law
• Costs
• Searching the Marriage Indexes
• Purchasing Copy Marriage Certificates

The Ceremony

A civil ceremony can take place in a Register Office or other building licensed for marriage ceremonies. The ceremony is conducted by a Registration Officer; it must be of a strictly none religious nature.

A religious ceremony can take place in a church, chapel or other building of religious worship which has been formally registered for marriage ceremonies. The service is conducted by the minister in accordance with the religious rites and ceremonies of the premises.

Approved Premises

Since 1st April 1995, the Marriage Act 1994 has allowed suitable privately owned premises to be licensed for marriage ceremonies, offering a vast choice of type, location and cost. You may marry at any approved premises in England or Wales.

To book a marriage at an Approved Premises, contact the proprietor of the building. You will also need to book Registration Officers to conduct the ceremony.

Church of England or Church in Wales

You wish to be married in either of the above you or your partner would generally have to live within the parish of the church, or be a regular worshipper. If the minister is able to marry you, he/she will arrange for the Banns to be called or for a Common Licence to be issued. The marriage will also be registered by the minister, and there is generally no need to involve the local Superintendent Registrar. If the Register Office needs to be contacted, the vicar will advise you.

Other Places of Religious Worship

The church or religious building in question must normally be located within the registration district where you or your partner live, or, if outside the district, be a place of regular worship for either or both of you. The service will be conducted by the Minister of the venue, but occasionally a Registrar is required to register the marriage.

To book a marriage at any of the above venues, contact the Minister of the Church, and the local Superintendent Registrar, where necessary.

The above information is a general guide only. For marriages outside England or Wales, or marriages of people with special needs or requirements, contact the Superintendent Registrar (see above) for advice.

The Legal Formalities

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

Both of you must have lived in a registration district in England or Wales for at least seven days immediately before giving notice at the register office. If you both live in the same district, you will each give notice at the same office. If you live in different registration districts, you will each give notice separately in your own area.

A notice of marriage is valid for twelve months. You may therefore not give notice of marriage to the Superintendent Registrar more than twelve months before the date of your wedding.

A notice of marriage is valid only for the venue named on the notice. Whereas it may be possible to alter the date of your marriage (provided it is before the expiry date), a change of location would require a fresh notice and fee.

After giving notice you must wait a further fifteen 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 17th July).

BOTH authorities must have been issued on or before the day of the marriage.

Marriage Certificates

The marriage will be authorised by Superintendent Registrars Certificate.

Documents Required by Law

When you attend before a Superintendent Registrar to make formal arrangements, you will need to produce certain documents to confirm your name, age, marital status and nationality.

Preferred documents are:

• A current valid full passport (or, where appropriate, a Home Office Travel Document, a Standard Acknowledgement letter, or a national identity card) OR, if unavailable,
• A birth certificate and a second document such as a bank book/statement, Council Tax or utility bill etc.

Also required:

• If you have been widowed, the death certificate of your former spouse.
• If you are divorced, a decree absolute bearing the court's original stamp.
• Deed Poll documents if you have changed your name.
• A completed parental consent form if you are under 18 years of age.

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Searching the Marriage Indexes

If you find the appropriate record you can print out an application form which has all the details you will need to purchase a copy marriage certificate, by post, from the Registrars Office. If you prefer to do this transaction on-line, you can use the pre-filled application form to complete the electronic application form (see below) and pay on-line with a credit/debit card.

Although the indexes are not yet complete for all years, the database will eventually cover all marriages for the years 1837 to 1950.

Purchasing Copy Marriage Certificates

You may wish to search the marriage indexes (see above) to ensure you have all of the information required to complete the copy certificate e-form.