Registering a Marriage in Ireland

Registration Procedure
• Information
• Rules
• Costs
• How and Where to apply

Information
It is a legal requirement that every marriage that takes place in Ireland must be recorded and registered. Records of marriages in Ireland are held in the General Register Office, which is the central civil repository for records relating to births, marriages and deaths in Ireland. You can request a copy of a marriage certificate by applying to any Registrar of Births, Marriages and Deaths or to the General Register Office or to the Irish Certificates website.

The Civil Registration Act 2004 changed some of the rules about registering a marriage and these changes took effect from 5th November 2007. Since then, the registration procedure for marriage is the same whether you are marrying in a Registry Office or by religious ceremony.

Rules

If you are getting married by civil ceremony in a Registry Office or other approved place, you should approach the Registrar of Civil Marriages for the district in which you intend to marry for information on how to proceed. If you are getting married by religious ceremony, you should approach the authorities of the religious denomination concerned for advice on how to proceed.

Since 5 November 2007, a couple who are getting married are required to give notification in person of their intention to marry to a Registrar at least 3 months before the intended date of their marriage. The notification can be given to any Registrar in any district.

If there is no impediment to your marriage, the Registrar will issue you with a Marriage Registration Form (MRF) which gives you permission to marry.

You should give the MRF to whomever will be solemnising your marriage before the marriage ceremony. Immediately after the marriage ceremony the MRF should be signed by you and your spouse, the two witnesses and the person solemnising the marriage.

Registration

If you get married by civil ceremony, the Registrar who solemnised the marriage will register the marriage with the information on the MRF as soon as possible after the ceremony. If you get married by religious ceremony, you should give the MRF within one month to a Registrar, for the marriage to be registered. It does not have to be returned to the Registrar who issued it.

Under Section 50 of the Civil Registration Act 2004, if the completed MRF is not returned to a Registrar within 56 days of the intended date of marriage recorded on the MRF, the Registrar can serve a notice on you requiring you to return the MRF within 14 days of receiving the notice. If you do not comply with this requirement, the Registrar can serve a notice on you requiring you to attend on a particular date at the office of the Registrar (or other place given in the notice) with the completed MRF. If you are unable to give the MRF to the Registrar when you meet, you have a further 14 days to give it.

Note: You cannot get your civil marriage certificate until the marriage is registered.

Costs

There is no fee charged for the registration of a marriage, or for the correction of errors on a marriage certificate.

Fees are charged for providing a copy of a marriage certificate. A certificate can be issued for social welfare purposes at a reduced cost, when a letter from the Department of Social and Family Affairs is provided.

The fees for a certificate are:

• €10 for a full standard certificate – personal or postal application
• €25 for a full standard certificate – online application

How and Where to obtain a marriage certificate

To obtain a marriage certificate, you can apply in person at any Registrars Office.

You can apply by post by completing the GRO marriage certificate application form, stating both parties full names, the date and place of marriage, and enclosing a cheque or postal order for the relevant fees in euro.

You can apply online by completing the marriage certificate application form, stating both parties full names, the date and place of marriage, and giving the required credit card details.