Marriage

Marriage

The principal law relating to marriage in Church of England parish churches is contained in the Marriage Act 1949. Marriage is also dealt with in the Canons, at Canons B30 to B35.

Canon B36 provides for a service of blessing after a civil marriage.

The 1949 Act provides that before a marriage can take place in a church, one of the following legal requirements must be fulfilled:

• The calling of Banns; or
• The issue of a Common Licence by the Bishop of the Diocese; or
• The issue of a Special Licence by the Archbishop; or
• The issue of a Marriage Schedule (formerly known as a Superintendent Registrar’s Certificate).

Alongside the wedding preparations, and consideration of any legal issues, it is also important for any couple intending to marry to spend time talking through their expectations of marriage. However much the couple think they have in common, they are still two separate individuals with different backgrounds, personalities, experiences, hopes and fears. The minister who is taking the service will probably want to spend some time with them talking through these issues, and this can be very worthwhile. Churches sometimes offer marriage preparation, sometimes as part of a group with other couples. This gives the couple an opportunity to think through possible areas of difficulty and how they will handle them together.

Registration of Marriages

On 4 May 2021 new rules came into force for the registration of marriages. The Marriage Registers historically held at churches have now been closed, and clergy are longer be able to issue Marriage Certificates. Instead the General Register Office maintains a national electronic register of marriages.

Churches should continue to maintain a parish register of marriages, in accordance with the requirement in Canon F11, paragraph 1. However, this will be for local information only, and will no longer constitute a legal record of marriages.

Instead of signing the register at the end of the marriage service, the minister now invites the couple to sign:

• a Marriage Document, where the couple are marrying after publication of banns or the issue of a Common Licence or Special Licence; or
• a Marriage Schedule, where the couple have given notice of their intention to marry at the Register Office for their district (the Marriage Schedule has replaced the Superintendent Registrar’s Certificate from 4 May 2021). 

A specimen Marriage Document is at Marriage Document.

The Marriage Document will be prepared by the minister taking the marriage service. The Marriage Schedule will look very similar to a Marriage Document, but will be prepared by the Civil Register Office. Instead of just the fathers’ names, the couple are also able to include their mothers’ names, and up to six witnesses may sign the Document/Schedule. There are instructions for completing the Marriage Document or Schedule on the rear of the form.

Responsibility for registering the marriage lies with the minister, who will have 21 days following the wedding to deliver the Marriage Document/Schedule to the Civil Register Office. This may in future be possible electronically , although the electronic system for uploading the Document/Schedule to the Register Office has not yet been enabled by the GRO. The minister therefore needs for the time being to deliver each completed Marriage Document/Schedule to the Register Office by hand or by post. The minister is no longer be able to issue a marriage certificate after the wedding but may supply the couple with a note to confirm that they were married at the Church on the relevant date.

Foreign Nationals

Note that from 1 July 2021, new rules have been introduced governing the marriage of foreign nationals. Banns may be used only where both parties to the marriage are UK citizens.

A Common Licence should be applied for where one of the parties is;

• A Citizen of the Republic of Ireland: or
• Holds Settled Status under the EU Settled Status Scheme: or
• Holds Pre-Settled Status under the EU Settled Status Scheme.

If either or both of the parties is/are outside all of these categories, the parties will need to obtain a Marriage Schedule from the Superintendent Registrar to authorise the marriage. For more information about this see the ‘Marriage Schedule’ page.