Civil marriage and weddings

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

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

The administrative route is to visiting 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 also in front of each other) and producing the required photographic identification (Passport, Driver's License).

The fee for the administrative conversion is now £30, and a fee of £10 is payable for the Marriage Certificate. For guidance on this please see Guidance on changing a civil partnership to a marriage.

To make a booking, you first need to decide on a wedding date and choose a venue. Don't forget you can visit the Grant Room at Marischal College by contacting the Registrars. You can also contact the Town Sergeants on 01224 522544 or 522543 to view the rooms available in the Town House.

With new legislation, outwith marriage venues are no longer required to hold a civil marriage license for the Registrar to conduct your ceremony. To discuss a wedding venue, please contact the Registrar's office.

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

There is a £25 non-refundable and non-transferrable deposit to pay to secure the date and time for your wedding being conducted by a Registrar. This deposit can be paid either in person or over the phone with a credit or debit card.

For all marriages taking place in Scotland, the statutory marriage notice form (M10) must be completed by both parties to the marriage.

The marriage notice forms must be submitted to the appropriate Registrar's Office in the district of where you are getting married, not later than 29 days before the date of the marriage.

The forms can be submitted up to three months before the ceremony. These forms can be obtained from any Scottish Registration Office or you can download a copy of them here. Please note, both parties to the marriage are required to fill out one marriage notice form each.

We also require you to fill out our marriage registration form, which gives us the names of your two witnesses (including any middle names) and also their home addresses. Your witnesses can be anyone, so long as they are over the age of 16 years and can fully understand and converse in English.

At the time of submitting your marriage notice forms we are also required to see the following documents:

• If you were born in the UK and are unmarried we are required to see the original of your birth certificate
• You are also required to prove your nationality.  For anyone born after the 1st January 1983 we also need to see your valid passport if you have one. If you do not have a valid passport we need to see your mother's birth certificate.
• All parties must show proof of residence. This can be a utility bill, council tax statement or bank statement, this evidence must be dated within the last three months.
• If you were born in the UK but have been married or in a registered civil partnership before we are required to see your original decree of divorce or dissolution. If you are widowed, we must see the death certificate of your late spouse.
• If 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 permanently residing 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 
• 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.

If you are travelling from a non EEA country and are a non European Economic Area (EEA) national further documentation will be required to be completed. 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 this 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 statutory duty to report any marriage they suspect has been registered for the sole purpose of evading statutory immigration controls.

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.

If your ceremony is being conducted by a Registrar, the cost will depend on where and when you are getting married. Please see our Marriage Fees for more information.

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.

If your wedding is cancelled, only part of the fees are refundable. The Registrar will arrange for reimbursement to be made to you and transferred into your bank account.