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Marriage is a new stage of life for a couple. Before making the wedding vows, it is necessary to register the marriage.

The minimum age for getting married is 16 years (Gregorian reckoning). There are no residential requirements for marriage and the marrying parties may be of any nationality.

Under the Laws of Hong Kong, the marrying parties will have to go through the following procedures for solemnizing a marriage in Hong Kong:

• Either one of the marrying parties has to give a Notice of Intended Marriage (the notice) to the Registrar of Marriages (the Registrar) in the prescribed form either directly or through a civil celebrant of marriages.
• The Registrar shall exhibit Part I of the notice in his office until the issue of a Certificate of Registrar of Marriages or the expiry of the 3-month period.
• The Registrar may, at least 15 days after the giving of a notice, issue a Certificate of Registrar of Marriages to enable the parties to celebrate their marriage within 3 months from the date of notice giving if all the statutory requirements are met.
• A marriage has to take place at a marriage registry by a Registrar; or in a licensed place of worship by a competent minister or at any other place in Hong Kong by a civil celebrant of marriages.

If the marriage does not take place within 3 months after the giving of the notice, the notice and all proceedings thereupon shall be void. Another notice will have to be given before the solemnization of marriage .

Please refer to the drop down menu at top of the page for more information of registration of a marriage, including giving the notice on the prescribed form from places outside Hong Kong, celebrating a marriage in different venues as well as post-registration of marriage taken place in Hong Kong before 7 October 1971.

No matter where and how the marrying parties are going to celebrate their marriage in Hong Kong, a Notice of Intended Marriage (the notice) on the prescribed form (Form MR1(S)) must be given in advance to a marriage registry.

Under the Laws of Hong Kong, a marriage should take place after a notice has been exhibited at the Registrar’s office for at least 15 clear days and within 3 months after the giving of the notice. Therefore, a notice should be given no earlier than 3 months but at least 15 days before the date of intended marriage

An appointment booking can be made at a marriage registry for giving the notice. Alternatively, the notice can also be given through a Civil Celebrant of Marriages.

Frequently Asked Questions

Registration of a Marriage

Unless the marrying parties are living outside Hong Kong, one or both of them are required to give the notice at the marriage registry in person or through a civil celebrant of marriages.

To give a notice, both of the marrying parties are required to provide their Hong Kong identity card or valid travel document. It is not necessary to fill in any application form at the time the notice is given. However, to facilitate the completion and printing of the notice, the following personal particulars of both of the marrying parties must be provided:

• name and surname
• marital condition (i.e. whether you are a bachelor/spinster; widower/widow; a divorced person; or previously married by any form of marriage)
• occupation
• age
• residential address
• the full name of your parents
• in the case of either party is under the age of 21 – the name, address and capacity of the person consenting to the marriage (i.e. the relevant person or persons specified in the Third Schedule to the Marriage Ordinance)

To help shorten the counter processing time at the Registrar's office of giving the notice, the information required for registration of marriage can be submitted in advance using the online service. The marrying parties may also choose to download the ‘Information Required for Registration of Marriage’ (Form MR21B) for completion and submit the completed form at the time the notice is given. It should be noted that the information sheet is neither an application form nor a notice.

Information Required for Registration of Marriage (Form MR 21B)

For marriage of persons aged below 21, divorced persons or widows/widowers, they are required to provide additional supporting documents upon giving of notice.

Persons aged below 21

• If, on the date of intended marriage, either party is under the age of 21 but of or above the age of 16 and not a widower or a widow, the consent in writing of the relevant person or persons specified in the Third Schedule to the Marriage Ordinance must be produced to the Registrar of Marriages upon giving of the notice.
• The form for giving such consent (Form MR4) can be obtained from a marriage registry other than the City Hall Marriage Registry and the Cotton Tree Drive Marriage Registry or through a civil celebrant of marriages. It can also be downloaded from the link below.
• If the person making the consent is not in Hong Kong, the completed Form MR4 should be authenticated by a Notary Public.
• If the written consent is given by the natural parent of the party, the party should provide the following documents upon giving of the notice:
  1. the original or certified copy of the birth certificate of the party who is requiring the consent;
  2. the original or certified copy of the marriage certificate of the parents and parent’s statutory declaration in writing to declare that the custodial right of the party has never been deprived by Order of any Court if a valid marriage subsists between the parents;
  3. the original or certified copy of the Order of custodial right from court if the parents are divorced or separated by Order of any Court;
  4. mother’s statutory declaration in writing to declare that the custodial right of the party has never been deprived by Order of any Court if the party is an illegitimate person.
• If there is no such person capable of consenting, the party may apply to a District Judge for such consent.
• Statutory declaration should be made and sworn or affirmed before a Registrar or a civil celebrant of marriages.
• If the person making the declaration is not in Hong Kong, the statutory declaration form should be authenticated by a Notary Public.
• If the required supporting documents are not written in English or Chinese, certified translations of such are required.

Consent to the marriage of a minor (Form MR 4)

Divorced Persons

• In the case of a divorced person, proof of the dissolution of the former marriage by decree pronounced by a competent court is required upon giving of the notice. Before the marriage takes place, a sealed certified copy of the court’s final decree must be produced to the Registrar.
• If the divorce takes place outside Hong Kong, proof of domicile in the country where the divorce takes place is required upon giving of the notice. Otherwise, a declaration signed by the divorced person declaring his nationality and residence on the date of institution and approval of the divorce should be provided. The statutory declaration should be made and sworn or affirmed before a Registrar or a civil celebrant of marriages.
• If the person making the declaration is not in Hong Kong, the declaration should be authenticated by a Notary Public.
• If the divorce documents are not written in English or Chinese, certified translations of such are required.

Widowers or Widows

• In the case of a widower or widow, proof of former marriage and death certificate of former spouse are required upon giving of the notice.
• If the required documents are not written in English or Chinese, certified translations of such are required.

If the marrying parties are going to celebrate their marriage at the City Hall Marriage Registry or the Cotton Tree Drive Marriage Registry, they should give the notice at the Marriage Registration and Records Office. If the marriage is to be celebrated at any other marriage registry, they should give the notice at the respective registry.

If the proposed marriage is to take place in a licensed place of worship or to be celebrated by a civil celebrant of marriages, the notice can be given at the Marriage Registration and Records Office or a marriage registry other than the City Hall Marriage Registry or the Cotton Tree Drive Marriage Registry.

Addresses and office hours of marriage registries

A notice may also be given through a civil celebrant of marriages.

If the marrying parties intend to give the notice through a civil celebrant of marriages, they can refer to the following links for necessary information before engaging a civil celebrant of marriages in order to arrange a marriage ceremony smoothly.

Information Leaflet for the Marrying Parties (pdf file)

List of appointed civil celebrants of marriages (pdf file)

Code of Practice for Civil Celebrants of Marriages (pdf file)

An appointment can be booked for giving notice through the Internet (www.gov.hk/marriagebooking) or by telephone (dial (852) 3102 3883 using a touch-tone telephone). The booking service is provided round-the-clock and free of charge. The appointment is given on a first-come-first-served basis. It should be noted that only one appointment could be made by each couple.

Appointment booking for marriages to take place at a marriage registry

Two types of booking are provided for selection. Here are the details.

(i) Appointment booking with priority for choosing a marriage hall

At the time of making the appointment booking for giving notice, if the marrying parties plan to have their marriage celebrated at a marriage registry on a selected date and wish to reserve a specific marriage hall through the appointment booking system, they should make the appointment within 14 days before the 3-month period from the date of marriage.

To illustrate as an example:

Planned date of marriage	Earliest appointment date of giving notice of intended marriage (1st working day of the 3-month period before the planned date of marriage)	14-day period during which an appointment can be booked for giving notice
27/05/2015	27/02/2015	13/02/2015 - 26/02/2015
01/08/2015	02/05/2015 (01/05/2015 is a General Holiday)	18/04/2015 - 01/05/2015

As illustrated in the example above, the date of appointment given will not be earlier than the first working day (Monday to Saturday, except General Holidays) within the 3-month period before the date of marriage.

If there are available time slots for marriage ceremony on the selected date of intended marriage at the specified marriage registry, after successfully making an appointment, the following information will be provided by the system:

(a) the date and time for giving notice, and

(b) a priority number for your choosing a time slot for marriage ceremony.

On the appointment day when the notice is given, the party giving the notice will be arranged in accordance with the given priority number to select the exact time slot that may then be available for the marriage ceremony.

[Important note: The person concerned should attend the selected marriage registry/office to give the notice as scheduled. If he/she fails to turn up on time, both the booking made and the priority for selecting marriage hall as reserved through the booking system will lapse.]

(ii) Appointment booking without priority for choosing a marriage hall

If the marrying parties intend to have the marriage celebrated at a marriage registry and

1. they have no preference for any particular date of marriage, or
2. they have missed the 14 days before the 3-month period as illustrated in the example in paragraph (i) above,

they will be able to make an appointment booking for a registry / office chosen for giving notice of intended marriage only. On a first-come-first-served basis, the appointment day available for giving notice will be within 12 working days, starting from the next working day of the date when the appointment is made.

On the day of giving the notice at the registry/office, the party giving the notice may select the date and time of the marriage at the marriage registry, subject to the availability of marriage quota left at the registry.

It should be noted that the marrying parties may, subject to the relevant provisions of the Marriage Ordinance, contract a marriage only after a notice has been exhibited in the marriage registry for 15 clear days and a Certificate of Registrar of Marriages has been issued. The date of marriage that the marrying parties select should be 15 days after the date of giving notice but within the 3 months' validity of the notice.

Marriages to be celebrated at a licensed place of worship or by a civil celebrant

If the marrying parties intend to celebrate the marriage at a licensed place of worship or by a civil celebrant of marriages, they can make an appointment by selecting a registry/office for giving notice on a day within 12 working days starting from the next working day from the date when the appointment is made.

Online Submission of Information Required for Registration of Marriage

If an appointment has been successfully made for giving the notice at a marriage registry, the marrying parties are recommended to submit the information required for registration of marriage using the online service at least one day before the scheduled appointment.

The processing time for giving Notice of Intended Marriage at the counter in a marriage registry is around 30 minutes. It may take longer for some complicated cases.

The prescribed fee for giving and exhibition of the notice is HK$305.

For notice given at the Marriage Registration and Records Office or a marriage registry, payment can be made by cash, EPS, Octopus, FPS, crossed cheque or cashier's order in Hong Kong dollars payable to "The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region". Post-dated cheques will not be accepted.

Frequently Asked Questions

Part I of the notice will be exhibited at the marriage registries (other than the Cotton Tree Drive Marriage Registry and City Hall Marriage Registry) and Marriage Registration and Records Office for at least 15 clear days.

During this period, any person who is authorised by law to object to the proposed marriage may do so. If no objection is received after the period of 15 clear days and all the legal requirements are met, the marriage may take place in accordance with the Marriage Ordinance after the issue of a Certificate of Registrar of Marriages by a Registrar.

If the proposed marriage is to take place in a licensed place of worship, or to be celebrated by a civil celebrant, the Certificate of Registrar of Marriages will be issued directly to either of the marrying parties or through the civil celebrant nominated by either party.

Please note that no marriage shall be celebrated in a licensed place of worship or by a civil celebrant in the absence of a Certificate of Registrar of Marriages.

The marriage must take place within 3 months from the date of giving the notice. Otherwise, the notice will become void and the marrying parties will need to submit another notice afresh before the marriage can take place.

If the marrying parties plan to have their marriage celebrated at a marriage registry and have made an appointment booking with priority for choosing a marriage hall, they will be arranged in accordance with their priority number to select the exact time slot that may be available for their marriage ceremony. If the appointment booking was made without priority for choosing a marriage hall, the date and time of the marriage can be selected at the marriage registry, subject to the availability of marriage quota left at the registry.

If the proposed marriage is to take place in a licensed place of worship, or to be celebrated by a civil celebrant, the marrying parties should consult the officiating minister or civil celebrant for the exact date, time and place of the wedding. They should also ensure that a Certificate of Registrar of Marriages has been issued before the ceremony takes place.

For more information about celebration of marriage and the related registration fee, please refer to the drop down menu at top of the page for “Celebration of Marriage”.

Frequently Asked Questions