UK Wedding Legal Costs: Notice, Registrar and Certificate Fees
Direct answer
The statutory path (England & Wales): give notice at your register office at least 29 days before the ceremony (£46.50 per person from 6 April 2026; £63 under the immigration referral scheme), have lived in the district 7 days first, and marry within 12 months. A basic register-office ceremony's registrar costs £62; the certificate is £12.50. Marrying at an approved venue (hotel, stately home) swaps that for a council-set registrar attendance fee — examples: Kent £550 weekday/£750 weekend +£80 booking, Lancashire £450–£600, Milton Keynes from £641 — on top of the venue's own hire charge.
The £136.50 wedding and the £1,500 one
Two people marrying at a register office on a weekday pay about £136.50 in unavoidable legal fees (2 × £46.50 notice + £62 registrar — certificate £12.50 extra, and enhanced ceremony rooms cost more). The same legal marriage at a Saturday approved-premises venue in Kent costs £750 + £80 booking in registrar fees alone, before the venue's hire charge. Nothing about the marriage differs — the delta is entirely venue and day-of-week choice, which makes it one of the cleanest cost levers in UK wedding planning.
Timing trap: the 29-day notice clock plus the 7-day residency requirement means a legally safe minimum runway of about five weeks — and notice appointments in busy districts book out, so treat 8–10 weeks as the practical floor.
Assumptions
- England & Wales; Scotland and Northern Ireland run separate systems.
- Approved-premises fees are set by each county council — the three examples show the range, not a national price.
- Many council pages still show the pre-April-2026 £42 notice fee; £46.50 is the current schedule (two councils confirmed).
What changes this answer
- Your county's registrar fees differ — check your council's current schedule.
- Weekend and bank-holiday ceremonies price at the top of every council's range.
- Anglican church weddings use banns instead of civil notice — a different fee path.
Common questions
How much does it cost to give notice of marriage?
£46.50 per person from 6 April 2026 (£63 each if a party is within the Immigration Act 2014 referral scheme). Some council pages still show the old £42 fee — the current schedule is £46.50, confirmed on two councils' 2026/27 fee lists.
Sources
- GOV.UK — give notice (marriage/CP) — tier 1, verified 2026-07-22
- Kent County Council Registration Service — fees 2026-29 (PDF) — tier 1, verified 2026-07-22
- Milton Keynes City Council — registration fees 2026/27 — tier 1, verified 2026-07-22
- GOV.UK — plan your ceremony — tier 1, verified 2026-07-22
- GOV.UK — certificate copies — tier 1, verified 2026-07-22
- Lancashire County Council — ceremony fees (from 2026-04-06) — tier 1, verified 2026-07-22
Last checked 2026-07-22. Tiers: 1 government/regulator · 2 industry body · 3 official supplier docs · 4 large surveys · 5 professional material.
Legal information — not legal advice
Rules cited on this page apply to: UK. They were verified against the official sources listed above on 2026-07-22 and can change.Rules often differ by state, province, council or venue and depend on your event's specifics — confirm current requirements with the issuing authority before relying on them.