These Regulations amend the Births, Deaths, Marriages and Civil Partnerships Records Regulations 2016 (“the Records Regulations”) and the Registration of Births, Deaths, Marriages and Civil Partnerships (Fees) Regulations 2016 (“the Fees Regulations”).

Regulation 2 amends regulations 1, 2, 3 and 4 of the Records Regulations, which enable information contained in an entry in the Registrar General’s records of births, deaths and marriages to be provided, upon request, to a person applying via the website www.gov.uk, in portable document format in England and Wales. The amendments enable information in such entries to be provided in any electronic format including (except in respect of the conversion register) through a service which enables the entry to be viewed online (“online view service”). Regulation 2 also amends the reference to the website.

Regulation 3 amends the Fees Regulations, which set fees for applications and services in relation to the registration of births, deaths, marriages and civil partnerships in England and Wales. Regulation 3(3)(a) introduces a priority service fee for certified copies of entries in marriage register books obtained from a superintendent registrar. Regulation 3(3)(b)(i)(bb) corrects references to the conversion register. The remaining amendments are made as a consequence of the amendments to the Records Regulations, including introduction of a fee for a copy of a register entry through the online view service.

A full impact assessment of the effect that this instrument will have on the costs of business, the voluntary sector and the public sector is available from www.legislation.gov.uk.