The legal side

How to get legally married in Ireland, step by step

By Weddingz · 13 October 2026

Most of planning a wedding is choice. This part is not. The law is the same whether you marry in a cathedral, a hotel ballroom or a registry office on a Tuesday morning, and getting it wrong means the day is a party and not a marriage. The good news is that it is five steps, and only the first one has a deadline that catches people out.

Step 1: check you are free to marry

You must both:

• Be over 18. There are no exceptions, and it applies even if neither of you lives in Ireland.
• Freely consent to the marriage.
• Follow the notification process below.

If either of you was married or in a civil partnership before, you will need the papers that show it has ended. Some relatives by blood or marriage cannot marry each other; first cousins can. The full list is on the Citizens Information page.

Step 2: give 3 months' notice to a Registrar

This is the one that matters. You must notify a Registrar at a Civil Registration Service at least 3 months before the wedding date. It is the law for civil, religious and secular ceremonies alike.

1. Contact a Civil Registration Service and ask for a marriage notification form. Fill it in and return it by post or email.
2. Make a marriage notification appointment. Some areas let you book online.
3. Both of you go to the appointment, bring the documents and pay the fee.

The Registrar does not have to be the one for where you live or where you are marrying. Citizens Information says to book as far ahead as you can, because appointments fill up quickly. Three months is the legal minimum, not the time to start ringing.

Our wedding date checker gives you the last day for notice for any date, and the planning checklist puts it in order with everything else.

Step 3: bring the right documents

Each of you brings the original (or a certified copy) and a colour photocopy of:

• Your passport, as identification.
• Your birth certificate. One issued outside the EU may need an apostille or legalisation.
• Proof of address, original and photocopy, dated within the last 3 months.
• If divorced: the final decree for every previous divorce. For a foreign divorce, ask the Registrar what is needed.
• If widowed: your late spouse's death certificate and your civil marriage certificate.
• If you are not a citizen of Ireland or another EU state: evidence of your immigration status.

You will also be asked for:

• Whether the ceremony is civil, religious or secular.
• The intended date and place.
• The details of your solemniser.
• The names and dates of birth of your 2 witnesses.
• Your PPS numbers, if you have or will have an address in Ireland.
• A completed Data Capture Form, which you download beforehand.

The notification fee is €200, non-refundable. It is €50 for same-sex couples already in a civil partnership registered in Ireland. You will be told exactly what to bring when you book, so treat this list as the usual set and theirs as final.

Step 4: keep the Marriage Registration Form safe

At the appointment you both sign a declaration that you know of no lawful impediment to the marriage. If everything is in order the Registrar gives you a Marriage Registration Form, the MRF. It works like a marriage licence. If you bring every document, it may be issued there and then.

• Give the MRF to your solemniser before the ceremony.
• It is valid for 6 months from the wedding date on it. Move the wedding beyond that and you start the notice again.

Step 5: the ceremony, and what makes it legal

• A registered solemniser. A civil registrar, or a religious or secular solemniser on the Register of Solemnisers. A friend can lead a lovely ceremony, but it is not a legal marriage unless they are registered.
• Two witnesses, aged 18 or over.
• A venue open to the public. This is true of all three kinds of ceremony.
• Two declarations. That you know of no impediment, and that you accept each other as husband, wife or spouse.

Straight after the ceremony, the MRF is signed by the two of you, both witnesses and the solemniser.

Afterwards: register the marriage

After a civil ceremony the registrar registers the marriage for you. After a religious or secular ceremony it is your job: return the signed MRF to a Registrar within 1 month. It need not be the Registrar who issued it. You cannot get a marriage certificate until this is done, so don't leave it in a drawer with the cards.

One thing to decide early

Civil ceremonies by a state registrar run Monday to Friday only. If you want a Saturday, you need a religious or secular solemniser, or you do the legal part on a weekday and hold your own ceremony at the weekend. We compare the three routes in civil, religious or humanist.