marriage licence 
noun British
A licence which couples must obtain before getting married, except in civil marriage by certificate or church marriage authorized by the publication of banns.The applicants in that case went to the High Court, by way of a test case, seeking a decision as to whether same-sex couples could lawfully obtain a marriage licence....
- On 27 November 1582, the clerk noted in the Episcopal Register of the Diocese of Worcester the application for a special marriage licence inter Willelmum Shaxpere et Annam Whateley de Temple Grafton.
- The couple returned from their honeymoon to find their marriage licence wasn't completed and they weren't actually married.