The Registration of Marriages Regulations 2021

Amendment of the Marriage (Registrar General’s Licence) Act 1970

56.—(1) The Marriage (Registrar General’s Licence) Act 1970(1) is amended as follows.

(2) In section 1(1) (marriages which may be solemnized by Registrar General’s licence)(2), for “certificates of a superintendent registrar” substitute “a marriage schedule”.

(3) In section 2 (notice of marriage)(3), in subsection (2)—

(a) after “section 27(4)” insert “and (4A)”;

(b) for “notice book” substitute “register etc”.

(4) In section 5 (caveat against issue of Registrar General’s licence)(4)—

(a) for “certificate” substitute “marriage schedule”;

(b) for “the superintendent registrar” (in the first place it appears) substitute “any superintendent registrar”;

(c) omit the words from “, and with a further” to the end.

(5) In section 6 (marriage of persons under eighteen)(5), for “certificates of a superintendent registrar” substitute “a marriage schedule”.

(6) In section 8(1) (period of validity of licence), for “marriage notice book” substitute “marriage register”.

(7) In section 12 (proof of certain matters not necessary to validity of marriages), for “certificate of a superintendent registrar” substitute “marriage schedule”.

(8) In section 13 (void marriages), for paragraph (a) substitute—

“(a) as if for paragraph (b) there were substituted—

“(b) without a Registrar General’s licence;”;”.

(9) In section 14 (documentary authority for marriage)—

(a) in paragraph (a), omit “registering”;

(b) in paragraph (b), for “by whom the marriage is required to be registered under Part IV of the principal Act” substitute “responsible for ensuring the document issued under this section is signed in accordance with section 53C of the principal Act (signing of a marriage schedule)”.

(10) After section 14 (documentary authority for marriage) insert—

“14A    Signing of document

Section 53C of the principal Act (signing of a marriage schedule) applies to marriages solemnized on the authority of a Registrar General’s licence as it applies to marriages solemnized on the authority of a marriage schedule, reading references to the marriage schedule in subsections (2) to (7) of that section as references to the document issued by the superintendent registrar under section 14.”.

(11) In section 15 (registration of marriages), for the words from “the provisions of the principal Act” to the end substitute “sections 53D and 53E of the principal Act, as if it were solemnised on the authority of a marriage schedule, reading the first reference to the marriage schedule in subsection (3) of section 53D as a reference to the Registrar General’s licence and reading all subsequent references to the marriage schedule in sections 53D and 53E as references to the document issued by the superintendent registrar under section 14”.

(12) In section 16(1)(c) (offence of solemnising marriage after expiry of validity of Registrar General’s licence), for “marriage notice book” substitute “marriage register”.

(1)

1970 c. 34.

(2)

Section 1(1) was amended by paragraph 9 of Schedule 1 to the Marriage Act 1994 and paragraph 39 of Schedule 14 to the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999.

(3)

Section 2 was amended by paragraph 24 of Schedule 7 to the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013.

(4)

Section 5 was amended by paragraph 1 of Schedule 16 to the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999.

(5)

Section 6 was amended by paragraph 41 of Schedule 14 to the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999.