Marriage in Scotland

You cannot legally marry or have a civil partnership with any of the following relatives:

parent
child
grandparent
grandchild
sibling
aunt or uncle
niece or nephew
great-grandparent
great-grandchild
adopted parent or former adoptive parent
adopted child or former adopted child

Relatives you can marry

The relatives you can marry are:

child of former wife or husband
child of former civil partner
former spouse or civil partner of parent
former spouse or civil partner of grandparent
grandchild of former spouse or former civil partner

To do this you must:

be aged 21 or over
not have lived in the same house as the person when you were aged 18 or younger
not have been treated as a child of their family

Different types of marriage ceremony

There are 2 different types of marriage ceremony you can have in Scotland:

civil ceremony – can take place in a registration office or anywhere agreed with the registrar, except religious premises
religious or belief ceremony – can take place anywhere by someone approved to conduct a ceremony

Check with the religious or belief body that they will marry you.

There are different options if you want to change a civil partnership to a marriage.

How to get married

Marriage Notice form

You’ll both need to complete and send a Marriage Notice form to the registrar in the area you will be married in. You should do this between three months and one month before your wedding date.

If your form is not with the registrar at least 29 days before your wedding date, you may need to postpone.

When you send in your Marriage Notice form, you’ll need to include:

a fee to register your marriage – check with your registrar office how much this will be
the other documents you need to provide to get married

Documents you need to provide

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your birth certificate
evidence of where you live, for example a bank statement with your address
your divorce certificate if you or your partner were previously married
your dissolution certificate if you or your partner were previously in a civil partnership
a death certificate if a previous spouse (husband or wife) or civil partner has died
your passport or another document that provides evidence of your nationality
your certificate that you are free to marry under the law of your own country if you don't live in the UK

Get in touch with your registrar as early as possible if you cannot get any of these documents.You may be able to use other documents.

If any of the documents are not in English you'll need to get a translation of the document.

Returning your Marriage Notice form

You can complete and return your Marriage Notice form and other required documents between three months and one month before your wedding date.

If your form is not with the registrar at least 29 days before your wedding date, you may need to postpone.

You can return forms and documents to the local registrar either in person or by post.

Religious or belief ceremonies

If you're having a religious or belief ceremony you'll also need to collect the 'marriage schedule'.

A marriage schedule is a form you sign during your wedding ceremony.

You can collect this from 7 days before your wedding. You or the person you're marrying will need to collect it in person.

The marriage schedule needs to be returned to your local registrar after your wedding. You can send it by post. You must do this within 3 days of your ceremony.

If you're having a civil ceremony the registrar will bring your marriage schedule to your wedding and return it to the registrar's office for you.

Declaration of Immigration Status

If you’re not from the UK, you also need to complete and return a declaration of status by Non-UK Nationals form.

Forms

If you have any problems with the online forms, you can get them from a registration office. You can find a list of all the registrars in Scotland on the National Records of Scotland website.

Getting married in Scotland if you live outside of the UK

If you live outside of the UK you need to get a certificate from your country to say there's no reason why you cannot be married. This needs to be given along with your marriage notice to the registrar at least 29 days before the wedding.

If the certificate is not in English you'll need to get a certified translation of the document.

If you cannot provide this evidence, you may not be able to marry in Scotland.

You do not need to get a certificate if you're a UK citizen living abroad.

Further information

There's more information about getting married in Scotland on the National Records of Scotland website.

If you're not sure what you need to do, you can contact:

National Records of Scotland
Combined Registrations Services
New Register House
3 West Register Street
Edinburgh
EH1 3YT

Find out about marriage in your area