To get a divorce in England and Wales, you must provide the court with a copy of your original marriage certificate. So what happens if you’ve lost your divorce certificate? Does that mean you can’t get divorced? Thankfully not, there are solutions available.
Maybe you’ve lost it, or your spouse won’t give it to you. Either way, if you don’t have your original marriage certificate, you must get a certified copy of your marriage certificate.
With Easy Online Divorce, a Fully Managed Divorce costs £299, including VAT and you can start your divorce online anytime from the comfort of your own home.
How can you get a certified copy of your marriage certificate?
Many local councils have a dedicated area on their website that helps you obtain lost marriage certificates. Google the name of the local authority where your marriage took place along with ‘marriage certificate’ to find the right page.
Perhaps easier, you can replace your lost marriage certificate at the UK government’s General Register Office (GRO). A Certified Copy Marriage Certificate costs £16, but it takes at least four weeks for the GRO to process it, so you will have to delay applying for your divorce until you’ve received it.
I don’t want to delay my divorce. Is there a faster way to get my marriage certificate?
Struggles and delays in obtaining a marriage certificate is one of the greatest frustrations we hear from our customers waiting to start their divorce. To avoid delays to your divorce, we now offer a new fast-track marriage certificate service where we will obtain your marriage certificate for your divorce in a week. The fast-track marriage certificate service is £79, and you can find out more and order here.
What information do I need to get a replacement marriage certificate?
The following information is required as a minimum to get a replacement marriage certificate:
- Your full name (maiden name if applicable)
- Your spouse’s full name (maiden name if applicable)
- The date of marriage
- The place of marriage
What if I can’t remember the exact date of marriage?
Don’t worry, you’re not the only one, I promise! The correct year is essential so make sure that is right and ask friends and family if you need to. If you can’t remember the exact date, guess the day and month, and we can search for your marriage around that date.
How do you replace a marriage certificate if you didn’t marry in England or Wales?
For weddings in Scotland, contact the National Records of Scotland (NROS) for an Official Extract from the Register. Copy certificates cost £12, and at the time of writing, online applications take up to 15 working days to process.
If you were married in Northern Ireland, contact the General Registry of Northern Ireland (GRONI). Copy certificates cost £15.
How do you get a marriage certificate if you married outside of the UK?
Every country has different regulations, meaning you will need to find the relevant authorities to obtain a copy of your marriage certificate. The country’s embassy is a good place to start, and many allow you to order directly on their websites.
To add a little more complexity. If your marriage certificate is not in English, you have to provide the court with a certified translation of your marriage certificate.
What is a certified translation?
A certified translation means that a translation expert has translated your marriage certificate. When you speak to a translation company, you tell them you need it to be certified, as there is an additional cost for this.
Most translation companies certify marriage certificate translations at the company level, which means that Company X certifies the translation. This used to be accepted by the courts, but recently, the court has started to refuse this type of certified translation and insist that the translation comes with a certification from the actual person that translated the marriage certificate.
Not all translation companies provide this service, so check that they can do this before you ask them to translate your marriage certificate.
Need more help? Contact Us
‘I’ve lost my marriage certificate. What am I going to do?!’ is one of the most common things we hear at Easy Online Divorce. As panic-inducing as this feels, you can relax – you can quickly get a copy using our fast-track marriage certificate service or one of the other highlighted if you aren’t in a rush to start your divorce.
If you are still struggling or you can’t find the right contact abroad, send us an email, and we’ll help. We’ve helped get marriage certificates from around the world, and we can even arrange translations of non-English marriage certificates.
