Renfrewshire Council

Where you can have a civil marriage ceremony

A civil marriage may take place in a registration office or a venue agreed between you and the registrar, and may be solemnised only by a registrar or assistant registrar who has been authorised by the Registrar General for Scotland.

Civil marriages can take place on a Thursday, Friday and Saturday at the Paisley Registration Office, or Monday to Sunday at a venue agreed between you and the Registrar within Renfrewshire. 

As well as the Paisley marriage suite, civil marriages can be conducted at another venue agreed between you and the registrar. 

All our premises are no smoking venues.

Venues in Renfrewshire

Paisley Registration Office in Renfrewshire House

Paisley Registration Office has a purpose built marriage suite at Renfrewshire House, Cotton Street, Paisley. The marriage suite seats 64, including the bridal party.

Photo of the registrar's desk and the couple's seats in the wedding suite

Photo of the chair arrangement at the wedding suite

OneRen venues

Paisley Town Hall, Renfrew Town Hall, Johnstone Town Hall and Paisley Arts Centre venues are managed by OneRen.

Our registrars can be booked for these venues, depending on availability.

You should contact OneRen directly to discuss booking one of these venues before booking a registrar.

Other venues

If there is another venue you want to use, you can discuss this with our registration staff.

Where you can have a religious marriage ceremony

A religious marriage (which includes other belief systems) may take place anywhere in Scotland and may be solemnised only by a minister, clergyman, pastor, priest or other person entitled to do so under the Marriage (Scotland) Act 1977.

You will also have to hand in the necessary forms, documents and fees to the Registrar approximately 8 to 10 weeks before the proposed marriage date.

If you're marrying in the Paisley or Johnstone area, phone our Customer Contact Centre on 0300 300 0310.

See the

• list of churches and places of worship in Paisley [132KB]
• list of churches and places of worship in Johnstone [169KB]
• list of churches and places of worship in Renfrew [107KB] .

Getting married abroad

Contact the consulate or embassy for the relevant country and ask what documentation is needed. This will vary from country to country.

If you are asked to provide a Certificate of No Impediment (CONI) and you are resident in Renfrewshire, you can apply to the local registration office by completing and submitting a marriage notice form (M10), along with the following documents:

• your birth certificate, passport and utility bill
• your extract decree of divorce, dissolution or annulment
• death certificate of your former spouse or civil partner
• marriage notice fee.

The registrar will then be able to issue the Certificate of No Impediment (CONI) 29 days after submission of the marriage notice and fee. The Certificate of No Impediment (CONI) is valid for 3 months from the date of issue if you are being married abroad or 3 months from the date of your notice received  if you are being married in England or Wales.

If you are not resident in Scotland, you will not be able to obtain a Certificate of No Impediment to Marriage (CONI). However, if the authorities of the country where your wedding is to take place require evidence that you are free to marry, the General Register Office for Scotland can provide you with a 'To Whom it May Concern' letter.

This letter will state that a search has been made and no trace of a marriage or civil partnership involving you has been found. The letter can also be provided for other purposes, for example, taking up residence in another country.

If you need this letter, you should include:

• your full name and address
• the reason for requiring a letter
• your date and place of birth
• your mother's maiden surname
• the name of your previous spouse or civil partner, date and place of divorce or civil partnership dissolution, if you have been married or in a civil partnership before
• if you are a widow / widower or a surviving civil partner.

There is a search fee of £5 for the letter. This is for every 5 years, or part of 5 years, searched from:

• age 16 if you were born in Scotland and have never been married before or in a civil partnership
• the date of divorce or dissolution of civil partnership/death of spouse if widowed or are a surviving civil partner, or
• date of taking up residence in Scotland if you were born outside Scotland.

Write to the General Register Office to request a search at:

National Records of Scotland
Marriage and Civil Partnership Section
Room 38
New Register House
3 West Register Street
Edinburgh EH1 3YT