The Marriages and Civil Partnerships (Fees) (Scotland) Regulations 2005

Citation, commencement and extent

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Marriages and Civil Partnerships (Fees) (Scotland) Regulations 2005 and shall come into force on 5th December 2005.

(2) These Regulations extend to Scotland only.

Interpretation

2.—(1) In these Regulations–

“the 1965 Act” means the Registration of Births, Deaths and Marriages (Scotland) Act 1965;

“the 1977 Act” means the Marriage (Scotland) Act 1977;

“the 2004 Act” means the Civil Partnership Act 2004;

“bulk particular search” means a search for multiple specified entries, by comparison of electronic records, caused to be made by the Registrar General;

“general search” means a search (other than an Internet search) over any period of years for any number of entries, made by any person with the permission of the Registrar General or the district registrar;

“Internet search” means a search, in the indexes to the statutory registers and in the indexes to the parochial registers made available on the Internet, made by any person by means of the Internet with the permission of the Registrar General;

“Internet search session” means the period of time beginning with the time at which a person has–

(a)

access to the indexes made available on the Internet; and

(b)

agreed to pay the prescribed fee for an Internet search session,

and ending–

(a)

168 hours after that time; or, if sooner,

(b)

with the time at which that person has retrieved 30 computer screens or part screens of index data;

“particular search” means a search for a specified entry caused to be made by the Registrar General or made by a district registrar;

“search” means a bulk particular search, a general search, an Internet search or, as the case may be, a particular search;

“working day” means a day on which the General Register Office is open for the purpose specified in section 38(2) of the 1965 Act.

(2) Any reference in these Regulations to an application made by post includes an application made by facsimile.

(3) In these Regulations, any reference to a numbered Schedule or to a Part of a Schedule is a reference to a Schedule or Part of a Schedule to these Regulations.

Amendment of the Births, Deaths, Marriages and Divorces (Fees) (Scotland) Regulations 1998

3.  In the first entry in Schedule 3 to the Births, Deaths, Marriages and Divorces (Fees) (Scotland) Regulations 1998(1) (submission of marriage notice), for the amount “20.00” substitute “25.00”.

Fees payable under the Civil Partnership Act 2004

4.  The fees payable under the provisions of the 2004 Act specified in column 1 of Schedule 1 for the services described in column 2 of that Schedule (namely, submission of notice of proposed civil partnership and civil partnership registration) shall be the amounts specified in column 3 of that Schedule.

Fees payable to Registrar General

5.  Subject to regulation 8, the fees payable under the provisions of the Acts specified in–

(a) column 1 of Part I of Schedule 2 for the services described in column 2 of Part I of that Schedule (namely, searches in the indexes to the civil partnership register and the Register of Dissolutions of Civil Partnership) shall be the amounts specified in column 3 of Part I of that Schedule;

(b) column 1 of Part II of Schedule 2 for the services described in column 2 of Part II of that Schedule (namely, the issue of extracts of entries in those registers) shall be the amounts specified in column 3 of Part II of that Schedule.

Priority handling fee

6.  Subject to regulation 8, where–

(a) a person applies for a service which is described in the entry numbered 1 in column 2 of Part II of Schedule 2;

(b) the application is made–

(i) in person before 1300 hours and the person requests that the extract be issued after 1600 hours on the same day, or

(ii) in person after 1300 hours and the person requests that the extract be issued after 1000 hours on the next working day following the application, or

(iii) by post and the person requests that the extract be issued by post on the next working day following receipt of the application; and

(c) the Registrar General considers that the request can reasonably be complied with,

then, in addition to the amount specified in column 3 of Part II of that Schedule as the fee payable for that service, a further fee of £10 per extract issued shall be payable, but, if the extract is not issued within the time requested, the further fee shall be refunded.

Fee payable to district registrars

7.  Subject to regulation 8, the fees payable under the provisions of the Act specified in–

(a) column 1 of Part I of Schedule 3 for the services described in column 2 of Part I of that Schedule (namely, searches in the civil partnership register) shall be the amounts specified in column 3 of Part I of that Schedule;

(b) column 1 of Part II of Schedule 3 for the services described in column 2 of Part II of that Schedule (namely, issue of extracts of entries in that register) shall be the amount specified in column 3 of Part II of that Schedule.

Remission of fees

8.  The Registrar General may remit any fee or part of a fee payable under the provisions of the Acts specified in column 1 of both Parts of Schedules 2 and 3 where–

(a) the payment of the fee is likely to cause hardship to the person by whom it is payable; or

(b) the service in respect of which the fee is payable is performed for research purposes.

DUNCAN MACNIVEN

Registrar General for Scotland

New Register House, Edinburgh

7th November 2005

Approved by the Scottish Ministers

GEORGE LYON

Authorised to sign by the Scottish Ministers

St Andrew’s House, Edinburgh

8th November 2005