ANGLICAN MARRIAGE
This page summarises the law relating to preliminaries to Anglican marriage in England and Wales and explains the Archbishop's practice on the issue of special licences and some points to note where one of the parties is a foreign national.
Clergy should read the Faculty Office advice on the marriage of foreign nationals, which may also be of assistance to couples who are arranging their weddings in the Church of England, one or both of whom are not UK nationals. More general advice is contained in the following sections. Faculty Office Guide to the Marriage of Foreign Nationals (clergy edition January 2010)
The information given is for general guidance only and is not intended to be a definitive statement of the law or the Archbishop's practice.
Legal Preliminaries
Before making plans for your Church of England or Church in Wales wedding, be sure that you will be able to meet the legal requirements for marriage in the church or chapel where you wish to marry.
By law, a marriage can only be conducted after an appropriate preliminary. This is a legal formality which authorises the wedding to take place. In the Church of England and the Church in Wales the normal preliminary is the calling of banns in each party's parish church.
Sometimes banns are not appropriate and the couple may obtain a common licence from their diocesan bishop's registry or a local surrogate. Occasionally a marriage in church may take place with a certificate issued by the civil Superintendent Registrar.
Residence
For all these preliminaries there is a residence requirement. The Church of England and the Church in Wales are divided geographically into parishes and for each parish there is normally a parish church. Parishioners (including those on the church electoral roll) have the right to marry in their parish church (there are exceptions for those who are divorced with a former spouse is still living).
Since the Marriage Measure became law on 1st October 2008 others now have the same entitlement to marry where they have a qualifying connection. Those qualifying connections are:
(i) that person:
• was baptised in the parish. (This does not apply where the baptism formed part of a combined service of baptism or confirmation); or
• had his or her confirmation entered in a church register book of a church or chapel in the parish; or
• has at any time had his or her usual place of residence in the parish for at least 6 months; or
• has at any time habitually attended public worship in the parish for at least 6 months;
or
(ii) a Parent of that person has at any time during that person’s lifetime:
• had his or her usual place of residence in the parish for at least 6 months; or
• habitually attended public worship in the parish for at least 6 months;
or
(iii) a Parent or Grandparent of that person was married in the parish.
The references to baptism, confirmation and marriage, and to attending public worship, are all confined to services according to the rites of the Church of England.
Banns are read in the church where the wedding is to take place and in the parishes where each party resides.
Where one or both parties normally reside(s) overseas, the marriage should take place by common or Special Licence.
For more information about the Marriage Measure please click here.
If you want an Anglican wedding, find out which parish you live in and which church building may be used for the ceremony. Your local parish priest should be able to tell you which parish you live in. Alternatively, you may also use an online parish checker.
The first stage in your wedding plans should be a visit to your local parish priest or the priest responsible for the church where you have a qualifying connection.
If you have a genuine connection with a particular church or chapel but you are unable to satisfy the legal requirement (see above) to marry there, you may apply to the Faculty Office for the Archbishop of Canterbury's Special Licence.
Special licences are given by the Archbishop under powers he and his predecessors have exercised since 1533. They are not issued automatically. If you think you need a special licence, you should enquire about its availability before making any other preparations for the wedding. This is something you should discuss with the priest who is to conduct the ceremony.
If you wish to apply for a special licence or need further information, you should contact the Faculty Office at the address given below.
Archbishop's Requirements
Special marriage licences issued by the Archbishop of Canterbury enable a couple to marry in a church building for which they do not satisfy the usual residence test or qualifying connection. They are also used where the building itself is not authorised for marriages. They are a privilege and not a right. This section explains the Archbishop's usual requirements for applicants and the procedure for obtaining a special licence. There are special requirements for marriage in school and college chapels.
If you do not satisfy one of the requirements set out below but still feel you have good reasons for being granted a special licence, you should ask the minister who is going to conduct the wedding to write to the Faculty Office explaining your circumstances.
- One of you should be able to show a genuine and long-standing connection with the church or chapel in which you wish to marry. This might be that you or members of your family have regularly worshipped there, or you have a family home in the parish. Individual circumstances vary and these examples are not exhaustive.
- Your families should approve of the marriage.
- The incumbent(s) or minister(s) in charge of the parish(es) where you live should have been consulted.
- The minister in charge of the church where the service is to be held must have consented.
In cases where one or both of the parties is divorced and has a former spouse still living, special licences are only granted where the House of Bishops’ Advice on remarriage is followed.
Procedure
You should apply for a special licence on the form which you can obtain from the Faculty Office as soon as the minister has agreed to conduct the service. You can apply up to 18 months in advance. Other arrangements should not be made until you know that the special licence will be granted. The form contains full instructions and details of the fee.
Part of the form which the Faculty Office will give you is to be completed by you, and part by the minister who will conduct the service. There will also be some guidance notes for you to give to the minister. It is important that full addresses and telephone numbers are given and that you have set out fully your connection with the church.
Once the application has been approved, one of you will have to swear an affidavit (a formal statement) to confirm the information given. You can do this in front of an Anglican minister of your choice (to whom a fee of £5 will be payable) or at the Faculty Office (when no extra fee is charged). If you choose to do this locally, a form of affidavit will be sent to you with full instructions. Once completed by you and the minister it must be returned to the Faculty Office. The licence itself will be sent out to the minister who is to conduct the service about three weeks before the wedding.
Special requirements for school and college chapels
This section explains the Archbishop's usual requirements for applicants and the procedure for obtaining a special licence where the parties wish to marry in a school or college chapel.
If you do not satisfy one of the requirements set out below but still feel you have good reasons for being granted a special licence, you should ask the minister who is going to conduct the wedding to write to the Faculty Office explaining your circumstances.
- Licences are normally granted if you are a member or former member of staff of longstanding service (teaching or non-teaching) of the school or college or a member of the immediate family of one of the staff.
- Licences may also be granted if you are an ex-student of the institution or you have a family or other link with the institution.
- Your families should approve of the marriage.
- The incumbent(s) or minister(s) in charge of the parish(es) where you live should have been consulted.
- The chaplain or minister in charge of the chapel must have consented.
- The school/college authorities must have consented.
In cases where one or both of the parties is divorced and has a former spouse still living, special licences are only granted where the House of Bishops’ Advice on remarriage is followed.
Foreign Nationals
Foreign Domicile
If either of the parties to a marriage in England or Wales is a foreign national or has a foreign domicile (that is, their fixed and permanent home is abroad), they should ensure that the legal requirements of their home country are observed.
A marriage performed in accordance with English Law may not be recognised abroad. There have been cases where the marriage has been declared invalid, leaving wives and children abandoned in a foreign country.
Problems with the recognition of marriage have arisen particularly in Muslim countries, and some Eastern European states which were formerly part of the Soviet Union.
No difficulties have been experienced in the European Union, the old Commonwealth (Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa) or the United States.
Making Enquiries
To avoid risks about the recognition of an Anglican marriage, it is necessary to comply both with the laws of this country and the laws of the home country. You should seek advice from the nearest consulate or embassy of the foreign country to ascertain whether a marriage conducted in England or Wales after the appropriate preliminary will be recognised as valid.
There may be additional legal requirements imposed by the foreign country before the marriage is recognised there.
It is particularly important to consult the consular authorities where one of the parties is a foreign national under the age of 25. The legal age of consent for marriage is not invariably the same in other countries as it is in England and Wales.
Accordingly, it is strongly recommended, in the parties’ own interests, that even where marriage after banns is legally possible, an Anglican marriage should be by common licence where there is a relevant foreign element of any of the kinds described above.
Special Licence Procedure
Applicants for special licences who are foreign nationals are strongly advised to consult their embassy or consulate at an early stage to obtain satisfactory assurance that the legal requirements of that country have been fulfilled and that a marriage of one of its citizens, solemnized in England and Wales according to the rites and ceremonies of the Church of England or the Church in Wales, will be recognised in the country in question, and confirming the requirements as to the registering of such a marriage in that country. A letter to that effect should, where possible, be obtained and enclosed with the special licence application.
Applicants who are subject to UK immigration control should obtain a UK visa before applying for a special licence and include copies of the passport and visa with the application form.
Further information
‘Anglican Marriage: a guide to the law for the clergy’ is a comprehensive statement of the law of Anglican marriage. It is available from the address below at £3.50 each copy (your cheque should be made payable to “The Faculty Office”)
1 The Sanctuary
Westminster
London SW1P 3JT
Telephone 020 7222 5381 (10.00 am to 4.00 pm on normal working days)
Fax 020 7222 7502
© The Faculty Office
