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Family law guide
Part of: International Family Law Specialists
Is a Las Vegas wedding legal in the UK? In most cases, yes. England and Wales recognise a marriage made abroad if it was lawful where it took place and the law here would also allow it. A Nevada wedding with a county marriage licence, a licensed officiant and a witness is normally a valid marriage here too. There is nothing to register when you get home. The problems come from three places: a ceremony that was never a legal wedding, an earlier divorce that was not final on the day, and paperwork you cannot produce when someone asks for it. This guide covers the law in England and Wales, including how to divorce after a Las Vegas wedding.
If you married in Las Vegas and something now depends on it, you can book a free initial consultation and one of our international family law specialists will give you initial advice on where you stand.
When it was a lawful marriage in Nevada and is one the law here would allow. GOV.UK puts it in two lines: the UK recognises a foreign marriage if it was lawful in the country where it took place and UK law would allow it. Lawyers call the first test the law of the place of celebration. It means Nevada’s rules decide whether the ceremony itself met the legal requirements, not the rules for a register office wedding here.
Clark County issues the licence for most Las Vegas weddings. Its clerk lists what Nevada requires:
A blessing, vow renewal or commitment ceremony with no marriage licence is not a wedding in Nevada law, so there is no marriage for England and Wales to recognise. GOV.UK makes the same point from the other side: couples who want a UK certificate can marry legally here and hold a commitment ceremony abroad.
The same tests apply to same-sex couples. Being a same-sex couple does not by itself stop England and Wales recognising a marriage made abroad (Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013, s.10).
For any foreign marriage, the second test asks whether the law here would allow it. The question that matters in practice is whether each of you was free to marry on the wedding day. Under section 11 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, a marriage is void if either party already had a spouse or civil partner, or if the two of you are close relatives within the prohibited degrees of relationship.
The trap is timing. A divorce here is only final when the court makes the final order, which people used to call the decree absolute. The conditional order (formerly decree nisi) does not end a marriage. Someone who flew out between the two orders still had a spouse when they said their vows, so the Las Vegas marriage is void, however happy the day was. Marrying while still married can also be the criminal offence of bigamy, even when the second wedding takes place abroad (Offences Against the Person Act 1861, s.57).
What three answers cannot settleWhether a court would accept your documents and dates, and, if you are separating, whether England and Wales is the right place to start. Both turn on your facts.
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A certified copy of the marriage certificate, issued by the clerk of the Nevada county that gave you the licence. After the ceremony the officiant completes the certificate and files it with the clerk, and once the clerk has filed it you can order certified copies online, in person or by post. Clark County’s clerk calls this “proof of marriage”. Its Recorder’s Office does not hold marriage records, so ask the clerk.
| Document | What it is | Does it prove the marriage? |
|---|---|---|
| Marriage licence | Permission to marry, collected before the ceremony | No. It shows you could marry, not that you did. |
| Keepsake certificate | A memento you take away on the day | No. Keep it, but do not rely on it. |
| Certified marriage certificate | A copy of the filed certificate, certified by the county clerk with a raised seal | Yes. This is the document to keep and use. |
| Certified abstract of marriage | A shorter certified record from the clerk | Yes, but fewer authorities ask for it. |
| Apostille | A certificate from the Nevada Secretary of State confirming the clerk’s certification | It adds weight to the certified copy. Get one only if an authority asks. |
A Nevada certificate is in English, so you will not need a translation for an English court or office. If you have changed your name since the wedding, our guide to changing your name after marriage covers what the certificate does and does not do.
No, and you could not if you wanted to. GOV.UK is clear that the UK registers only UK marriages and civil partnerships, and that you cannot get a UK marriage certificate if you married abroad. A Las Vegas wedding is legal here because it passes the two tests, not because a register office has noted it.
That makes the certified copy the most important paper you own about your marriage. If anyone, such as a former spouse, ever disputes it, a court in England and Wales can declare that the marriage was valid from the start (Family Law Act 1986, s.55). It can only do so if one of you is domiciled here, or has been habitually resident here for the year before applying.
When it fails either test. In practice, there are three ways a Las Vegas wedding turns out not to be legal here.
Weddings where one partner was not present follow different rules, which our guide to proxy marriage covers.
Yes. If your Las Vegas wedding was legal, you end the marriage here in exactly the same way as a marriage from a register office, with a divorce application to the court. What decides whether the court here can hear it is not where you married. Under section 5(2) of the Domicile and Matrimonial Proceedings Act 1973, you or your spouse must meet at least one of the tests on the date you apply, such as both of you being habitually resident in England and Wales, or either of you being domiciled here.
You apply with your original marriage certificate or a certified copy, and GOV.UK asks for a certified translation only when the certificate is not in English. The court fee to apply for a divorce is £628 (GOV.UK). If one of you now lives abroad, or the other might start a case in another country, read our guide to international divorce before anyone applies, because where the case starts can change how the court divides money. Same-sex couples have their own jurisdiction rules, set out in our guide to same-sex divorce and dissolution.
A divorce ends the marriage. It does not divide money, property or pensions on its own. That needs a financial order, which the court can make once a divorce or nullity case is under way (s.23). Our guide to financial settlements after divorce explains the options.
We assisted a client who had married in Las Vegas some years before. When the relationship broke down, their spouse insisted the wedding “never counted” in England, and the only paper in the house was the keepsake certificate from the chapel. We guided our client through ordering a certified copy from the county clerk, which showed the clerk had filed the marriage, and then advised them on starting a divorce here and on the financial claims that came with it. Every case turns on its own facts.
Before you put the wedding papers away, lay three things side by side: the certified copy of your Nevada marriage certificate, your passports, and the final order from any earlier divorce. Check that the names match, and that the earlier divorce was final before the date on the certificate. If either check fails, deal with it now, while you are both on good terms, not years later when the marriage is ending and every document is a point of argument.
Garry Steedman, Family Law Consultant (Divorce, Children & TOLATA)
Yes, on the same two tests as any other overseas marriage. Section 10 of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 says that being a same-sex couple does not by itself stop England and Wales recognising a marriage made abroad.
It can be. Acting on impulse does not undo a licensed wedding. The law here treats a marriage as voidable where either of you did not validly consent (MCA 1973, s.12(1)(c)), and you must normally apply within three years of the wedding, so take advice quickly.
No. GOV.UK says the UK registers only UK marriages, so there is no UK certificate for a wedding abroad. The certified copy from the Nevada county clerk is the document to keep and use.
Only if the authority you are dealing with asks for one. The Clark County Clerk does not issue apostilles; the Nevada Secretary of State does, on a certified copy of your marriage certificate.
No. A Nevada certificate is in English, and GOV.UK asks for a certified translation only when the certificate is not in English. You need the original certificate or a certified copy.
Yes. Under section 55 of the Family Law Act 1986, a court in England and Wales can declare that a marriage was valid from its start, if one of you is domiciled here or has been habitually resident here for the year before applying.
Two things go wrong after a Las Vegas wedding. A couple rely on a keepsake certificate and find, when a bank, a court or a former partner asks, that they cannot prove the marriage. Or an earlier divorce turns out not to have been final on the day, and the marriage they built a life on is void.
A free initial consultation is a conversation with a specialist, who gives you initial advice tailored to your circumstances. It does not include drafting or reviewing documents. If you can, have the date of the wedding and the date of any earlier final order to hand.
Book a free initial consultation or call 0330 094 5880.
You can also read our guides to international divorce, marriage annulment and bigamy.
General information about the law in England and Wales, not advice on your circumstances.
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We are a team of legally trained family law and divorce specialists with years of experience across all areas of family law. We are not part of a firm of solicitors, do not undertake legal reserved activities unless permitted and are therefore entirely independent. Please subscribe to our mailing list.
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