Weddings abroad

Getting married abroad

If you are planning on being married outside of England and Wales then you should contact the authorities of that country to make the arrangements and obtain the legal permission to be married.  Some countries, but not all, will ask you to obtain a “certificate of no impediment” from your local register office.

You can only obtain a certificate of no impediment from us if:

• You are a British citizen. Non British citizens should contact the embassy of their nationality for advice.
• You are a Darlington resident, that is the property you live in pays council tax to Darlington Borough Council.

You can find out if you need a certificate of no impediment and also what the arrangements are for planning a wedding in your chosen country on the gov.uk marriage abroad webpage [external link]

Once you have been married abroad you should note:

• You cannot be legally married again in this country as you are only legally married once.
• You do not have to register the marriage in this country, it is registered where it occurred.
• You should obtain marriage certificates before returning to the UK. You cannot obtain them from a register office in this country as the marriage is not registered here. If you need additional marriage certificates when you have returned to the UK you should contact the embassy of the country where you were married.