What documents do I need to bring when I come to make the arrangements to get married?

You will need to bring evidence of:

• name
• age
• nationality
• photographic identity and
• current address

Your valid passport is an ideal document to prove your name, identity, age and nationality. This should always be produced if it is available along with proof of your current address such as a driving licence, bank statement or utility bill (e.g. water, gas, electricity) that records your current address. Any bank statement or utility bill produced as evidence of your address must be dated within the last three months.  All documents presented must be originals – photocopies cannot be accepted.

If you were born in this country before 1983, and have never applied for a passport, you should bring your birth certificate along with other official documents to prove your identity and address (such as driving licence/ official ID).  For those born in this country after 1983 without a valid British passport, you will also need your certificate of naturalisation or your mother or father's birth certificate (if she/he was born in the UK) to confirm your British citizenship.

If you have ever been married before - in this or any other country - you will also need to provide evidence that your previous marriage has ended. If the marriage was ended by divorce you will need to produce a final divorce decree from the court in which the divorce was granted. This will need to be a certified copy of the divorce, a photocopy will not be acceptable as legal evidence. If the divorce took place in another country and the document is not in English you will also need to provide a signed and dated translation of the document.

If your previous spouse died you will need to provide a certified copy of the death certificate from the registration authorities of the country in which the death took place and the marriage certificate from that marriage.

If you are in any doubt about what documents will be acceptable please phone the Register Office for advice on 020 7641 1161.