LEAFLET RM1

MARRIAGE IN SCOTLAND

•By law both parties to a proposed civil, religious or belief marriage are required to submit
marriage notice forms to the registrar of the district in which the marriage is to take place
informing them of their intention to marry.

•Forms for giving notice can be obtained from any registrar of births etc. in Scotland or from
the National Records of Scotland website at www.nrscotland.gov.uk .

•Notice must be given in the three-month period prior to the date of the marriage and
NOT LATER than 29 days before that date.

This leaflet gives general guidance only and should not be treated as a complete and
authoritative statement of the law. If, after reading it, you are still in doubt you should seek
advice from any registrar of births etc. in Scotland or from staff in
Marriage/Civil Partnership Section of the National Records of Scotland (NRS),
New Register House,
Edinburgh EH1 3YT
- email: [email protected]

WHO CAN BE MARRIED IN SCOTLAND?

Any two persons, regardless of sex or where they live, may marry in Scotland provided that:

•Both persons are at least 16 years of age on the day of their marriage.

•They are not related to one another in a way which would prevent their marrying (see the
list at Page 6 of this leaflet).

•They are unmarried and not in a civil partnership*.

•They are capable of understanding the nature of a marriage ceremony and of consenting to
marrying.

•In the case of an opposite sex marriage, the marriage would be regarded as valid in the
party’s country of domicile.

* If you are in a qualifying civil partnership you can change it to a marriage – a qualifying civil
partnership is a civil partnership which was registered in Scotland, England, Wales
or Northern Ireland and has not been dissolved, annulled or ended by death or an overseas
relationship registered outwith the United Kingdom which is treated as a civil partnership in
Scotland and has not been dissolved, annulled or ended by death.

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TYPES OF MARRIAGE

You can be married in either of two ways in Scotland - by a religious or belief ceremony or by
a civil ceremony:

•A religious or belief marriage may take place anywhere and may be solemnised only by a
minister, clergyman, pastor, priest or other person approved to do so under the
Marriage (Scotland) Act 1977.

•A civil marriage may take place in a registration office or at any place agreed between the
registration authority and the couple and may be solemnised only by a registrar or an
assistant registrar who has been authorised by the Registrar General for that purpose.

HOW AND WHEN TO GIVE NOTICE

You can each obtain a marriage notice form, and information about fees, from any registrar
of births etc. in Scotland. In most cases you can get the address of your local registrar from
the telephone directory. A list of registrars is also available on the NRS website at
www.nrscotland.gov.uk/files/registration/reglist.pdf.

•Each of you must complete and submit a marriage notice, along with the required
documents (see below) and the appropriate fee, to the registrar for the district in which
the marriage is to take place. This means that both parties must be aware of the
marriage and independently complete and sign the declaration on the marriage notice form.
Failing to give proper notice can result in a marriage being postponed or prevented from
proceeding.

•Timing is important. The notices must be submitted early enough to enable the registrar to
satisfy themself that you are free to marry one another. Normally notices should be in their
hands about TEN to TWELVE weeks beforehand. The minimum period is 29 days before
the date of the proposed marriage, but if you leave things as late as this you could be
faced with the need to postpone your marriage.

•Only in exceptional circumstances will the Registrar General authorise a marriage to take
place if 29 days' notice has not been given.

•Although you need not both attend personally at the registrar's office to hand in your
marriage notice, at least one of you may be asked to attend there personally before the
date of the marriage. This is necessary, in the case of a religious or belief marriage, to
collect the Marriage Schedule (see page 4) or, it might be necessary in the case of a civil
marriage, to finalise arrangements with the registrar.

•Every person giving notice is required to sign a declaration to the effect that the particulars
and information given on the notice are correct. As a safeguard against bigamous
marriages a subsequent check of the information is made by NRS.

•Persons related in any of the ways listed at paragraph 2 at the end of this leaflet will each
require to sign a separate declaration form which, like the marriage notice form, is
obtainable from any registrar of births etc. in Scotland.

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IF YOU LIVE IN ENGLAND OR WALES

•As an alternative to the normal procedure of giving notice to a registrar in Scotland, if you
intend to marry

(i) a person residing in Scotland, or

(ii) a person residing in England or Wales who has a parent residing in Scotland, you may
give notice of marriage to the superintendent registrar in the district of England or Wales
in which you reside. The person you are marrying should, however, give notice in
Scotland in the usual way.

•You should seek the advice of the superintendent registrar if you wish to proceed in this
way. The certificate for marriage obtained from him should be sent to the Scottish registrar
as quickly as possible.

DOCUMENTS TO BE PRODUCED

When giving or sending the marriage notice forms to the registrar each of you must supply
the following:

•Your birth certificate or, if you are adopted, your adoption certificate.

•Evidence of your usual residence.

•If you have been married or in a registered civil partnership before and the marriage or civil
partnership has been dissolved or annulled, a decree of divorce or dissolution or annulment
or a certified copy decree. A decree of divorce or dissolution granted outwith Scotland must
be absolute or final - a decree nisi is not acceptable.

•The registrar will ask to see your valid passport or other document to provide evidence of
your nationality.

•If your spouse or civil partner is deceased, the death certificate of your former spouse or
civil partner.

•If you are in a qualifying civil partnership, an extract from the entry in the civil partnership
register relating to the civil partnership.

•If you are in an existing marriage, your marriage certificate.

•If your domicile is abroad, a certificate of no impediment issued by the competent authority
to the effect that you are free to marry - see IF YOU ARE DOMICILED OUTSIDE THE
UNITED KINGDOM (below).

•If any of these documents are in a language other than English, a certified translation in
English must also be provided.

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•Do not delay giving notice simply because you are waiting for any of the documents
mentioned above to come to hand. If time is getting short it is better to give notice first and
then pass the documents to the registrar when they become available; but they must be
made available to the registrar before the marriage. Provided the documents are in order,
the marriage can proceed as arranged.

If you are subject to immigration controls you will have to provide extra documentation to that
outlined above. In particular, you will need to provide a Declaration of Immigration Status
form which can be obtained from the registrar or the NRS website. Evidence to support the
statement you make on the Declaration of Immigration Status form will also be required. If
you are in any doubt about what is required, or if you need further information, you should
consult the registrar or contact NRS.

IF YOU ARE DOMICILED OUTSIDE THE UNITED KINGDOM

The normal procedure of giving notice to the registrar in Scotland must be followed but, as
previously mentioned, an additional requirement is placed upon you.

•If, being domiciled in a country outside the UK, you are subject to the marriage laws of that
country, you should obtain, if practicable, a certificate issued by the competent authority
(usually the civil authority) in that country to the effect that there is no impediment to your
proposed marriage. If the certificate is in a language other than English you should also
produce a certified translation.

•In the absence of such a certificate without good reason being shown, it may not be
possible for you to marry in Scotland.

•If you are now resident in the UK, and have lived here for the last two years or more, you
need not submit such a certificate.

•If you are a UK citizen living abroad, or an Australian or New Zealand or Canadian or
United States of America citizen you need not submit such a certificate.

•If you are in any doubt about what is required, or if you need further information, you should
consult the registrar or write to NRS at the address shown at the start of this leaflet.

MAKING ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE MARRIAGE CEREMONY

It is important to make early arrangements for the date and time of your marriage.

•If you are having a religious or belief ceremony, contact the person performing the marriage
before completing the notice of marriage.

•For a civil marriage, make advance arrangements with the registrar. This is particularly
important if the ceremony is to be in towns and cities, where large numbers of people want
to be married at certain times of the year.

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•Arrange for two persons, aged 16 years or over, to be present at your marriage to act as
witnesses. They are required whether it is a religious or belief or civil ceremony.

•Be sure to let the person performing the marriage know if you change your plans or decide
to postpone your marriage.

THE MARRIAGE SCHEDULE

When they are satisfied there is no legal impediment to the marriage, the registrar will
prepare a Marriage Schedule from the information you have given them. The Schedule is a
most important document - no marriage can proceed without it.

•If you are having a religious or belief marriage the Marriage Schedule will be issued to you
by the registrar. The Schedule cannot be issued more than seven days before the marriage
and the registrar will advise you when to call to collect it. The Schedule cannot be collected
on your behalf by a relative or friend - the registrar will issue it only to one of the parties to
the marriage.

•The Marriage Schedule must be produced before the marriage ceremony to the person
performing the marriage.

•Immediately after the ceremony, the Schedule must be signed in black fountain pen by both
parties, by the person performing the marriage and by the two witnesses. Thereafter, it
must be returned to the registrar within three days so that (s)he can register the marriage.

•If you are having a civil marriage, a Marriage Schedule will not be issued, but the registrar
will have it available at the marriage ceremony for signature. Subsequently, the registrar
will register the marriage.

•A fee for the civil marriage and, if applicable, for the attendance of an authorised registrar if
the location is somewhere other than the registration office, is payable to the registrar in
advance.

MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE

After the marriage has been registered, you can obtain copies of the marriage certificate
from the registrar on payment of the appropriate fee.

DEGREES OF RELATIONSHIP WITHIN WHICH MARRIAGE IS UNLAWFUL

See Page 6 of this leaflet.

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DEGREES OF RELATIONSHIP WITHIN WHICH MARRIAGE IS UNLAWFUL

1. Relationships by consanguinity

Parent
Child
Grandparent
Grandchild
Sibling
Aunt or uncle
Niece or nephew
Great-grandparent
Great-grandchild

2. Relationships by affinity – see note below

Child of former spouse

Child of former civil partner
Former spouse of parent
Former civil partner of parent
Former spouse of grandparent
Former civil partner of grandparent
Grandchild of former spouse
Grandchild of former civil partner

3. Relationships by adoption

Adoptive parent or former adoptive parent

Adopted child or former adopted child

Note: Parties related within the degrees listed at 2 can marry if both are 21 years of age or
over at the time of the marriage and the younger party has not, before his or her 18th
birthday, lived in the same household as the other party and been treated by that person as a
child of the family.

Feb 2017