When the act was passed, it required, under pain of nullity, that banns should be published according to the rubric, or a licence obtained, and that, in either case, the marriage should be solemnized in church; and that in the case of minors, marriage by licence must be by the consent of parent or guardian.
This act had the effect of putting a stop to clandestine marriages, e.g. in Fleet Prison. Henceforth couples had to fare to Gretna Green, in Scotland and thus outside the jurisdiction of English law.