Giving Notice

Giving notice is a legal requirement. Anyone wishing to marry or form a civil partnership in England or Wales must give notice before their ceremony can take place.

Notices are given by appointment at our local register office.

At the appointment you'll be required to provide certain documents to the registrar. Documents needed for a Notice of marriage and notice of civil partnership appointment

Before giving notice you must have decided

Where your ceremony will be taking place
The type of ceremony you will have, either a civil marriage or civil partnership

Neither of these things can be changed once notice has been given.

When to give notice

Notices can be given up to 12 months ahead of your ceremony
We require notices to be given at least 6 weeks before your ceremony. Where possible we recommend giving notice at least 3 to 4 months’ before your ceremony
If you or your partner is a foreign national subject to immigration control, we may have to refer your notices to the Home Office for approval. In these circumstances the legal waiting period may be extended, and notices should be given at least 12 weeks before your ceremony date

Where to give notice

You must give notice at a register office in the district where you live, regardless of where your ceremony is taking place
If you live in East Sussex (excluding Brighton&Hove) you can give notice at any one of our four register offices, located at Crowborough, Eastbourne, Hastings, and Lewes
If you live outside of East Sussex, you’ll need to contact your local register office to book your notice appointment
If you and your partner live in different districts you’ll need to give notice separately at your own local register office
If you and/or your partner is a foreign national subject to immigration control you must give notice together. If you live in different districts, you can choose a register office in either district

If you live outside England and Wales

A residency requirement must be met before notice can be given.

You must have lived at one address for at least 7 full days immediately before giving notice. The day you arrive, and the day of the appointment do not count towards the 7 days. You must give notice at the register office local to where you are staying.

Booking a notice appointment

To book a notice appointment at an East Sussex register office call the Ceremonies Hub on 0345 60 80 198.

A statutory notice fee will be payable on booking.

The fees are:

£42 per person
£57 per person if your notices are referred to the Home Office

Religious Ceremonies

If you are getting married in an Church of England church, the religious preliminaries will be followed, reading of the Banns. You will need to speak to the vicar to organise this. There is usually no involvement from the Register Office. However, if you and/or your partner are foreign nationals subject to immigration control you will be required to give notice at your local Register Office, as per the civil preliminaries above.

If you are marrying in any other church or religious building notices will need to be given at your local register office, as per the civil preliminaries above.

After your ceremony the marriage document should be returned to the church's local Register Office. You will need to order marriage certificates from the Register Office in the same district as the church.

Ceremonies Abroad

For information about what you need to do if you are holding your ceremony abroad click here.

Arranging a ceremony will require you to share some personal information with us. Refer to our Privacy Notice for details about how and why we use your data.