Your paperwork timeline for getting married in Ireland

As soon as you have a date

Decide what kind of ceremony you want and find the person who will conduct it. The registrar needs the proposed solemniser's name, as well as the venue and witness details.

Check that person on the current Register of Solemnisers. A celebrant's county on this site is their address on the register, not a promise that they travel only within that county.

Well before the three-month deadline

Contact a civil registration service and book the marriage notification appointment. Waiting times vary. Three months is the legal minimum notice period, not a recommended booking window.

If you live outside Ireland and need to notify by post, ask the civil registration service for the correct process. You must still meet the registrar at least five days before the ceremony.

Before the notification appointment

Use the current HSE checklist for both partners. Gather originals and the photocopies the HSE requests. Tell the registrar early about a previous marriage, civil partnership, adoption, name change or non-English document.

• Complete the HSE data capture form
• Confirm the solemniser, venue and two witnesses
• Prepare identification, birth certificates and proof of address
• Check whether immigration or previous-marriage documents apply

At least three months before the ceremony

Give formal notice and sign the declaration that there is no legal reason the marriage cannot happen. If everything is in order, the registrar issues the Marriage Registration Form. It is valid for six months from the intended marriage date.

On the wedding day

Bring the Marriage Registration Form. You, your partner, two witnesses and the solemniser sign it. Your solemniser will guide the legal declarations during the ceremony.

Within one month after a religious or secular ceremony

Bring the signed Marriage Registration Form to a civil registration service so the marriage can be registered. A civil registrar registers a civil marriage directly.