No, you don’t necessarily have to wait three months, but there is a minimum notice period you must give before getting married in Ireland.
To get married in Ireland, you need to submit a “Marriage Notification Form” (also called a Form A) to the Registrar of Marriages. Once you submit this form, there is a minimum notice period of three months before the marriage can take place. This isn’t a “waiting to get married” rule—it’s just the legal requirement for notifying the authorities and giving time for paperwork to be processed.
A few key points:
- The three months starts from the date the registrar receives your notice, not from the date you plan to get married.
- This applies whether you’re having a civil ceremony or a religious ceremony.
- In some cases, if you are planning a civil ceremony abroad or in a church with special permission, there may be slightly different rules, but generally the three-month notice applies.
- You also need to provide supporting documents like birth certificates, passports, and proof of civil status.
So while you can’t legally get married immediately after deciding to tie the knot, the “three-month rule” is mostly about paperwork and giving authorities time to prepare your marriage registration.
If you want, I can also explain how to speed up the process slightly or what exceptions exist for couples who want a shorter notice period in Ireland. Do you want me to go into that?