when was gay marriage legalized in uk

Same-sex marriage was legalized at different times across the UK: in England and Wales in 2013 (with marriages starting in 2014), in Scotland in 2014, and in Northern Ireland in 2020.

Key dates by UK nation

• England and Wales
  • Law: Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 received Royal Assent on 17 July 2013.

* First weddings: 29 March 2014, when the Act came into force for marriages.

• Scotland
  • Law: Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Act 2014.
  • First same-sex marriages took place in late 2014 after the Act commenced.

• Northern Ireland
  • Same-sex marriage became legal in 2020 after UK-wide legislative changes extended marriage rights there.

Simple way to remember

• England & Wales: law in 2013 , weddings from 2014.

• Scotland: law in 2014 , weddings later that year.

• Northern Ireland: weddings from 2020.

So when people ask “when was gay marriage legalized in the UK?”, the most precise answer is that the UK did it in stages , finishing with Northern Ireland in 2020.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.