Confirm the right office

Before you collect documents or book a venue, confirm which office handles your case. Start from the place where the ceremony will take place. Its rules say which office handles your case. That office may be near your home or near the ceremony.

Start with three facts

• The country, and the state or region, where the ceremony will take place.
• Where each of you lives now.
• The type of ceremony you plan, for example a civil or a religious ceremony.

Find the rule that picks the office

Each country sets its own rule. Some examples from the official pages:

• In England and Wales, GOV.UK says that you usually give notice at the register office for the district where you live.
• In New York State, you can apply in person to any town or city clerk in the state.
• In Australia, the NSW and Queensland pages say that you lodge the Notice of Intended Marriage with your celebrant.

These examples do not apply anywhere else. Read the country guide on this site, then the official page that it names.

Use the directory

Search for offices in the place that the rule points to. Use the What you get here filter to see if an office issues a licence or takes notice only. Open the office's marriage page from the listing.

Ask the office to confirm

Call or write to the office. Describe your case in one or two sentences. Ask: can you take our notice, or issue our licence, for a ceremony at this place on this date? Write down the answer and the date.

Sources

• GOV.UK: Give notice
• New York State Department of Health: Information on Getting Married in New York State
• NSW Government: Getting married in NSW
• MarriageLicense.fyi guide: Marriage licence rules in the United Kingdom, updated 2026-10-01
• MarriageLicense.fyi guide: Marriage license rules in the United States, updated 2026-10-01
• MarriageLicense.fyi guide: Marriage licence rules in Australia, updated 2026-10-01

This course is general information, not medical, legal or financial advice.