Getting married in a civil building, such as a Register Office or hotel from 4 May 2021

New marriage legislation means that the way a marriage is registered in England and Wales will change from the 4 May 2021.

Each person will still be required to complete legal preliminaries by giving Notice of Marriage and the marriage ceremony is remaining the same. However, the manner of registration is changing.

You will no longer sign a marriage register, nor receive a Marriage Certificate during the ceremony, instead you will sign a Marriage Schedule.

The Marriage Schedule will be issued by the Superintendent Registrar in the registration district of your marriage.

In addition to father’s details, other parents will be able to be recorded ie mother or step parent.

How will you get the Marriage Schedule

  • If you are marrying in a civil ceremony, you will still be required to give a notice of marriage at the register office in the district where you have spent the proceeding seven days
  • The schedule will be issued by the Superintendent Registrar following the 28-day waiting period
  • The Superintendent Registrar will retain your schedule until the ceremony

Signing the Marriage Schedule

The marriage Schedule will be signed after your marriage ceremony. You will be asked to check the details entered on the Marriage Schedule to confirm they are accurate and spelt correctly. Once checked and signed, your witnesses and the Registrar’s will sign the Marriage Schedule. If after registration, an error is noticed on the entry, correction will be subject to a £90 fee.

Registering the marriage

The Superintendent Registrar will enter the details into the electronic marriage register within seven days of the marriage taking place and only then, will a marriage certificate be available.

Obtaining a marriage certificate

The marriage certificate fee will be collected either when you give notice or pay your deposit or balance of the Marriage Fee and will be posted out after registration.

Further questions

If you have any questions that have not been answered in this leaflet, you should check the details on GOV.UK website.

To contact the Salford Register Office email marriages@salford.gov.uk

Rate this page