Getting married is one of the most significant events in someone’s life. Anyone planning to get married in Ireland must give a minimum of three months’ notice to the Registrar at a Civil Registration Service. This is the law in Ireland and it applies to all civil, religious and secular marriages and is sometimes referred to as a ‘notification of your intention to marry’.

How do you give your notice of your intention to marry?

You must give the ‘notification of your intention to marry’ to a Registrar at least three months before the intended date of the marriage and both parties must attend the appointment.

You will need to contact your local Civil Registration Service to get a postal marriage notification form, and make a marriage notification appointment with the Registrar. You can do this online for certain areas of the country. The requirement to give three months’ notice does not apply to civil partners whose civil partnership was registered in Ireland.

How much is the notification fee?

The non-refundable notification fee is €200. There is a reduced notification fee of €50 for same-sex couples who are already in a civil partnership that is registered in Ireland and now wish to marry.

What happens at the marriage notification appointment?

When you and your intended spouse meet the Registrar, you will be required to sign a declaration that you are free to marry and know of no lawful impediment to your proposed marriage.

If all is in order, the Registrar will issue you with a Marriage Registration Form (MRF); you will need this to get married and to be able to register your marriage. If you bring all the required documentation to your marriage notification appointment with the Registrar, they may be able to issue the MRF immediately. You can contact your local Citizens Information Centre to check what documents you need to bring.

If you, your intended spouse, the witnesses or the solemniser has a limited knowledge of English, you must provide an interpreter. The interpreter must be from an independent, verifiable translation company and be present for both the notification of intention to marry and the marriage itself.

If the marriage does not take place within six months of the date of marriage given on the MRF, a new MRF will be required if you still intend to marry. You will need to repeat the notification process.

Is it possible to do a postal notification if you are not able to attend in person?

If either of you are living abroad or are unable to attend a civil registration office due to serious illness, you should contact a Registrar to get permission to make your three-month notification by post. 

You will still have to make arrangements to meet the Registrar at least five days before you get married in order to sign the declaration form. 

What happens if the wedding is postponed?

If you have already started your three-month notice period but have had to postpone your wedding, your MRF is valid for six months after your original wedding date and only needs to be amended.

If your rescheduled wedding date is after six months, you will need to contact the office give them your new date of marriage at least three months before the new date. You will need to meet with the Registrar again to get a new MRF but here is no charge for this.

Where to apply

You can find a list of Civil Registration Offices on the HSE website.