Marriage in Ireland
Notification
The basic requirement for all couples getting married in the Republic of Ireland is that they are both over the age of consent, free to marry under Irish law and give at least 3 months’ notice of intention to marry to a Registrar. This notice can be given at any Registration Office in the State with some exceptions; see below), and, since 5th November 2007, it must be given in person. Couples must make an appointment to give notification and must bring the following documentation and information with them:-
-Photo ID : please check when making your appointment what will be required;
-Fee of Euro150;
-Their PPS Number/s* (where either of both have one); these relate to Irish tax/social security records and so are normally applicable to Irish residents only
-Intended date of the marriage;
-Type of ceremony required (i.e. civil or religious);
-Details of venue for the marriage and the person solemnising it;
-If either party is widowed, the death certificate of the previous spouse and the civil marriage certificate for the first marriage;
-If either party is divorced, original final decrees in respect of all previous divorces;
-Names and dates of birth of their witnesses.
Additional documentation may be required in some cases, the Registrar will advise couples accordingly when they are making their appointments. Contact details of Registration Office can be obtained on our website here
Where one or both of the couple are living outside the Republic or unable due to illness to attend the Registrar’s Office, they should contact a Registrar and request authorisation to send in a notification by post. However, couples living abroad should note that they will still have to attend at the Registrar’s office by appointment at least 5 days before the marriage ceremony. To avoid any last-minute problems, they should ensure that all necessary documentation is with the Registrar well in advance of this
appointment.
Where one or both parties intending to marry has a previous divorce granted outside the Republic of Ireland, this divorce must be checked to ensure it is recognisable under Irish law. This process may take up to 3-4 weeks and couples needing divorce clearance should allow for this when giving notification.
At the meeting with the couple, the Registrar will take the required personal details from the couple in relation to their names, address(es), marital status, nationality, age etc. When all necessary details have been provided and the Registrar is satisfied that the couple are free to marry, the Registrar will ask the couple to sign declarations of no impediment and then issue them with a Marriage Registration Form (MRF). This is the equivalent of a ‘marriage licence’ i.e. it is the civil authorisation for
the couple to marry. It is envisaged that in most cases this process will all be done at one meeting and couples should ensure that they have all documentation with them to avoid having to go back a second time.
Exemptions
Couples can apply to the Circuit Family Court (in the area where either of them resides or where the marriage is to take place) or High Court for an exemption from the requirement to give at least 3 months’ notice, or from the requirement that both parties be over the age of 18. Couples must show good reason for such applications and the decisions thereon are entirely a matter for the court. For contact details of the Circuit Courts see the end of the ‘Getting Married’ webpage on our website www.groireland.ie
or alternatively www.courts.ie.
Solemnisation
On receiving their MRF, couples having religious ceremonies should ensure that they show it to the priest or cleric who is solemnising their marriage. For couples seeking civil marriages, the Registrar will make the arrangements regarding the ceremony with them and retain the MRF for use at the ceremony.
All marriages, whether civil or religious, must be performed by a registered solemniser who has been nominated by the registration authority or a religious body and whose nomination has been approved. The Register of Solemnisers may be inspected on the General Register Office website (www.groireland.ie ‘Getting Married’ section, Paragraph 2.2) or by contacting the Marriages Unit of the GRO at Government Offices, Convent Road, Roscommon, phone 090-6632945/7/8/9, 6632964 or 6632970.
At the end of the ceremony, the couple, the witnesses and the solemniser must sign the MRF and it should then be returned to the Registrar by the couple within 1 month of the ceremony, so that the marriage can be civilly registered. In civil marriages, the Registrar will simply retain the MRF for registration purposes.
Venues
The venues for religious marriages are a matter to be determined between the couples and the solemnisers and churches involved; the venue must be open to the public.
A civil marriage may take place either in a registry office or at a venue which has been agreed between the couple and the solemnising Registrar and which has been inspected and approved in advance of the ceremony by the registration authority, the Health Service Executive. Couples who wish to have their ceremony at a venue other than a registry office should contact a Registrar in the county where their marriage will take place, to make arrangements to have the proposed venue inspected. Approvals are granted
for each individual ceremony but where a venue has been recently approved for another ceremony, it will not normally be necessary for another inspection to be carried out.
Couples should note that only fixed structures with public access can be approved as venues for the solemnisation of civil marriages. Open-air venues and temporary structures such as marquees cannot be considered. For full details of the requirements for the approval of venues see our website www.groireland.ie at the ‘Getting Married’ section, Paragraph 2.1.
All marriage venues (whether religious or civil) are required by law to be open to the public. Buildings such as churches, registry offices and hotels meet this requirement; others such as private houses do not.
If you have any further enquiries, please consult our website www.groireland.ie (‘Getting Married’ section) or contact a Registration Office or the Marriages Unit of the General Register Office at 090-6632945/6/7/8/9 or 6632964/70/62.