Marriage in Scotland

Last updated: 23 May 2018

Who can get married in Scotland

You can get married in Scotland if you're:

aged 16 or over
in an opposite sex or same sex relationship
not married or in a civil partnership with someone else
not closely related (see below for a list of relations you can't marry)
capable of understanding what marriage means and of consenting to marriage

You can't 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

You both need to complete and return a Marriage Notice form (tells the local registrar you want to marry).

You'll be charged a fee to register your marriage – check with your registrar office how much this will be.

You need to return your forms and any other documents needed to the registrar at least 29 days before your wedding.

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 can't get any of these documents.You may be able to use other documents.

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 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

You'll also need to complete and return a declaration of immigration status form if you're not from:

the UK
the European Union
Switzerland
Iceland
Norway
Lichenstein

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 can't 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 can't provide this evidence, you may not be able to marry in Scotland.

You don't 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
Marriage/Civil Partnership Section
Room 38
New Register House
3 West Register Street
Edinburgh
EH1 3YT

Email: marriage@nrscotland.gov.uk

Telephone: 0131 314 4447

Find out about call charges on the GOV.UK website.

Find out about marriage in your area

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