Annulment

What an Annulment Is and When You Can Apply

An annulment is a court order saying either that your marriage never had legal effect or that a valid marriage should be set aside. GOV.UK's guide to annulling a marriage splits it in two: a marriage that was never legally valid is void, and one that was valid but meets a statutory reason is voidable.

There is no need to wait a year. GOV.UK says you can apply in the first year of your marriage or any time after, although a long delay after the wedding might have to be explained. That is the clearest difference from divorce, which is open only to people married for over a year; in the first twelve months the court routes are annulment and judicial separation.

The court also needs a connection with England and Wales. Section 5(3) of the Domicile and Matrimonial Proceedings Act 1973 sets the jurisdiction grounds, which turn on where each of you is habitually resident or domiciled. Where the wedding was abroad, or one of you has since moved away, our international divorce page covers the wider picture.

A separation agreement can record what you have agreed without any court order, and the alternatives sit together on our divorce and separation hub.

Void Marriages and Voidable Marriages

Section 11 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 sets out the grounds on which a marriage is void:

• you are closely related, within the prohibited degrees of relationship
• either of you was under 18 at the time of the marriage, or under 16 where the wedding was before 27 February 2023
• you married in disregard of certain requirements as to the formation of a marriage
• one of you was already lawfully married or in a civil partnership
• the marriage contravened section 2A of the Marriage Act 1949, which since 2 August 2024 has barred a prisoner subject to a whole life order from marrying without permission
• it is a polygamous marriage entered into outside England and Wales while either of you was domiciled here

Where a marriage was never legally valid, GOV.UK says the law treats it as never having existed. You may still need a nullity order as proof, for example before marrying again.

A marriage is voidable on the grounds in section 12, which the nullity application form lists as tick boxes:

• it has not been consummated, through the incapacity of either of you or the wilful refusal of the respondent, neither of which applies to a same sex couple
• either of you did not validly consent, whether through duress, mistake, unsoundness of mind or otherwise
• at the time of the marriage either of you, though capable of giving valid consent, was suffering from mental disorder within the meaning of the Mental Health Act 1983, of such a kind or extent as to be unfitted for marriage
• the respondent had venereal disease in a communicable form at the time of the marriage
• at the time of the marriage the respondent was pregnant by someone other than the applicant
• an interim gender recognition certificate was issued to either of you after the marriage, or the respondent's gender at the time had become the acquired gender under the Gender Recognition Act 2004

A voidable marriage is valid until the court annuls it, and the annulment works forwards: section 16 provides that once the order is made final the marriage is treated as if it had existed up to that time.

Civil partnerships work in a similar way under sections 49 and 50 of the Civil Partnership Act 2004, but the void grounds come from the eligibility rules in Chapter 1, or from both of you knowing the registration was defective, and neither non-consummation nor venereal disease is a voidable ground. The forms are shared. Where the partnership is valid but has broken down, the route is civil partnership dissolution.

Evidence, Time Limits and Common Problems

Void grounds carry no time limit. Most voidable grounds do: under section 13(2) the court must not make a nullity order for lack of valid consent, mental disorder, venereal disease, pregnancy by another person or acquired gender unless proceedings started within three years of the marriage. Under section 13(4) a judge can allow a later start only where the applicant has suffered from mental disorder in that period and it would be just to grant leave.

Two shorter rules sit alongside it. For an interim gender recognition certificate, section 13(2A) requires proceedings within six months of its issue. For venereal disease, pregnancy by another person and acquired gender, section 13(3) requires the applicant to have been ignorant of the facts at the time. Sections 50 and 51 of the Civil Partnership Act 2004 apply the same limits.

There is also a conduct bar. Under section 13(1) the court must not annul a voidable marriage where the respondent shows that the applicant, knowing the marriage could be avoided, behaved so as to lead them reasonably to believe it would not be, and that an order would now be unjust.

The hardest problem is a ceremony that was never inside the marriage laws. In Her Majesty's Attorney General v Akhter and Khan [2020] EWCA Civ 122 the Court of Appeal held that there can be non-qualifying ceremonies, creating neither a valid nor a void marriage, so they give no entitlement to a nullity order and no right to financial remedies. The Nikah there was held at a London restaurant with none of the civil formalities, and both parties knew another ceremony was needed. Where only a religious ceremony took place, the first question is whether there is a marriage to annul.

The court needs one original or certified copy of the certificate, with a certified translation if it is not in English; photocopies are not accepted and the court keeps what you send. Beyond that, the evidence follows the ground: proof of an earlier subsisting marriage, documents showing age, medical evidence, or a statement setting out the pressure applied.

How the Annulment Process Works

The nullity route has the same two order stages as divorce, and one fewer waiting period at the front.

1. We settle the ground, matching your facts to a void or voidable ground, testing the time limits and the conduct bar, and confirming jurisdiction.
2. We prepare the application on form D8N, set out the fact relied on, and send two copies with the certificate and any certified translation to the Bury St Edmunds Regional Divorce Unit at the address GOV.UK gives.
3. The court fee is paid, or a help with fees application goes in with the form. The figure is on the GOV.UK court fees page, and help with court fees may be available on certain benefits or a low income.
4. The court serves the application. Rule 7.7(1) of the Family Procedure Rules requires the respondent to file an acknowledgement of service within 14 days of service, saying whether they agree.
5. We apply for the conditional order. Rule 7.9(2) allows it once the time for filing the acknowledgement of service has expired, provided nobody has indicated an intention to dispute, so the 20 week period that applies to divorce does not apply. Form D84NVA is used for a voidable marriage, D84NV for a void one.
6. We apply for the final order, which GOV.UK says can be applied for six weeks after the conditional order. The final order completes the annulment.
7. Money and property are kept in step: the court's powers under section 23 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 arise on the making of a nullity of marriage order, so a consent order is timed to the conditional and final orders.

When Legal Advice Is Especially Important

Some situations rarely sort themselves out on the paperwork alone:

• You were pressured or forced into the marriage. Lack of valid consent is a voidable ground, and a forced marriage protection order may be needed alongside it. If you are in immediate danger call 999, and the National Domestic Abuse Helpline is 0808 2000 247.
• Three years have nearly passed since the wedding, or have passed, on a time limited ground.
• Only a religious ceremony took place, so whether there is a marriage in law is itself in issue.
• Your husband or wife says the marriage is valid, or says you accepted it and cannot annul it now.
• There is a home, savings, a pension or a business to resolve, which our financial settlement page covers.
• Children need arrangements: GOV.UK says hearings can usually be avoided where you agree, and our child arrangements orders page sets out the options.
• Your permission to stay in the UK depends on the marriage: GOV.UK's divorce guide says you must tell other government organisations where your visa is based on it, so our spouse visa page is the starting point.

How RakLAW Solicitors Can Help

RakLAW Solicitors is a London firm at 42 Shad Thames, SE1 2YD, a short walk from Tower Bridge in Southwark, and the firm was founded by solicitor Rakesh Prajapati.

We start with the ground, because it decides everything else: void or voidable, which time limit applies, what evidence is needed and which forms are used. If the facts do not support a nullity order we say so plainly, and set out whether no fault divorce, judicial separation or an agreement fits better. Where the validity of the ceremony is in doubt, we deal with that first.

From there we run the application: the D8N, the certificate and translation, service, the response, then the conditional and final orders, with money, property and children kept in step. We offer a free 15 minute consultation, our charges are on our family law fees page, and RakLAW does not offer legal aid, so this work is privately funded. Call 0203 345 2000 to speak to a family solicitor.