How to Get Married in Scotland

Internationally, Legal Wedding Ceremonies, Marriage Paperwork Process, Marriage Visas, and Preparing Your Application

Elopement Planning Resources by Scotland Elopement Co

Completing your marriage paperwork might seem daunting, but we've put together all the instructions and relevant links below to make it as easy as possible for you. Unlike other places around the world, you can get legally married pretty much anywhere in Scotland. Which makes it perfect for elopements! You just need a legal celebrant to conduct your ceremony, and completed marriage paperwork in advance.

If you would rather bypass the paperwork process completely, you can have a Symbolic Ceremony in Scotland, and complete the legal formalities at home.

Disclaimer: This is not legal advice. You must always consult official, government issued guidance. This page is only intended to be a starting point based on our experience with previous elopements. Keep reading for more about the process of completing your paperwork, and links to find forms and official information.

Overview

1. Plan Your Marriage Paperwork Application

When deciding what type of ceremony you’d like, you need to consider the requirements of a legal ceremony and the associated paperwork. There are a lot of elements involved, and many people become overwhelmed by the process. Make sure you research every single step ahead of time, and make a checklist of the documents you will need to provide. Then you can get all your forms and supporting documents ready before it’s time to apply, which will make the process less stressful.

Here is the OFFICIAL GUIDANCE FROM THE SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT. But in summary, these are the basic components to marriage paperwork:

M10 Forms - Completed in advance to provide your information to the local Registrar in Scotland and let them know that you’d like to get married.
Marriage Visas - For any non-UK residents. Completed in advance to allow you to legally enter the UK to get married. This is handled by the Home Office. Usually requires sending away your passports in the mail, and visiting a biometrics centre for an in-person appointment.
Marriage Schedule - Pick up from the Registrar in Scotland a few days before your wedding date. Complete with your celebrant and witnesses, then return/mail to the Registrar office afterwards.

Marriage Paperwork Timeline

You can submit your paperwork anytime from 3-months in advance, but no later than 29 days in advance. When you elope with us, we will remind you when we are approaching the 3-month mark, so you can start putting together your documents. We recommend submitting your paperwork as soon as possible, so you have plenty of time to account for unexpected delays.

Please note: Marriage Visa applications have been extremely delayed recently. Most couples have been receiving their passports back only 1-3 weeks before their departure date, even with expedited services. There is unfortunately no way for us (or any other elopement suppliers) to help with visa applications, nor a way to contact the Home Office for updates either.

Please also keep in mind when choosing an elopement date and location, you will need to pick up your marriage schedule 2-3 days before your elopement, and most Registrars are only open Mon-Fri.

2. M10 Forms

First, you have to decide exactly where you want to have your ceremony. Then you must “give notice” to the nearest registrar by calling to let them know your intention to marry, and provide the exact date, time and location. Here is a LIST OF REGISTRARS in Scotland, but we will point you in the right direction of who to contact for your specific elopement.

Then you both will need to complete M10 FORMS (a separate one each), and send by post to that registry office. You will also need to complete a CELEBRANT AND WITNESS FORM, and the DECLARATION OF STATUS FORM.

To complete all these forms, you can use scans or copies of your official documents (birth certificates, passports, etc.). However, you need to bring your original documents with you to your elopement in order to have them checked by the Registrar when you pick up your Marriage License - so make sure you have access to them and keep them in a safe place.

The local Registrars in Scotland are really helpful! Just call or email them when your date is within 3-months, and they will tell you anything else you need to know. However, they are not involved in the Marriage Visa process. They can only see if your visa has been granted, and they are allowed to proceed with your paperwork on your elopement day.

3. Marriage Visas

First you check if you need a marriage visitor visa HERE. If you don't, then you get to skip this step!

All of the visa applications for the entire UK are handled by the Home Office. There have been extreme delays recently in processing applications, even if you choose priority or expedited options. It’s best to begin this process immediately at the 3-month mark. We suggest preparing your documents and forms ahead of time.

You can apply for your Marriage Visitor Visa ONLINE. Once you have completed your online form, it will give you all the necessary information you need to go ahead. After completing the online application, you will need to liaise with your local biometrics office and follow their instructions. You will most likely need to schedule an appointment at your nearest branch to physically bring in your documents, get matched to your identification, and possibly provide fingerprints.

There are only a few biometrics centres in each country, and they are only located in major cities - the United States has 14 centres, and Canada only has 6 centres. If you do not live near a major city, this may be a difficult obstacle for you, and will require advance planning to travel to the biometrics centre. Many of the biometrics centres also have limited opening hours. Make sure you know where would need to go, and anticipate how difficult this part of the process would be for you. You can check the location of all the visa application centres around the world here.

For the marriage Visa, the required documents will vary based on your personal situation, but you will usually need to provide:

Valid passport/travel document with at least one blank page – you’ll bring it with you to the biometrics appointment, they’ll keep to attach your visa to, and then mail it back to you at some point before your trip
Proof of marriage plans (i.e. emails with the registrar or confirmation of appointments)
Evidence of employment
Evidence of income
Evidence of funds available to you, clearly accessible (i.e. bank statements)

After you have submitted your visa application and completed your in-person biometrics appointment, the Home Office will contact you when your visa has been processed. You will usually get your passports back in the mail a few days later. Unfortunately there is no way to contact or rush the offices, or even get an estimate of completion date. Some folks don’t get their passports back until 1-2 weeks of their departure date. Once you have your Marriage Visitor Visa, you must pass this onto your registry office as soon as possible so they can complete your marriage licence.

4. Marriage Schedule

Once your Marriage Visa is granted, the local Registrar will be informed by the Home Office. Although it’s best to email the Registrar Office when you receive confirmation of your visas just to make sure. In any case, the Registrar Office will contact you when your M10 Forms and other paperwork has been approved. They will give you the information on anything else you may need to do.

Once everything is approved, you will need to call or email the Registrar Office to confirm the date and time you will collect your Marriage Schedule. Usually you will collect 1-2 weekdays prior to your elopement date, but keep in mind most offices are only open Mon-Fri, and close early on Fridays. Make sure to take this into account when you’re planning your elopement, as you’ll need to be in the area at a time when the office is open.

When you go to your Registrar appointment to collect your licence, make sure you bring all your original documents to be checked. These are usually the documents you will need to bring with to Scotland and the Registrar’s office in order to pick up your marriage schedule:

Original birth certificates (not photo copies)
Valid passports (not photo copies)
2 UK passport-style photos

When the Registrar gives you your Marriage Schedule, put it somewhere safe and bring it to your ceremony. Without it, you will not be able to get legally married! As soon as you see your celebrant on the day, hand it over to them.

After your ceremony, you need to return your signed Marriage Schedule and completed Celebrant and Witness Form back to the Registrars Office within 3 days of your elopement date. It’s best to hand-deliver it back to the office, but you can also send it back via post. After that, the Registrars Office will get in touch or directly mail your Marriage Certificate to you once everything is finished processing.

5. Witnesses

You will need 2 witnesses at your ceremony, and they will sign your Marriage Schedule. If you’re not bringing any guests, these witnesses can be your elopement suppliers. Your witnesses just have to be willing, and close enough to hear and witness the entire ceremony.

You will need to collect their information in advance for the Celebrant and Witness Form:

Full name
Full address, including post code
How they sign their name - (for example, my name is Marijane Soilis but I just sign “Marijane” or Conor Gowans signs as “C Gowans”)

We are always happy to be your witnesses for you!

6. Expected Costs

The marriage paperwork process has associated fees (which you do not need to pay for symbolic ceremonies). You must both fill out your own M10 form, which costs £45 each, plus £10 for entry into the marriage register, paid to the appropriate registry office directly. If you need marriage visas, this will usually costs £100 each to apply, paid directly to the Home Office upon application. The biometrics appointment can cost £100+ depending on the location, date, and time of your appointment. You can expect the entire paperwork process alone to cost £400 or more, not including priority postage of your passports and applications (£50+), or your own travel costs to the biometrics appointment.

7. Symbolic Ceremonies

Symbolic ceremonies, also called “blessing” ceremonies, are non-legal wedding ceremonies where you do not have to complete any paperwork or visas. You also do not need to have an affiliated celebrant, or witnesses. You may choose this option to allow for more freedom to tailor your elopement to your preferences. Some benefits include:

No legal paperwork to complete, making the entire elopement process easier and less stressful
No required witnesses, so you don’t have to worry about bringing your own witnesses or asking your suppliers to sign for you
Since you do not need a legal celebrant, you can have anyone conduct your ceremony (family, friend, stranger) - this also means you don’t have to pick a specific affiliation, and your ceremony can include anything/everything you want, no matter what your beliefs are
The marriage paperwork process has associated fees, which you do not need to pay for with symbolic ceremonies

If you’re coming from abroad for your elopement, and you get easily overwhelmed by applications/paperwork - and don’t mind doing the legal part separately to your ceremony - we suggest considering a symbolic ceremony here in Scotland.