Getting married in a religious building (other than the Church of England / Church of Wales) 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. Information included on the Marriage Schedule will include parents’ details such as mother, step-parent, in addition to father’s details.

How will you get the Marriage Schedule?

  • As you are marrying in a religious 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 Marriage Schedule will be issued by the Superintendent Registrar from the district where your ceremony is taking place following the 28 day waiting period
  • You must arrange for the Marriage Schedule to be collected from the register office in the district where your ceremony is being held and taken to the minister who will perform the marriage at the religious building before the ceremony.

Signing the Marriage Document

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 officiating minister 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 officiating minister will forward the completed signed Marriage Schedule to the register office. This should be done as soon as possible, but within 21 days of your ceremony. With all parties consent a family member or friend can be nominated to take to the register office. Once received your marriage will be registered and a certificate sent to you

Obtaining a Marriage Certificate

The Marriage Certificate fee will be collected, during notice or when we have received the notice from another district. This will allow the certificate to be issued as soon as the marriage has been registered.

If you have any questions that have not been answered in this leaflet, you should check the details on GOV.UK website or email the Salford Register Office at marriages@salford.gov.uk

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