Registration Service Act 1953

General organisation of registration service

5 Districts and sub-districts

(1) For the purposes of the Registration Acts, in every county and county borough there shall be one or more districts and in every district there shall be one or more sub-districts.

(2) Without prejudice to any provision of the local scheme as to additional officers, for each district there shall be a superintendent registrar of births, deaths and marriages, and for each sub-district there shall be a registrar of births and deaths, and any registrar of births and deaths upon whom the functions of a registrar of marriages are conferred by the local scheme shall also be deemed to be a registrar of marriages within the district for the purposes of the Marriage Act, 1949.

6 Superintendent registrars and registrars of births and deaths

(1) Every superintendent registrar and every registrar of births and deaths shall be appointed by the council of the county or county borough in which his district or sub-district is situated:

Provided that if, on the occurrence of a vacancy in any office of superintendent registrar or registrar of births and deaths, the council refuses to fill the vacancy or, having been required by the Registrar General to fill the vacancy within a period of not less than twenty-eight days specified in the requirement, fails to do so, the appointment shall be made by the Registrar General.

(2) No person shall be appointed as superintendent registrar or as registrar of births and deaths unless he is qualified in accordance with the prescribed conditions.

(3) Every superintendent registrar and every registrar of births and deaths shall be a salaried officer paid by the council of the county or county borough in which his district or sub-district is situated and shall—

(a) at such times and in such manner as may be prescribed account to the Registrar General for all fees received by or payable to him in respect of the execution of his duties under the Registration Acts; and

(b) upon the direction of the Registrar General pay to the council aforesaid such sum as the Registrar General may certify to be due to the council in respect of those fees.

(4) Every superintendent registrar and every registrar of births and deaths shall hold office during the pleasure of the Registrar General.

7 Additional registrars of marriages

(1) The Registrar General may from time to time, and a superintendent registrar may with the approval of the Registrar General, by writing under his hand appoint any person qualified in accordance with the prescribed conditions to be registrar of marriages within the district of any or, as the case may be, of that superintendent registrar in addition to any registrar of births and deaths upon whom the functions of a registrar of marriages have been conferred by the local scheme.

(2) Any person appointed under this section—

(a) if appointed by the Registrar General, shall hold office during the pleasure of the Registrar General;

(b) if appointed by a superintendent registrar, shall hold office during the pleasure of that superintendent registrar but be removable by the Registrar General.

(3) A registrar of marriages appointed under this section shall be entitled to retain any fees received by or payable to him in respect of the execution of his duties under the Marriage Act, 1949:

Provided that he shall at such times and in such manner as may be prescribed account to the Registrar General for and pay to the council of the county or county borough within whose area the registration district for which he acts is situated so much of the aggregate sum received by or payable to him by way of those fees as the Registrar General may certify to represent an amount equal to one third part of that sum less such deduction as the Registrar General may allow as remuneration to him for the trouble and expense of collecting and accounting for that third part.

8 Deputy superintendent registrars and registrars

(1) Subject to the provisions of the local scheme, every superintendent registrar and every registrar of births and deaths shall, and any registrar of marriages may, from time to time by writing under his hand appoint, subject to the approval of the Registrar General, one or more fit persons to act as his deputy in the case of his illness or unavoidable absence or in any prescribed case, and any person so appointed shall while so acting have all the powers and duties of a superintendent registrar or, as the case may be, a registrar of births and deaths or a registrar of marriages.

(2) Subject as aforesaid, a superintendent registrar or registrar shall be civilly responsible for any act or omission of his deputy, who shall hold office during the pleasure of the officer by whom he was appointed but be removable by the Registrar General.

9 Interim superintendent registrars and registrars

(1) If any superintendent registrar or any registrar of births and deaths ceases to hold his office, his deputy or, if he has more than one deputy, such one of his deputies as shall from time to time be determined by the clerk of the county council or the town clerk of the county borough for the county or county borough in which his district or sub-district is situated shall become interim superintendent registrar or, as the case may be, interim registrar of births and deaths.

(2) If a superintendent registrar or registrar of births and deaths ceases to hold his office and he has no deputy, the clerk of the county council or town clerk of the county borough aforesaid shall appoint an interim superintendent registrar or, as the case may be, an interim registrar of births and deaths.

(3) An interim superintendent registrar and an interim registrar of births and deaths shall, until a new superintendent registrar or, as the case may be, registrar of births and deaths enters into office, have all the powers and duties of that office.

10 District register offices

(1) The council of every county and county borough shall provide and maintain for the superintendent registrar of each district within the county or county borough a register office according to a plan approved by the Registrar General, and shall provide therein to the satisfaction of the Registrar General a suitable fireproof repository or strong fire-resisting boxes for the safe custody of the records in the charge of the superintendent registrar.

(2) For any period during which a register office is not so provided, the superintendent registrar shall appropriate some fit room to be approved by the Registrar General as a temporary register office and the council shall pay to the superintendent registrar a reasonable rent for that room.

(3) Without prejudice to the last foregoing subsection, if in the case of any district, by reason of the refusal or neglect of the council of the county or county borough, a register office for that district is not provided or is not maintained and kept in repair, the Registrar General may, if so authorised by the Treasury, expend a sum not exceeding three hundred pounds in providing an office, or any sum from time to time necessary for repairing or maintaining any office provided by him, and any sum so expended shall be repaid to the Registrar General by the council.

(4) The register office for any district shall be deemed for the purposes of the Registration Acts to be situated within that district even though it is not locally situated therein.

11 Sub-district offices, etc.

(1) Subject to the provisions of the local scheme, every registrar of births and deaths and every deputy registrar of births and deaths shall either dwell in or have a known office within the sub-district of which he is registrar or deputy registrar.

(2) Subject as aforesaid, every registrar of births and deaths shall appoint within or contiguous to his sub-district such stations, if any, as may be directed by the Registrar General, and for the purposes of the provisions of the Registration Acts with respect to the attendance of persons and the registration of births and deaths any station for a registrar's sub-district, as well as the office therefor, shall be deemed to be his office.

(3) Subject as aforesaid, every registrar and every deputy registrar shall attend at his dwelling-house or office and at any such station as aforesaid on such days and at such hours as may be approved by the Registrar General for the purpose of registering births and deaths.

12 Provision of register boxes

The Registrar General shall provide such number of strong fire-resisting boxes as may be required to hold the registers kept by each registrar of births and deaths and registrar of marriages.