Where can we register our Civil Partnership?
You may register your civil partnership at any Register Office or Approved premise in England & Wales.
Currently the law does not allow for a civil partnership to take place in a private house, in open air, a marquee, or in any other movable structure, such as a boat or hot air balloon.
In a Register Office
You may choose to book your ceremony at the time that you give your notice. If you intend to register your partnership at Leeds Register Office you will need to make an appointment. Please ring (0113 247 6709). Giving your notice of marriage will secure the time and date chosen.
If you are holding your civil partnership registration in a different district to where you live it is advisable to first make a provisional booking with the office in which you want to register your partnership. You then need to give notice in the district where you live.
In Approved Premises
Each local will have a variety of other premises which have been approved for civil partnerships although individual premises will decide whether they wish to host civil partnership ceremonies. Approved Premises generally include hotels, stately homes and other historic buildings. The ceremony is conducted by staff from the Register office. Although you can register your partnership in any Approved Premises in any district in England and Wales you will still need to give Notice in the district(s) where you live. A full list of all Approved Premises in England and Wales can be obtained from the General Register Office (www.statistics.gov.uk) . A list of local venues is also normally available free of charge from each Register Office.
Select (Approved premises in Leeds) for an up to date list of Approved venues in the Leeds area. Alternatively ring our office on 0113 2476709.
If you are holding your civil partnership ceremony in an Approved premise, you should first contact the owners of the property to ensure that the date you have chosen is available. You must then contact the Registrar of the district in which you want to marry to ensure that you can hold your ceremony on the day and at the time you have chosen.
At Home/in hospital
A person who is housebound is able to register a civil partnership in their own home or in a hospital. A doctor must be prepared to sign a statement that the person is not able to be moved for a period of 3 months to a place normally registered for civil partnerships. The statement form can be obtained from your local Register Office and must be signed not more than 14 days before giving notice. Notice must be given in the district/s of residence of both parties. In the case of the housebound person the notice will have to be taken at home, which will incur an extra fee on top of the usual notice fee. The registration must take place within 3 months of giving the first notice.
A person who is terminally ill is able to marry in a house or hospital. In these circumstances a doctor must sign a letter confirming that he/she is in medical attendance on the person and that the person is terminally ill and not expected to recover. The letter must also state that the person cannot be moved to a place where civil partnerships could normally take place and can fully understand the importance of the registration. The registration can take place once the Registrar General has issued the licence for the civil partnerships. Where necessary this may be on the same day that the arrangements are made although the registration must take place within one month of giving the notice. Only one notice is given under these circumstances, which is normally taken at the Register Office.
In Prison
A marriage can take place in a prison as long as the Prison authorities agree that the marriage can be performed there. This agreement must be in the form of a statement signed by the Prison Governor not more than 21 days before you give your notices of marriage. The person in prison must give their notice to the local Superintendent Registrar. As the registrar will normally have to visit the prison in order to take the notice, this will attract an additional statutory fee. The other party to the marriage will also have to give a notice to the registrar of the district in which they live. The marriage, which can be civil or religious, must take place within 3 months of giving the first notice.
Registering your civil partnership abroad
You should first check with the authorities of the country in which you are registering your civil partnership as to what legal preliminaries are needed. It may be that a statutory declaration made by the person wishing to register the civil partnership that he/she is free to do so will acceptable. In some cases, the relevant authorities may be satisfied to see a letter from the General Register Office confirming that a search has been made in the records for any previous civil partnership or marriage and that no entry has been found. Where this is the case, please contact General Register Office (Marriages and Civil Partnerships Branch) on 0151 471 4803. Some countries require you to give notice in this country and to produce a certificate of no impediment in order for your registration to go ahead. However, this facility exists only in certain circumstances.
Where two British subjects are arranging a civil partnership in a foreign country and both live in England and Wales, notice must be given by both parties in the district/s in which they have lived for the 7 days before giving notice. The informal Certificates of No Impediment can be issued 15 clear days after the date on which the notices were given.
There is no facility for giving notice of civil partnership where two British subjects are getting married in a British Commonwealth country.
If a British subject is registering a civil partnership with a foreign national in a foreign country notice must be given in the district, in England and Wales, in which they have lived for three weeks before giving notice. Only one notice is given and a Certificate of No Impediment can be issued 21 clear days after the notice.
A civil partnership registered in a foreign country, under the local law of that country will be registered in that country. There is provision for a record of the civil partnership from some countries to be held in the United Kingdom by the General Register Office (Overseas section). The couple may present a civil partnership certificate and a translation (if applicable) to the United Kingdom consular officer who will certify the translation (for a fee) and send the original certificate and translation to General Register Office Overseas Section. It will then be possible to obtain certified copies of the documents at a future date.
Provision also exists for a civil partnership to be registered under English Law before a United Kingdom consular officer abroad where there are insufficient facilities in the country concerned, to enter into a civil partnership under the local law of that country and where the authorities do not object to the registration of a civil partnership by the British authorities in that country.
Please contact the Foreign and Commonwealth Office for further advice (020 7008 0186).
Nationality and Passport Section
Consular Directorate of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Old Admiralty Building
London SW1A 2PA