Freedom to Marry Declaration for Weddings Abroad

Because the authority marrying you abroad needs proof that you are free to marry, and for some countries the UK cannot provide it. The UK has no central register of marital status, so no UK office certifies that you are single, the FCDO’s information note explains.

For many countries outside the Commonwealth, including Spain, Italy and Greece, the FCDO issues a certificate of no impediment (CNI). For a Commonwealth country, such as Cyprus or Malta (both listed in Schedule 3 to the British Nationality Act 1981), the FCDO says no CNI can be issued under the 2014 Order, by UK register offices or British High Commissions. There, the local authority decides what it accepts instead. Some ask for a statutory declaration: Pafos Municipality in Cyprus lists a single status statutory declaration signed before a UK solicitor or notary public, while Malta’s registry asks for form RZ2 and a third-party affidavit instead.

It varies by country, and sometimes by town. This is what the official sources for our five country guides said when we checked them on 24 September 2026:

If your destination is not listed, ask the authority that will marry you what it needs, and use the GOV.UK marriage abroad guide to check what the FCDO can issue.

British nationals marrying or registering a PACS in France do not need a UK certificate of no impediment. The FCDO supplies a free self-declaration form and explanatory note in place of certificates of celibacy and custom. Use its official instructions and confirm the local mairie's requirements before buying a declaration.

The FCDO France self-declaration instructions were checked on 4 October 2026. Print the official form and explanatory note, complete the form and leave it unsigned. Ask the mairie whether the signature needs legalising; if it does, the instructions direct you to a local notary. Otherwise sign at the town-hall appointment.

If your passport and birth certificate show different names, the mairie may ask for further documents. Use the FCDO's birth-certificate and name-change note and keep evidence linking your names, such as a deed poll. Our paid single-status PDF is not a substitute for the official France form.

Your date of birth and stated nationality; that you are single and have never been married — or that a previous marriage was dissolved by a final order or decree absolute, or ended by death, with the date; your intended spouse’s name and nationality and the intended place and date of marriage; and that there is no legal impediment to the marriage. The closing follows the 1835 Act exactly, and the jurat is left blank for your witness.

WARNING: In England and Wales, knowingly and wilfully making a statutory declaration false in a material particular is an offence under section 5 of the Perjury Act 1911, punishable by up to two years’ imprisonment or a fine, or both. Other jurisdictions have their own laws. Do not sign this document until you are in front of your witness.

A solicitor or notary public, if the declaration is going abroad. GOV.UK’s legalisation guide says the FCDO can apostille documents certified by a UK notary or solicitor, and Pafos Municipality asks for a declaration signed before one of them. In Scotland, use a notary public: statutory declarations there are signed before a notary public or a Justice of the Peace, and Pafos does not list a Justice of the Peace. The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service says most Scottish solicitors are also notaries public. Take photo ID, and do not sign before the appointment. See who can witness a statutory declaration for the wider rules.

To find a witness, GOV.UK points to the Faculty Office (notaries) and the Law Society (solicitors) for England and Wales, the Law Society of Scotland, and the Law Society of Northern Ireland.

Usually, yes. Pafos Municipality requires an apostille on every original document from UK citizens, and Malta requires one on public documents issued outside the EU. The apostille confirms your witness’s signature, so apply only after the declaration has been signed and witnessed.

• A paper apostille costs £45 per document plus courier or postage and usually takes up to 25 working days.
• An e-Apostille costs £35 and takes up to 2 working days, but only for a PDF your solicitor or notary has signed electronically. Check that the authority abroad accepts one.
• Birth, marriage and death certificates cannot have an e-Apostille.

Close to the wedding, because the authority abroad decides how recent it must be. Pafos treats a declaration as valid for three months from issue, and Malta applies three months to the documents it accepts. Work backwards from the date:

1. Confirm the document list with the registry or municipality, in writing if you can.
2. Generate the PDF, entering your names exactly as your passport shows them.
3. Book a solicitor or notary and sign in front of them.
4. Apply for the apostille straight away, allowing up to 25 working days for the paper service.
5. Take the originals with you. Some registries, such as Malta’s, keep them.

The declaration states how your last marriage ended and when: dissolved by decree absolute, or ended by your spouse’s death. Bring the evidence to your witnessing appointment and, usually, to the authority abroad. Pafos asks for the final divorce decree or the original death certificate, each apostilled.

The name of the divorce document depends on where it was granted. England and Wales issue a final order or decree absolute, Scotland a divorce certificate or “extract”, and Northern Ireland a decree absolute or final conditional order (GOV.UK). Our form records the date of a decree absolute. If your divorce ended with a final order instead, ask your solicitor or notary to check the wording before you sign.

Yes, if it was lawful where it took place and would be allowed under UK law, GOV.UK says. It is registered in that country’s civil records, not in the UK, and you cannot get a UK marriage certificate for it. If you want one, GOV.UK suggests a legal ceremony in the UK and a commitment ceremony abroad. To change your surname on UK records afterwards, see changing your name after an overseas marriage.

It is the same product — our single status declaration page covers the document in detail, including the divorced and widowed variants. Both pages generate the same tailored 1835-Act PDF for £14.99.