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Booking your civil marriage

You may marry in any Register Office or Approved Premises of your choice in England or Wales.

However, before you can marry each of you must give a notice of your intention to marry, in person, in the registration district in which you live.

Provisional bookings

At Portsmouth Register Office we are happy to take a provisional booking up to two years in advance. This allows you to be able to make your other arrangements in plenty of time.

There is no fee for making a provisional booking and this can be done either in person or over the telephone, but only by the Bride or Groom. We are unable to take bookings from friends and relatives unless the Bride and Groom are overseas.

If you are marrying within twelve months from the date of your booking, you will be asked to arrange to give your notices of marriage within four weeks of the booking date.

If you are marrying more than twelve months from the date of your booking, the registrar will advise you as to when and where you should give your notices of marriage.

If you have any difficulties giving your notices of marriage please contact us as soon as possible.

Approved premises

Since the introduction of the Marriage Act 1994, Portsmouth approved a number of licensed premises. Covering a unique variety from an historic warship to hotels and historic buildings.
Once you have provisionally booked with the venue of your choice, you should contact the Superintendent Registrar of the district where it is located. You will need to confirm that registration staff will be able to attend on your chosen date and discuss a time for the ceremony.

A locally set fee is payable for the registration staff to attend your marriage. This fee is in addition to any charged by the venue or those paid for the notices of marriage. Full details of these can be obtained from the Register Office.

Please note that Marriages cannot take place 'outside' or in unlicensed premises

Portsmouth Register Office

Milldam House is an attractive Georgian building. The elegantly furnished and decorated marriage room will accommodate up to 50 guests. Suitable opportunities are provided during the ceremony for photography and discreet use of video cameras. There is a picturesque staircase leading to the marriage room and the exterior of the building provides an ideal setting for wedding photographs. There is also a beautifully landscaped garden which the wedding parties are free to use before and after the ceremony.

The building has good disabled access with a lift available to the first floor where the marriage room is situated. Disabled toilets are situated on the first floor, and a hearing loop system has recently been installed for people with hearing difficulties.

A mother and baby room is available on the first floor and nappy changing facilities are available in both this room and the ladies toilets.

Milldam House has a small car park at the rear of the building but there is plenty of on-road parking available in the surrounding area.
We have a range of recorded music from which to choose – or you can bring your favourite CD to put a personal stamp on the occasion as long as it has no religious content to it.

Giving notice of your intention to marry

If you are planning to be married in the Church of England, you should speak to your parish priest, who will arrange for banns to be read.

For any other marriage, whether Register Office, licensed venue or religious ceremony in a church or building other than the established church ( Church of England ), you will need to give a Notice of Marriage at your local Register Office. This is by appointment with the local Superintendent Registrar. The telephone number for Portsmouth register Office is: 023 9282 9041. Notice can be given up to 12 months in advance of the ceremony.

The notice is a legal document which must be given in person by both the Bride and Groom. A friend or relative cannot do this for you regardless of your circumstances.

You must both have lived continuously in any one district of England or Wales for the seven days immediately before the date you give notice of your marriage. It does not matter if either of you move to a different address after the notice has been given. If you both live in the same district, where possible you should attend together to give your notices of marriage.

Once you have both given notice you must wait at least 15 days before the marriage can take place. If you are getting married in another registration district you can collect your authority for marriage from the Register Office where you gave your notice as soon as the waiting period is over. The authority for marriage is the legal document which allows your marriage to take place, and it is valid for 12 months from the date that you gave the notice of marriage.

A fee is charged for giving a Notice of Marriage and this is currently £30 per person.

Documents you need to show us

When you give your notice of marriage there are certain documents that you will need to show the Superintendent Registrar:

• Birth Certificates - to verify your age and the spelling of your name
• Passports – to verify your nationality
• Deed Poll documents, Change of Name deed or Statutory Declaration – to show any changes to your name
• Decree Absolute – if either of you has been divorced – if this was not in the UK you will need to produce a translation of your document. In some cases it is necessary for a foreign divorce document to be sent to the Registrar General for verification.
• Death Certificate – if either of you has been widowed ( in some cases you may also need to produce a marriage certificate for your previous marriage).
• Consent form – if either of you is under 18 you will need a consent form signed by the person who is responsible for you.
• Proof of Address – to verify that you are living in the registration district.

Your marriage cannot go ahead unless the legal formalities have been completed.

Please note : If either you or your partner are foreign nationals (from outside of the European Union) you must first contact us by telephone before arranging any appointments as there are different procedures and documents involved.

How to contact us

You can:

• call us on 023 9282 9041
• write or visit us at The Register Office, Milldam House, Burnaby Road, Portsmouth, PO1 3AF
• email us

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