Order a marriage certificate after a religious ceremony
Marriage laws changed in May 2021. This means the way marriages are registered is now different. At your ceremony, you and your witnesses will sign a marriage schedule instead of a register. This is used to create the legal record of your marriage.
Getting your marriage schedule
Church of England or Church in Wales
If your wedding is taking place in a Church of England or Church in Wales, the church will prepare the marriage schedule for you. You will sign it during the ceremony.
Other religious venues
If you marry in another religious venue, you will need to have given notice of marriage in the district in which you live. The marriage schedule will be available either 28 or 70 days later and you will need to arrange to collect the schedule from Swindon Register Office and Ceremony Rooms before your ceremony.
Returning the signed schedule
After a religious ceremony you have 21 days to return the signed schedule to the registration service. This is the responsibility of the clergy or authorised person at the church, but they may ask you to arrange it.
Getting your marriage certificate
Once we receive the signed schedule, we will create the legal record of your marriage within ten working days.
You will need to order a copy of your legal marriage certificate after your religious ceremony has taken place. Certificates will be posted to you up to 15 days after your order has been made.
You will then need to allow additional time for postage.
Order and pay for a marriage certificate
If your ceremony is taking place at Swindon Register Office and Ceremony Rooms or at one of our approved venues in Swindon, your registrar will take care of everything relating to the marriage schedule. The fee you pay includes one marriage certificate.
You can choose to have your certificate posted to you, or collect it in person from Swindon Register Office and Ceremony Rooms. Additional copies can be ordered online if needed, for example, to support any name changes after the ceremony.