If you want to get married in Ireland, you must give three months notice, in person, at a civil registration service. This applies to all civil, religious and secular marriages.
To give notice, you must book a notification appointment and both of you must attend.
To book a marriage notification appointment over the phone, contact a civil registration service.
For certain areas of the country you can also book online.
Book your appointment as far in advance as possible. Waiting times can vary throughout the year.
Contact a civil registration service if you are in a civil partnership and you want to get married.
At the marriage notification appointment, the registrar meets both of you.
You sign a declaration stating that you do not know of any legal reason why the marriage can't happen.
If everything is in order, the registrar gives you a marriage registration form.
Registrars can investigate and form an opinion of the authenticity of an application. This can result in a decision to not grant a licence.
If you are not living in Ireland and you want to give notice by post, contact a civil registration service.
You will still need to give 3 months notice. You will also need to meet the registrar at least 5 days before the ceremony to sign the declaration form.
The registrar will also give you the Marriage Registration Form.
You will need to attend an interview with the registrar if:
The non-refundable notification fee is €200.
For a marriage to be legal, the ceremony must be performed by a solemniser.
The solemniser must be on the Register of Solemnisers.
For a civil ceremony, the registrar will solemnise the marriage.
Both witnesses must be over the age of 18 on the day of the marriage ceremony.
You will need 2 witnesses over the age of 18.
The registrar who conducted the ceremony will register the marriage.
Note: Further charges can apply for civil ceremonies that take place at a venue that is not a registry office.
You must book a notification appointment for a church, religious or secular ceremony.
Contact the religious authorities to arrange the ceremony. You will also need to register the marriage.
You will need to download and complete the capture of data form and bring it to your marriage notification appointment.
Both of you must bring the original and a colour photocopy of the photo page of one of the following:
Photo ID documents must be in date.
You will also need:
If your documents are not in English or Irish you must provide translations.
Public documents issued by an EU member state should be accompanied by a Multilingual Standard Form (MSF), which is a translation and authentication document accepted across the EU.
If you were born outside the EU and you do not have an acceptable form of photographic ID (for example a valid passport, Public Service Card, etc.), you will require an apostille stamp or letter from your Embassy/Diplomatic Mission confirming the authenticity of your certificates.
You will also need:
Please bring up-to-date evidence of your immigration status.
If you speak to each other in a language that is not English or Irish, you must provide an interpreter. You will also need to do this at the ceremony.
You will need to provide the following information about your ceremony:
You will need an original or certified copy, and photocopy, of your divorce decree. If there is a stay on the divorce decree, bring this too.
Contact a civil registration service for advice if you divorced in another country.
All foreign divorces will be examined by the General Register Office to determine whether it can be recognised in the State.