Birth & Marriage Certificates

[sherrardk]

Am I likely to need these for any reason (got a passport so don’t need them for that) as I can’t find them (and haven’t been able to for quite a long time). (No idea what’s made me think about this now.)

[Rockrose]

In the last 20 years I have used mine once and that was to prove my British citizenship

[fiction-factory]

We needed ours when it came to claiming my company pension. (Mrs FF's were needed because of any spouse benefits). We also needed to provide the marriage certificate.

[Cloverjo]

I needed my marriage certificate recently to change my name on my driving licence and will need it when I finally get around to changing the name on my passport and some bank accounts.

I guess you’ve already done that though.

[sherrardk]

Might have another look for them at some stage, not overly sure where the kids’ ones are either and himself’s was a nightmare to get a copy of over 20 years ago. (In effect, this means I’ll set myself a reminder on my phone and then I’ll just keep resetting it for eternity.)

[Buenchico]

It's unlikely that you'll ever need them but there are possibly a few circumstances where you might. For example, if Mr S was to pass away and (perhaps through infirmity in your advancing years, leaving you unable to travel abroad) you decided not to renew your passport, you'd need your birth certificate if you decided to re-marry:
https://www.gov.uk/marriages-civil-partnerships/documents-youll-need-to-give-notice

Even so, you should still be able to order a new copy anyway, as birth, death and marriage certificates are in the public domain and anyone can get hold of a copy simply by paying a fee:
https://www.gov.uk/order-copy-birth-death-marriage-certificate

[Cloverjo]

You can get a copy of a marriage certificate quite easily for a small fee.

[jourdain2]

It's amazing how it pops up that one or other is essential at times; so, personally, I'd apply for (and fork out for) copies.

I'm thinking of how (when Mr. J2 and I decided to marry) we had a race against time to receive a copy of his late wife's Death Certificate. He had thought he knew where it was, but 15 yrs. later - it wasn't there and boy, was it a close-run thing (especially as we returned to UK to wed and had to be in residence for 1 month).
Re. passport - mine is still in my maiden name, so a marriage cert. is required occasionally as I don't see any reason to change it before I have to. Hope this helps.

[Prudie]

When I got married 5 years ago I had to produce the marriage certificate loads - passport, banks, work, GP - even premium bonds to change my name but that's not likely to happen to you and even if it does you'll have a new one :-)

[sherrardk]

Reminder set to look for them all (I can’t possibly have lost them all), should have got round to it by this time next year :)

[Tilly2]

They'll be in the biscuit tin, in the back of the cupboard, Sherr.

[Maydup]

I've not needed birth or marriage certificates other than changing name just after marriage, so no rush to find them. At least they're in a safe place, so safe even you cant find them! I guess its more important to find the birth certificates for the children. They might need them for something they want to sign up for in the future, or to prove their ID for some reason.

[sherrardk]

I might look for the kids’ ones tomorrow (I have a vague recollection of seeing those).