Giving your notice means, declaring you are both free to marry or register a civil partnership. It is a legal requirement that must be completed prior to your marriage or civil partnership taking place.
Both of you are required to attend a face to face appointment at your local register office.
You must live in the registration district where you will give notice for at least 7 full days before your notice appointment.
If you live in East Sussex you can book an appointment at one of our register offices in Crowborough, Eastbourne, Hastings or Lewes.
Call 0345 60 80 198 to book your notice appointment at an East Sussex Register Office.
If you live outside East Sussex you can find your local register office here.
A statutory fee of £35 per person is charged for notice appointments, payable when booking your appointment
Notices must be given at least 28 days before your ceremony, and cannot be given more than 12 months in advance. Where possible we advise you Give Notice about 6 months before your ceremony.
Once notice has been given a statutory waiting period of 28 days must pass before you are able to marry or form a civil partnership. This statutory waiting period may be extended if you and/or your partner are a non EEA or Swiss national.
Your marriage or civil partnership must take place at your chosen venue within 12 months of giving notice.
If you change your venue or your notice expires you will need to Give Notice again, incurring additional charges.
If you wish to marry or register a civil partnership in England and Wales you must meet the residency requirement. You will need to establish a residency within England and Wales and can only give notice at a Register Office if you have lived in the relevant registration district for at least 7 full days (this works out as the equivalent of 9 days as the day of arrival and the day of notice do not count).
You can contact us for further information or if you have any questions 0345 60 80 198.
If you and/or your partner are a non-EEA or Swiss national you will need to give notice at a Designated Register Office.
Please note this may not be your local register office.
For further information please visit: https://www.gov.uk/marriages-civil-partnerships/foreign-national
There are certain identification documents that you will need to provide at your notice appointment.
Failure to bring the correct documents may result in the cancellation of your appointment and the loss of your fee.
The Registrar will confirm which documents are necessary when booking your appointment.
Each of you will be required to provide evidence of your name, age, nationality, address and that you are free to enter into a marriage or civil partnership.
All documents must be originals. Photocopies are NOT acceptable.
For British citizens only
If you do not have a valid UK passport please contact our ceremonies team 0345 60 80 198 who will advise what documents you will need.
For EEA and Swiss nationals you will need to show one of the following
Each of you will need to provide one form of address ID
Divorce or Dissolution
If you are using a different name to the one on the divorce or dissolution, then you must provide documents to link all your names. This may be in the form of a previous marriage or civil partnership certificate or a change of name deed.
To book your notice call us on 0345 60 80 198.
A statutory fee of £35 per person is payable to Give Notice. Please have your credit or debit card to hand when calling.
You can find further information here https://www.gov.uk/marriages-civil-partnerships.
If you have any questions please feel free to contact us on 0345 60 80 198.
To arrange your ceremony you will need to share some personal information with us.
Please refer to our Privacy Notice for details about how and why we use your data.
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