Petition · past parliament
Extend the validity of the marriage notice for weddings impacted by COVID-19.
Rejected
21 signatures
What the petition asks
A notice of a marriage or civil partnership is only valid for 12 months. There has been no extension or relaxing of this due to COVID-19, yet a huge number of weddings are impacted. Extending the validity of the notice would significantly help couples whose weddings have been impacted by COVID-19.
Around 250,000 weddings were due to take place this year.
Of those an estimated 60-70% will be postponed or cancelled due to COVID-19.
The current guidelines from the government require couples to give notice, and this notice is valid for 12 months. Although you are only required to give notice 28 days before the ceremony, local councils encourage you to apply 8-10 months in advance.
As a result of this many couples will have to give notice again, including making a second payment of fees.
Of those an estimated 60-70% will be postponed or cancelled due to COVID-19.
The current guidelines from the government require couples to give notice, and this notice is valid for 12 months. Although you are only required to give notice 28 days before the ceremony, local councils encourage you to apply 8-10 months in advance.
As a result of this many couples will have to give notice again, including making a second payment of fees.
Why it was rejected
There was already a petition about this issue. Duplicates are rejected so signatures collect in one place.
You may wish to sign this petition calling for the same action: Extend the 12month 'giving notice' period for weddings postponed due to COVID-19
You can find out more about coronavirus and how you can protect yourself and others here:
www.gov.uk/coronavirus
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
The Government has also created an online service to help you find out what you can do if you’re struggling because of coronavirus: https://www.gov.uk/find-coronavirus-support
You can read NHS tips to help if you are worried about coronavirus here: https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters/coronavirus-covid-19-anxiety-tips
You can read impartial analysis of the Government response to coronavirus and policy developments here: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/coronavirus/
You may also be interested to know that because of the large number of petitions that have been started in relation to coronavirus, the Petitions Committee has been questioning the Government about its response to the coronavirus outbreak.
Find out more: https://committees.parliament.uk/work/192/the-governments-response-to-coronavirus/
You can find out more about coronavirus and how you can protect yourself and others here:
www.gov.uk/coronavirus
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
The Government has also created an online service to help you find out what you can do if you’re struggling because of coronavirus: https://www.gov.uk/find-coronavirus-support
You can read NHS tips to help if you are worried about coronavirus here: https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters/coronavirus-covid-19-anxiety-tips
You can read impartial analysis of the Government response to coronavirus and policy developments here: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/coronavirus/
You may also be interested to know that because of the large number of petitions that have been started in relation to coronavirus, the Petitions Committee has been questioning the Government about its response to the coronavirus outbreak.
Find out more: https://committees.parliament.uk/work/192/the-governments-response-to-coronavirus/
Timeline
| 8 May 2020 | Petition opened for signatures |
| 3 Jun 2020 | Rejected by the Petitions Committee |
Key facts
Signatures
21
Status
Rejected
Rejected
3 Jun 2020
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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.