Give notice of marriage or civil partnership

By law, you must give notice of your marriage or civil partnership in person at a register office before it can take place. It costs £35 per person.

You must give notice at least 29 days before your wedding.

Appointments

Only you and your partner, if they are giving notice too, may attend the appointment.

No one else, including children, will be allowed into the building.

please arrive no more than 5 minutes before your appointment and ring the doorbell or let the receptionist know that you have arrived
in order to manage the number of people entering the building, if you arrive earlier than this you are likely to have to wait outside
you will be encouraged to use hand sanitiser provided before seeing the registrar
please maintain a safe distance from the registrar at all times and respect their space

we have configured our office space to ensure a 2 metre distance can be maintained at all times
our offices are fitted with Perspex screens
registrars disinfect surfaces and wash or sanitise their hands between each appointment
we are limiting the numbers of people allowed in the building/at appointments

This information will be emailed to you once you've booked an appointment. Please ensure you have read and understood it.

If you live outside of the Dorset Council area, you must give notice of marriage or civil partnership at your local register office. Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole are not in the Dorset Council area.