Civil Marriages and Civil Partnerships

To make a booking, you first need to decide on a date and choose a venue. Registrars can perform ceremonies at any venue you choose, apart from religious buildings. 

Once you have decided on where and when you would like to get married you can make a provisional booking with a Registrar.

Please call 03000 200 292 (option 6) to provisionally book a ceremony.

A Registrar will contact you to confirm your booking and ask you to pay a £55 non-refundable and non-transferrable deposit to secure the date and time for your wedding being conducted by a Registrar. 

For all marriages taking place in Scotland, whether it is a Registrar, Minister or Celebrant conducting your ceremony, the statutory marriage notice form (M10) must be completed and submitted to the appropriate Registrar's office in the district of where you are getting married, no later than 29 days before the date of the marriage.

You can submit your forms up to three months before the ceremony and you and your partner must complete one form each.

You need an appointment to submit notice of marriage.  You can book an appointment by calling 03000 200 292 (option 6).

You will also have to complete our marriage registration form, which gives us the names of your two witnesses (including any middle names) and their home addresses.

Your witnesses can be anyone, as long as they are over the age of 16 years and can speak English.

Other documents you need to submit

At the time of submitting your marriage notice forms we also need to see the following information from you both:

• Your original birth certificates.  
• Proof of nationality. If you were born after the 1st January 1983 we will need to see your valid passport If you do not have a valid passport, we will need to see your mother's birth certificate.
• Proof of address. This can be a valid driving licence, current Council Tax Bill or Bank Statement, or a utility bill dated within the last three months.
• If you have previously been married or in a registered civil partnership, we need to see your original decree of divorce or dissolution. If you are widowed, we must see the death certificate of your late spouse.
• If you were born outside the UK, we must see your valid passport and where appropriate your visa.
• If you were born outside the UK and have been living in the UK for less than two years, you may be required to get a Certificate of No Impediment. For more information about this, please contact the Registrars on 01224 522616. 
• If you were divorced outside the UK we must see the original of the divorce and translation if not issued in English. Depending on the country the divorce was finalised you may also be required to complete a Foreign Divorce Questionnaire. For more information about this, please contact the Registrars on 01224 522616.

You may need to drop off additional documents after you have had your appointment to submit notice of marriage or civil partnership. You can book an appointment to do this by calling 03000 200 292 (option 6).

I want to Register a Civil Partnership in Scotland. How do I go about it?

The Civil Partnership Act 2004, which applies throughout the UK and came into force on 5 December 2005, allows same sex couples to register a civil partnership. 

On 28 July 2020, the Civil Partnership (Scotland) Act 2020 became law. This Act makes provision for mixed sex couples to register a civil partnership.  

From 1 June 2021, it will be possible to submit notice of intention to enter a mixed sex civil partnership in Scotland. A notice period of 28 clear days is required, which means that mixed sex civil partnerships could take place from 30 June 2021 onwards.  

While 28 clear days is the minimum notice period required, it is advisable for couples to give ten to twelve weeks’ notice of their intention to register a civil partnership, in order to allow sufficient time for the registrar to satisfy themselves that the parties are free to become partners.  

If you are subject to Immigration Control please read the information issued by the Home Office carefully.

You will need to book a place, date and time for your civil partnership. You should also be aware that, whether you intend to have your civil partnership registered by a Registrar, or by an approved celebrant from a religious or belief body, you must by law submit notice forms and the associated documents, and pay the statutory fee, to the Registrar in whose district you intend to be civilly partnered.  

You may find it useful to download the following documents about our requirements.

• Information leaflet RCP1 – Registering a Civil Partnership in Scotland. 
• Civil Partnership Notice Form and Guidance Notes (Form CP10) - to be completed by persons wishing to register a Civil Partnership in Scotland. 
• Declaration of Immigration Status - to be completed by anyone who is not British, Swiss or an EEA national. 
• Celebrant and Witness Details Form - to be completed if you have chosen your witnesses.
• Questions to be answered by persons who submit foreign dissolution/annulment documents if previously in a registered civil partnership
• Questions to be answered by parties who submit foreign divorce documents if previously married 
• Civil Partnership Registration in Scotland - what you would pay 
• Contact details for registration offices 

The RCP1 leaflet should answer most of your questions, but please bear in mind the following points:

Always telephone the selected local Registrar before filling in form CP10.

If you want to register a Civil Partnership, the Registrar will be able to help you choose a day and time, and tell you what fees you are likely to pay.

They will also confirm what form of payment the Registrar can accept.

Notice forms and accompanying documents should be sent to the Registrar for the district where the civil partnership will be registered.

Both parties intending to register the Civil Partnership should provide the Registrar with a postal address and a contact telephone number (and if possible, an email address).

You must post (not email) the completed forms to arrive approximately 10-12 weeks before the date of the intended registration of the Civil Partnership and certainly no later than 29 days before. 

I want to register the Civil Partnership as a “surprise” for my partner. Is this possible?

Unfortunately, this is not possible as both partners are legally required to submit notice forms to the Registrar. This means that you must both independently complete and sign the declaration form (CP10). 

Failure to give proper notice can result in the registration of the Civil Partnership being postponed or prevented from proceeding.

Can we have a ceremony?

If you would like a ceremony to form part of your civil partnership then please contact the Registrar for the area in which you intend to register your civil partnership. They will be able to explain to you what arrangements can be made locally. They can also confirm the words that might be used during the ceremony.

Arranging a Civil Partnership Abroad 

You should contact the Consulate or Embassy for the relevant country for advice on what documentation will be required.

Registering a Civil Partnership Abroad 

If you are registering a Civil Partnership in a country out with the UK, you may need to get your birth extract authenticated.

An authentication can be provided by National Records of Scotland for a fee. Please email the General Register for Scotland authentication of extracts section by using their Contact Form.   They will be glad to help and will advise you of the current fee.

Please note that an authentication is not accepted by every foreign government and some ask for an apostille to be written on the back of an extract. If you require an apostille please contact the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 0370 000 2244.

Can we register our Civil Partnership in places other than a registration office?

Your Civil Partnership can be held in a registration office or at any other location of your choice, if it has been agreed to by the local council.

You should contact the registrar for the area you want your civil partnership to take place to discuss further details.

If your ceremony is being conducted by anyone other than the Registrar, you will need to return to the Registrar's Office to collect the Marriage Schedule. You can do this up to seven days before the ceremony.

You need an appointment to pick up marriage or civil partnership schedule. You can book an appointment by calling 03000 200 292 (option 6).

The marriage schedule must be returned to the Registrar's Office within three days of the marriage so that the marriage can be registered. If you cannot take the marriage schedule back personally, you can ask someone else to take it for you so that it is received by the registrar within that three day timescale. You do not need to make an appointment for this, it can be dropped off at the reception in Marischal College.

If you are travelling from a non-European Economic Area (EEA) country and are a non-EEA national further documentation will be required. Please read the giving notice of marriage or civil partnership information carefully.

If you are subject to immigration controls, please download and complete a Declaration of Immigration Status Form.

Parties to a marriage, who are not British, Swiss or from the EEA must complete a Declaration of Immigration Status Form which should accompany the marriage notice forms. We cannot accept notice without the completed declaration form.

For advice on what documentation you may need to show please contact the Registrars office.
Registrars have a legal duty to report any marriage they suspect has been registered for the sole purpose of evading statutory immigration controls.

People already in a registered civil partnership can make an application to convert from a civil partnership to marriage.

This can be done either by means of a marriage ceremony (civil, religious or belief) or by the administrative conversion.

An administrative conversion means you will need to visit your local Registrar’s Office with your civil partnership certificate, completing the application form (which must be signed in the presence of a Registrar and in front of each other) and producing photographic identification (passport, driver's license).

The fee for the administrative conversion is £30, and an additional £10 is payable for the Marriage Certificate. 

Parties to a marriage, who are not British, Swiss or from the EEA must complete a Declaration of Immigration Status Form which should accompany the marriage notice forms. We cannot accept notice without the completed declaration form.

For advice on what documentation you may need to show please contact the Registrars office.

Registrars have a legal duty to report any marriage they suspect has been registered for the sole purpose of evading statutory immigration controls.

The Scottish Government is preparing regulations which will allow married couples to change (convert) their marriage to a civil partnership if they so wish.  It is intended that these regulations should be introduced in late 2021.

If you are to be married by anyone other than a Registrar the fee you pay to us is £70.  This covers the fee to give notice of marriage (£30 each) and a certificate of marriage (£10).

If your ceremony is being conducted by a Registrar, the cost will depend on where and when you are getting married. 

Please note that room capacities include bride, groom and two witnesses.

For all ceremonies you will be requested to pay the full balance of marriage fees when you complete and submit your marriage notice forms and documentation.