Each Irish person who is getting married needs a completed Prenuptial Enquiry Form which will be provided by one of the priests of your current parish. This takes about 20 minutes to complete and is usually done by appointment. Both people do not need to be present unless you already live in the same parish.

If your partner is not a Catholic, you priest will need to apply to your bishop for a ‘dispensation’ – a formal recognition of your marriage. Allow extra time for this process.

When meeting with the priest to complete the papers – at least a month before the wedding – you need to bring:

  • A Certificate of Baptism from the church where you were baptised, which has been issued in the six months prior to the date of the marriage.
  • A Certificate of Confirmation from the church where you were confirmed (not required if your Certificate of Baptism includes a record of Confirmation)
  • Letter(s) of Freedom: needed if you lived for more than six months in a parish other than your current one since you were aged 16. (Obtainable from a priest of the relevant parish(es); not needed for the college years.)
  • Evidence of pre-marriage preparation; A certificate will be issued to you at the end of the course.

The priest who completes the pre marriage papers with you forwards them to the parish priest of the place where the marriage is to take place.

If the marriage is taking place abroad, the papers are sent to your local diocesan office and forwarded from there to the diocesan office of the parish where you wish to marry. In this way the papers are checked again to ensure they are in order.

These papers are filed at the parish where you get married and an entry detailing your marriage is made in the Marriage Register. The church where you were baptised is also notified and an entry is made in you baptismal record.

The parish church of the place of your marriage will later be able to supply you with a church certificate of marriage.

Any further information you require can be provided by your priest.


For further information go to www.corkandross.org.