Legal Preliminaries to Marriage
The legal preliminaries to marriage in Scotland are fully explained in a separate leaflet called - Marriage in Scotland.
There is no residential qualification required for marriage in Scotland.
Both the Bride and Groom have to fill in and sign a Marriage notice form. The forms need to be returned to the Registrar where the marriage is to take place, within three months, but at least 14 clear days prior to the marriage. Ideally, we would recommend that marriage notice forms are submitted to the Registrar 4 to 6 weeks before the date of the marriage.
What you will need
The appropriate fees and both birth certificates should accompany the completed marriage notice forms. Additional documents will be required to accompany the forms if either party has been previously married or in a civil partnership. The Registrar will be able to help you with this.
If either the Bride or Groom is a British national and was born after 1982, a current British passport has to be produced. If either the Bride or Groom is a foreign national, please ask the Registrar for advice about what additional document you may have to provide. If you are a foreign national, it is advisable to allow sufficient time for submitting marriage notice forms where additional documentation is required.
You will need to arrange for 2 people to be present to act as witnesses to your marriage (usually best man and bridesmaid). The 2 witnesses must be aged 16 or over and be capable of fully understanding the proceedings. The Registrar must be notified of the full names and addresses of both witnesses.
If the bride, groom or either of the two witnesses to the marriage (who have to be aged 16 years or over) are unable to understand or converse fluently in English, an interpreter will have to be present at the marriage. Please consult the Registrar for advice.
If you are unable to download the Marriage notice forms and the Marriage in Scotland leaflet, these documents and details of fees are available from any Registrar in Scotland.
If you have internet access, these documents can be downloaded from the General Register Office for Scotland's marriage website. The address is:
(The documents are in Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format.)
The Registrar will advise you on the current statutory fees and any additional fees.
