46B Solemnization of marriage on approved premises.
(1) Any marriage on approved premises in pursuance of section 26(1)(bb) of this Act shall be solemnized in the presence of—
(a) two witnesses, and
(b) the superintendent registrar and a registrar of the registration district in which the premises are situated.
(2) Without prejudice to the width of section 46A(2)(e) of this Act, the Secretary of State shall exercise his power to provide for the imposition of conditions as there mentioned so as to secure that members of the public are permitted to attend any marriage solemnized on approved premises in pursuance of section 26(1)(bb) of this Act.
(3) Each of the persons contracting such a marriage shall make the declaration and use the form of words set out in section 44(3) or (3A)of this Act in the case of marriages in registered buildings . . ..
(4) No religious service shall be used at a marriage on approved premises in pursuance of section 26(1)(bb) of this Act.
47 Marriages according to usages of Society of Friends.
(1) No person who is not a member of the Society of Friends shall be married according to the usages of that Society unless he or she is authorised to be so married under or in pursuance of a general rule of the said Society in England.
(2) A marriage solemnized according to the said usages shall not be valid unless either—
(a) each person giving notice of marriage declares, either verbally or, if so required, in writing, that each of the parties to the marriage is either a member of the Society of Friends or is in profession with or of the persuasion of that Society; or
(b) there is produced to the superintendent registrar, at the time when notice of marriage is given, a certificate purporting to be signed by an officer of the Society of Friends in England to the effect that any party to the marriage who is not a member of the Society of Friends or in profession with or of the persuasion of that Society, is authorised to be married according to the said usages under or in pursuance of a general rule of the said Society in England.
(3) Any such certificate as aforesaid shall be for all purposes conclusive evidence that any person to whom it relates is authorised to be married according to the usages of the said Society, and a certified copy of the entry of the marriage in the marriage register made under Part 4 of this Act, shall be conclusive evidence of the production of such a certificate.
(4) A copy of any general rule of the Society of Friends purporting to be signed by the recording clerk for the time being of the said Society in London shall be admitted as evidence of the general rule in all proceedings touching the validity of any marriage solemnized according to the usages of the said Society.
48 Proof of certain matters not necessary to validity of marriages.
(1) Where any marriage has been solemnized under the provisions of this Part of this Act, it shall not be necessary in support of the marriage to give any proof—
(a) that before the marriage either of the parties thereto resided, or resided for any period, in the registration district stated in the notices of marriage to be that of his or her place of residence;
(b) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(c) that the registered building in which the marriage was solemnized had been certified as required by law as a place of religious worship;
(d) that that building was the usual place of worship of either of the parties to the marriage; ...
(da) that, in the case of a marriage under section 26B(2), (4) or (6), the relevant governing authority had given consent as mentioned in section 26B(2)(b), (4)(b) or (6)(d);
(e) that the facts stated in a declaration made under subsection (1) of section thirty-five of this Act were correct; ...
(ea) that, in the case of a marriage under section 26A, the relevant governing authority had given consent as mentioned in section 26A(3); or
(eb) that, in the case of a marriage to which Schedule 3A applied, any of the events listed in paragraph 2(2) to (6) of that Schedule occurred.
nor shall any evidence be given to prove the contrary in any proceedings touching the validity of the marriage.
(2) A marriage solemnized in accordance with the provisions of this Part of this Act in a registered building which has not been certified as required by law as a place of religious worship shall be as valid as if the building had been so certified.
If any persons knowingly and wilfully intermarry under the provisions of this Part of this Act—
(a) without having given due notice of marriage to the superintendent registrar;
(b) without a marriage schedule having been duly issued by the superintendent registrar of the registration district in which the marriage was solemnized;
(c) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(d) on the authority of a marriage schedule which is void by virtue of subsection (2) of section thirty-three of this Act;
(e) in any place other than the church, chapel, registered building, office or other place specified in the notices of marriage and (if so specified) in the marriage schedule;
(ee) in the case of a marriage purporting to be in pursuance of section 26(1)(bb) of this Act, on any premises that at the time the marriage is solemnized are not approved premises;
(f) in the case of a marriage in a registered building (not being a marriage in the presence of an authorised person), in the absence of a registrar of the registration district in which the registered building is situated; ...
(g) in the case of a marriage in the office of a superintendent registrar, in the absence of the superintendent registrar or of a registrar of the registration district of that superintendent registrar; ...
(gg) in the case of a marriage on approved premises, in the absence of the superintendent registrar of the registration district in which the premises are situated or in the absence of a registrar of that district; or
(h) in the case of a marriage to which section 45A of this Act applies, in the absence of any superintendent registrar or registrar whose presence at that marriage is required by that section;
the marriage shall be void.
49A Void marriages: additional provision about same sex couples
(1) If a same sex couple knowingly and wilfully intermarries under the provisions of this Part of this Act in the absence of the required consent, the marriage shall be void.
(2) In this section, in relation to a marriage of a same sex couple, “required consent” means consent under—
(a) section 26A(3), in a case where section 26A applies to the marriage (but section 44A does not apply to it);
(b) section 26A(3) and section 44A(6), in a case where section 26A and section 44A apply to the marriage;
(ba) section 26A(3) and under any regulations made under section 44C that require the consent to use of a building for the solemnization of marriages of same sex couples, in a case where section 26A and section 44C apply to the marriage;
(c) section 26B(2)(b), in a case where section 26B(1), (2) and (3) apply to the marriage;
(d) section 26B(4)(b), in a case where section 26B(1), (4) and (5) apply to the marriage;
(e) section 26B(6)(d), in a case where section 26B(1), (6) and (7) apply to the marriage.
50 Person to whom marriage schedule to be delivered.
(A1) This section applies where the parties to a marriage have been issued a marriage schedule under section 31(4).
(1) The parties to the marriage must deliver the marriage schedule to the following person :—
(a) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(b) if the marriage is to be solemnized in a registered building without the presence of a registrar, the authorised person in whose presence the marriage is to be solemnized;
(c) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(cc) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(d) if the marriage is to be solemnized according to the usages of the Society of Friends, an officer of that Society for the place where the marriage is to be solemnized;
(e) if the marriage is to be solemnized according to the usages of persons professing the Jewish religion, the officer of a synagogue by whom the marriage schedule is required to be signed in accordance with section 53C;
(f) if the marriage is to be solemnized according to the rites of the Church of England, the officiating clergyman.
(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
51 Fees of superintendent registrars for attending marriages in approved premises
(1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(1A) In the case of persons married on approved premises in pursuance of section 26(1)(bb) of this Act—
(a) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(b) the superintendent registrar in whose presence the persons are married shall be entitled to receive from them a fee of an amount determined in accordance with regulations under section 46A of this Act by the local authority that approved the premises.
(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Registrar General shall furnish to every registrar in Wales and in every place in which the Welsh language is commonly used a true and exact translation into the Welsh language of the declarations and forms of words required to be used under section forty-four of this Act, and the said translation may be used in any place in which the Welsh language is commonly used in the same manner as is prescribed by the said section forty-four for the use of the declarations and forms of words in the English language.
(1) The Registrar General must maintain a register for the recording of information relating to marriages and the registration of marriages, which is to be known as the “marriage register”.
(2) The marriage register must be accessible in electronic form.
(3) Where a marriage is registered under section 53D(10)(a), the entry must be available to—
(a) the Registrar General, and
(b) the superintendent registrar in whose registration district the marriage was solemnized,
immediately after the entry has been made.
(4) Subject to subsection (5), information entered in the marriage register under any provision of this Act other than sections 29(1) or 53D(10)(a) must not be made available to the Registrar General.
(5) Subsection (4) does not apply to information entered in the marriage register under section 27(4) where the superintendent registrar who entered the information has agreed that it may be made available.
(1) This section applies to a marriage solemnized—
(a) after the publication of banns,
(b) on the authority of a special licence, or
(c) on the authority of a common licence.
(2) Before the marriage document is signed, the clergyman by whom the marriage is to be or has been solemnized may ask the parties to the marriage questions regarding the contents of the marriage document.
(3) The parties to a marriage to which this section applies must sign the marriage document, as soon as is reasonably practicable after the solemnization of the marriage, in the presence of—
(a) each other,
(b) the clergyman by whom the marriage was solemnized, and
(c) two witnesses.
(4) Immediately after the marriage document has been signed in accordance with subsection (3) it must also be signed in the presence of the parties to the marriage and each other by—
(a) the clergyman by whom the marriage was solemnized, and
(b) the two witnesses.
(1) This section applies to a marriage solemnized on the authority of a marriage schedule.
(2) Before the marriage schedule is signed, the specified person may ask the parties to the marriage questions regarding the contents of the marriage schedule.
(3) In the case of a marriage according to the usages of the Society of Friends or according to the usages of the Jews, before the specified person signs the marriage schedule, the specified person must be satisfied that the proceedings in relation to the marriage were conformable to the usages of the said Society or (as the case may be) to the usages of the Jews.
(4) Subsections (2) and (3) apply whether or not the specified person was present at the marriage.
(5) The parties to a marriage to which this section applies must sign the marriage schedule, as soon as is reasonably practicable after the solemnization of the marriage, in the presence of—
(a) each other,
(b) the specified person,
(c) (if different to the specified person) the person by or before whom the marriage was solemnized, and
(d) two witnesses.
(6) Immediately after the marriage schedule has been signed in accordance with subsection (5), the specified person, the person by or before whom the marriage was solemnized (if different to the specified person) and the two witnesses must sign the marriage schedule in the presence of the parties to the marriage and each other.
(7) In the case of a marriage solemnized according to the usages of the Society of Friends or according to the usages of the Jews where the specified person is not present at the solemnization of the marriage—
(a) the persons referred to in subsection (5)(a), (c) and (d) may sign the marriage schedule without being in the presence of the specified person;
(b) the specified person must sign the marriage schedule as soon as is convenient after the persons referred to in subsection (5)(a), (c) and (d) have signed the marriage schedule;
(c) the specified person may sign the marriage schedule without being in the presence of the persons referred to in subsection (5)(a), (c) and (d).
(8) For the purposes of this Part, the specified person is—
(a) in the case of a marriage solemnized according to the rites of the Church of England, the clergyman by whom the marriage is solemnized;
(b) in the case of a marriage solemnized according to the usages of the Society of Friends, an officer of that Society;
(c) in the case of a marriage solemnized according to the usages of the Jews—
(i) where the parties to the marriage are both members of the same synagogue, a secretary of that synagogue, or
(ii) where the parties to the marriage are members of different synagogues, a secretary of whichever of those synagogues the parties to the marriage nominate;
(d) in the case of a marriage solemnized in the presence of a registrar, that registrar;
(e) in the case of a marriage solemnized in a registered building without the presence of a registrar, the authorised person in whose presence the marriage is solemnized.
(1) Subsection (2) applies in the case of a marriage that is solemnized—
(a) after the publication of banns,
(b) on the authority of a special licence, or
(c) on the authority of a common licence.
(2) Once the marriage document for the marriage is signed in accordance with section 53B, the clergyman who solemnized the marriage must ensure that the marriage document is delivered to a registrar in the registration district in which the marriage was solemnized within 21 days beginning with the day on which the signing of the marriage document was completed.
(3) In the case of a marriage that is solemnized on the authority of a marriage schedule—
(a) where the marriage is attended by a registrar, that registrar must take custody of the marriage schedule once it is signed in accordance with section 53C;
(b) otherwise, once the marriage schedule is signed in accordance with section 53C, the specified person must ensure that it is delivered to a registrar in the registration district in which the marriage was solemnized within 21 days beginning with the day on which the signing of the marriage schedule was completed.
(4) The duty imposed by subsections (2) or (3)(b) to ensure the marriage document or (as the case may be) marriage schedule is delivered to a registrar may be discharged by sending a copy in an approved electronic form.
(5) Subsection (6) applies if the signed marriage document or (as the case may be) marriage schedule is not delivered to a registrar in the registration district in which the marriage was solemnized within 21 days beginning with the day on which the signing of the marriage document or marriage schedule was completed.
(6) A registrar in the registration district in which the marriage was solemnized may issue a notice, in any form, and with any content, that may be prescribed, to the specified person requiring them to deliver the marriage document or (as the case may be) marriage schedule to a registrar, in that registration district, within 8 days beginning with the day on which the notice is issued.
(7) Subsection (8) applies if the signed marriage document or (as the case may be) marriage schedule is not delivered in accordance with a notice issued under subsection (6).
(8) A registrar in the registration district in which the marriage was solemnized may issue a further notice, in any form, and with any content, that may be prescribed, to the specified person, requiring the personal attendance of the specified person at premises in the registration district in which the marriage was solemnized, for the purpose of—
(a) delivering the signed marriage document or (as the case may be) marriage schedule to the registrar, or
(b) if the specified person is not able to do so, explaining to the registrar why this is the case.
(9) A specified person who is issued with a notice under subsection (8) must comply with the requirements of the notice within 8 days beginning with the day on which the notice was issued.
(10) A registrar who has a signed marriage document or marriage schedule—
(a) must, as soon as reasonably practicable, register the marriage by entering the particulars in the marriage document or marriage schedule into the marriage register;
(b) may issue a certified copy of the entry in the marriage register.
(11) Information regarding a signed marriage document or marriage schedule may be provided by a registrar for the registration district in which the marriage was solemnized to a specified person in that registration district for the purposes of establishing—
(a) whether the marriage document or marriage schedule is authentic, or
(b) whether every marriage document signed under section 53B and every marriage schedule signed under section 53C in that registration district has been registered under subsection (10).
(12) Where a registrar has provided information to a specified person in accordance with subsection (11), that specified person may, for any of the purposes mentioned in that subsection, provide that registrar with information regarding any marriage document or marriage schedule signed or alleged to have been signed in the registration district concerned.
53E Registration of marriage where documentation lost or destroyed
(1) This section applies where the Registrar General is satisfied that—
(a) a marriage has been solemnized, and
(b) the marriage document or (as the case may be) the marriage schedule in respect of the marriage has been lost or destroyed.
(2) In the case of a marriage document, the Registrar General may direct a relevant church official, in writing, to—
(a) reproduce the marriage document, and
(b) arrange, before the signing period expires and so far as reasonably practicable, for the reproduction to be signed by—
(i) the relevant church official, and
(ii) the relevant original signatories.
(3) The relevant church official to whom the direction is given under subsection (2) must—
(a) ensure that the reproduction, signed in accordance with subsection (2)(b), is delivered to a relevant registrar before the end of the period of 21 days beginning with the first day after the end of the signing period, and
(b) if any of the relevant original signatories have not signed the reproduction, explain to the registrar why that is so.
(4) In the case of a marriage schedule, the Registrar General may direct the superintendent registrar for the registration district in which the marriage was solemnized, in writing, to—
(a) reproduce the marriage schedule, and
(b) provide the reproduction to a relevant person and require them in writing to arrange, before the signing period expires and so far as reasonably practicable, for the reproduction to be signed by—
(i) the relevant person, and
(ii) the relevant original signatories.
(5) If the relevant person to whom the reproduction is provided under subsection (4)(b) is not a registrar, the relevant person must—
(a) ensure that the reproduction, signed in accordance with subsection (4)(b), is delivered to a relevant registrar before the end of the period of 21 days beginning with the first day after the end of the signing period, and
(b) if any of the relevant original signatories have not signed the reproduction, explain to the registrar why that is so.
(6) The duty imposed by subsection (3)(a) or (5)(a) to ensure a reproduction is delivered to a registrar may be discharged by sending a copy in an approved electronic form.
(7) Subsection (8) applies if—
(a) the Registrar General gives a direction under subsection (2) or (4), and
(b) the reproduction is not in the possession of a relevant registrar at the end of the period of 21 days beginning with the first day after the end of the signing period.
(8) A relevant registrar may issue a notice, in any form, and with any content, that may be prescribed, to (as the case may be)—
(a) the relevant church official to whom the direction was given, or
(b) the relevant person to whom the reproduction was provided,
requiring the reproduction to be delivered to the registrar within 8 days beginning with the day on which the notice is issued.
(9) Subsection (10) applies if the reproduction is not delivered in accordance with the notice issued under subsection (8).
(10) A relevant registrar may issue a further notice, in any form, and with any content, that may be prescribed, to the relevant church official or (as the case may be) relevant person, requiring the personal attendance of the official or (as the case may be) relevant person at premises in the registration district in which the marriage was solemnized, for the purpose of—
(a) delivering the reproduction, signed so far as is reasonably practicable by the original signatories, to the registrar, or
(b) if the official or (as the case may be) relevant person is not able to do so, explaining why this is the case.
(11) A person who is issued with a notice under subsection (10) must comply with the requirements of the notice within 8 days beginning with the day on which the notice was issued.
(12) Where a registrar is satisfied that, so far as is reasonably practicable, a marriage document or marriage schedule reproduced under this section has been signed by the persons mentioned in subsection (2)(b) or (as the case may be) (4)(b), the reproduction is to be treated as a signed marriage document or (as the case may be) marriage schedule for all purposes under this Act (and see, in particular, subsections (10) to (12) of section 53D).
(13) In this section—
“relevant church official”, in relation to a marriage document, means—
the clergyman who solemnized the marriage, or
if the Registrar General is satisfied that clergyman is not available to carry out the direction under subsection (2), a person appointed by the bishop of the diocese to carry out such directions;
“relevant original signatories” means—
in relation to a marriage document, the parties to the marriage and the witnesses, who signed the first marriage document in accordance with section 53B;
in relation to a marriage schedule, the parties to the marriage, the person by or before whom the marriage was solemnized if different to the specified person in relation to the marriage and the two witnesses, who signed the first marriage schedule in accordance with section 53C;
“relevant person”, in relation to a marriage schedule, means—
the specified person in relation to the marriage,
if the superintendent registrar to whom the direction is given under subsection (4) is satisfied that the specified person is not available to arrange for the reproduction to be signed by the original signatories—
in the case of a marriage solemnized according to the rites of the Church of England, a person appointed by the bishop of the diocese to carry out the functions of a relevant person under this section,
in the case of a marriage solemnized according to the usages of the Society of Friends, another officer of that Society in the registration district in which the marriage was solemnized,
in the case of a marriage solemnized according to the usages of the Jews where both parties to the marriage are members of the same synagogue, another secretary of that synagogue,
in the case of a marriage solemnized according to the usages of the Jews where the parties to the marriage are members of different synagogues, a secretary for either of those synagogues,
in the case of a marriage solemnized in a registered building without the presence of a registrar, an authorised person in relation to that building or of some other registered building in the same registration district or a registrar of that district, or
if the superintendent registrar is satisfied that there is no person falling within paragraph (a) or (b) available to arrange for the reproduction to be signed by the original signatories, a registrar in the registration district in which the marriage was solemnized;
“relevant registrar” means a registrar in the registration district in which the marriage was solemnized;
“the signing period” means 28 days beginning with—
in the case of a marriage document, the day on which the Registrar General gives the direction under subsection (2);
in the case of a marriage schedule, the day on which the superintendent registrar provides the reproduction to a relevant person and requires them in writing to arrange for the reproduction to be signed under subsection (4)(b) (and if the superintendent registrar does those things on different days, the later of those two days).
(1) Every incumbent, ... officer of the Society of Friends, secretary of a synagogue and registrar by whom a marriage register book is kept may allow searches to be made in any marriage register book in his keeping... ...
(2) The last foregoing subsection shall apply in the case of a registered building for which an authorised person has been appointed with the substitution for the reference to the incumbent of a reference to the person responsible for keeping a marriage register book in accordance with regulations made under section seventy-four of this Act.
64 Searches of indexes kept by superintendent registrars.
(1) Every superintendent registrar must—
(a) cause indexes of all entries in the marriage register made under section 53D(10)(a) in respect of their registration district to be made and kept in their office, and
(b) keep in their office indexes of the marriage register books kept in their office.
(2) A person is entitled—
(a) to search the indexes of the entries in the marriage register and the indexes of the marriage register books kept at the office of a superintendent registrar at all reasonable hours, and
(b) to obtain a certified copy under the hand of the superintendent registrar of an entry made in the marriage register under section 53D(10)(a) or of an entry made in a marriage register book.
(1) The Registrar General must—
(a) cause indexes of all entries in the marriage register made under section 53D(10)(a) to be made and kept in the General Register Office, and
(b) keep in the General Register Office indexes of certified copies of marriage register books kept in the General Register Office.
(2) A person is entitled—
(a) to search the indexes of entries in the marriage register and indexes of certified copies of marriage register books at any time when the General Register Office is open for that purpose, and
(b) to obtain from the Registrar General a certified copy of an entry made in the marriage register under section 53D(10)(a) or a certified copy of an entry made in a certified copy of a marriage register book.
(3) The Registrar General shall cause all certified copies of entries given in the General Register Office to be sealed or stamped with the seal of that Office; and any certified copy of an entry purporting to be sealed or stamped with the said seal shall be received as evidence of the marriage to which it relates without any further or other proof of the entry, and no certified copy purporting to have been given in the said Office shall be of any force or effect unless it is sealed or stamped as aforesaid.
(4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
65A Searches and records of information: additional provision
(1) The Secretary of State may make regulations for the purpose of enabling the Registrar General—
(a) to carry out, on request, a search to find out whether the entries in the marriage register to which the Registrar General has access under section 53A(3) or the Registrar General's certified copies contain a particular entry;
(b) to provide, on request, a record of information contained in such an entry, otherwise than in the form of a certified copy.
(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(3) The regulations may make provision—
(a) as to how a request for a search or a record may be made;
(b) as to the forms in which a record may be provided.
(4) The provision that may be made in the regulations includes provision for a record to be provided in a form that does not include all of the information contained in an entry.
(5) Before making regulations under this section, the Secretary of State must consult the Registrar General.
(6) Regulations under this section are to be made by statutory instrument.
(7) A statutory instrument containing regulations under this section is subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.
(8) This section does not affect the entitlement of any person to a certified copy of an entry in the marriage register under section 53D(10)(a) or in the Registrar General's certified copies.
(9) In this section, “the Registrar General's certified copies” means the certified copies of entries in marriage register books ... kept in the General Register Office.
Any certificate, return or other document required by this Part of this Act to be delivered or sent to the Registrar General, a superintendent registrar or a registrar may be sent by post.
In this Part of this Act, except where the context otherwise requires, the following expressions have the meanings hereby respectively assigned to them, that is to say:—
“general search” means a search conducted during any number of successive hours not exceeding six, without the object of the search being specified;
“incumbent” means the rector, vicar or curate in charge of a church or chapel in which marriages may be solemnized according to the rites of the Church of England;
“particular search” means a search of the indexes covering a period not exceeding five years for a specified entry;
...
“secretary of a synagogue” means—
a person whom the President of the London Committee of Deputies of the British Jews certifies in writing to the Registrar General to be the secretary of a synagogue in England of persons professing the Jewish religion;
the person whom twenty householders professing the Jewish religion and being members of the West London Synagogue of British Jews certify in writing to the Registrar General to be the secretary of that Synagogue;
the person whom twenty householders professing the Jewish religion and being members of the Liberal Jewish Synagogue, St. John’s Wood, certify in writing to the Registrar General to be the secretary of that Synagogue;
a person whom the secretary of either the West London Synagogue of British Jews or the Liberal Jewish Synagogue, St. John’s Wood, certifies in writing to be the secretary of some other synagogue of not less than twenty householders professing the Jewish religion, being a synagogue which is connected with the said West London Synagogue or with the said Liberal Jewish Synagogue, St. John’s Wood, as the case may be, and has been established for not less than one year;
“specified person” has the meaning assigned to it by section 53C(8);
...
68 Solemnization of marriages in naval, military, and air force chapels.
(1) The use of any chapel to which this Part of this Act applies for the publication therein of banns of marriages to which this Part of this Act applies, and for the solemnization therein, whether according to the rites of the Church of England or otherwise, of such marriages, may be authorised under and subject to the provisions of this Part of this Act.
(1A) Nothing in this Part of this Act which applies to the marriage of same sex couples applies to marriage according to the rites of the Church of England.
(2) This Part of this Act shall apply only to chapels which are certified by the Admiralty to be naval chapels and to chapels which are certified by a Secretary of State to be military or air force chapels, and shall apply only to marriages between parties of whom one at least is a qualified person, that is to say a person who, at the relevant date—
(a) is serving in any of the regular armed forces of the Crown; or
(b) has served in any force included in the last foregoing paragraph otherwise than with a commission granted or under an engagement entered into only for the purpose of a war or other national emergency; or
(c) is, as a member of a reserve of officers, a reserve force, the Army Reserve or the Auxiliary Air Force, called out on actual or permanent service or embodied; or
(d) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(e) is a daughter , son, step-daughter or step-son of a person qualified under any of the foregoing paragraphs of this subsection.
(3) For the purposes of the last foregoing subsection, the expression “relevant date” means—
(a) in a case where notice is given under section eight of this Act before publications of banns, the date of the notice;
(b) in a case where banns are published without such notice, the date of the first publication of banns;
(c) in a case where an oath is taken under section sixteen of this Act for the purpose of obtaining a common licence, the date of taking the oath;
(d) in any other case, the date when notice of marriage is given to the superintendent registrar under section twenty-seven of this Act;
. . ..
(4)(5) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(6) Nothing in this Part of this Act shall be taken to confer upon any person a right to be married in a chapel to which this Part of this Act applies.
69 Licensing of chapels for marriages according to rites of Church of England.
(1) With respect to marriages according to the rites of the Church of England, the bishop of the diocese in which any chapel to which this Part of this Act applies is situated may, on the application of the Admiralty, in the case of a naval chapel, or of a Secretary of State, in the case of any other chapel, by licence authorise the publication of banns of marriages to which this Part of this Act applies, and the solemnization of such marriages, in the chapel, and while any such licence in respect of the chapel is in force—
(a) any such banns or marriages which could lawfully be published or solemnized in the parish church of the parish in which the chapel is situated may be published or solemnized in the chapel; and
(b) the foregoing provisions of this Act relating to marriages according to the rites of the Church of England (excluding the provisions specified in Part I of the Fourth Schedule to this Act) shall apply in relation to the chapel, and in relation to the publication of banns therein, and in relation to marriages solemnized or intended to be solemnized therein according to those rites, as if the chapel were a parish church:
Provided that the provisions of this Act specified in Part II of the said Schedule shall apply subject to the modifications specified in that Part.
(2) Where a licence has been issued in respect of a chapel under this section, the bishop of the diocese in which the chapel is situated may at any time, and shall on the application of the Admiralty or a Secretary of State, revoke the licence.
(3) Upon the issue or revocation of a licence under this section, the registrar of the diocese shall register that fact and give notice thereof in writing to the Admiralty or a Secretary of State, as the case may be, who shall cause a copy of the notice to be published in the London Gazette and in some newspaper circulating in the diocese and to be sent to the Registrar General.
(4) The Admiralty or any person authorised by them, in the case of a naval chapel licensed under this section, and a Secretary of State or any person authorised by him, in the case of any other chapel so licensed, shall appoint one or more clergymen for the purpose of solemnizing marriages in the chapel according to the rites of the Church of England, and no marriage shall be solemnized in the chapel according to those rites except in the presence of a clergyman so appointed.
(5) The provisions of this Act, and of any regulations made under section seventy-four of this Act, relating to the solemnization of marriages by persons authorised under section 43 shall apply in relation to marriages solemnized according to the rites of the Church of England in a chapel licensed under this section as they apply in relation to marriages solemnized in a registered building without the presence of a registrar, subject to the following modifications:—
(a) for any reference in those provisions to an authorised person there shall be substituted a reference to a clergyman appointed under this section, and
(b) for any reference in those provisions to the trustees or governing body of a registered building there shall be substituted a reference to the Admiralty or any person authorised by them, in the case of a naval chapel, and a reference to a Secretary of State or any person authorised by him, in the case of any other chapel.
70 Registration of chapels for marriages otherwise than according to rites of Church of England.
(1) With respect to marriages otherwise than according to the rites of the Church of England, the Registrar General shall, on the application of the Admiralty, in the case of a naval chapel, or of a Secretary of State, in the case of any other chapel, register any chapel to which this Part of this Act applies for the solemnization therein of marriages to which this Part of this Act applies, and while any chapel is so registered—
(a) any such marriages which could lawfully be solemnized in a building registered under section 41 situated in the same registration district as the chapel, may be solemnized in the chapel; and
(b) the foregoing provisions of this Act relating to marriages otherwise than according to the rites of the Church of England and to the registration of such marriages (excluding the provisions specified in Part III of the Fourth Schedule to this Act) shall apply in relation to the chapel, and in relation to marriages solemnized or intended to be solemnized therein otherwise than according to those rites, as if the chapel were a building registered under section 41:
Provided that the provisions of this Act specified in Part IV of the said Schedule shall apply subject to the modifications specified in that Part.
(2) The Registrar General shall, on the application of the Admiralty or a Secretary of State, as the case may be, cancel the registration of any chapel registered by him under this section.
(3) Immediately after registering, or cancelling the registration of, any chapel under this section, the Registrar General shall cause notice of that fact to be published in the London Gazette and in some newspaper circulating in the registration district in which the chapel is situated and to be given to the superintendent registrar of that district, who shall record the registration or cancellation in such manner as may be prescribed by the Registrar General.
(4) This section does not apply to the marriage of same sex couples.
70A Registration of chapels for marriages of same sex couples otherwise than according to rites of Church of England
(1) The Secretary of State may apply to the Registrar General for a chapel to which this Part applies to be registered for the solemnization of marriages of same sex couples.
(2) Where an application is made under this section, subsections (1) to (3) of section 70 apply to the application as if it had been made under section 70.
(3) Where a chapel is registered on an application under this section, subsections (1) to (3) of section 70 apply in relation to the chapel as if it had been registered on an application under section 70.
(4) Any application for the cancellation of a registration is to be made by the Secretary of State.
(5) The Secretary of State may by statutory instrument make regulations about—
(a) the registration of chapels under this section, and
(b) the cancellation of registrations.
(6) The regulations may, in particular, make provision—
(a) as to the procedures to be followed by the Secretary of State in making an application for registration or an application for cancellation of a registration;
(b) as to the procedures to be followed by the Registrar General on an application for registration or an application for cancellation of a registration;
(c) as to consents required before an application for registration may be made (including such provision amending section 2 of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 as the Secretary of State considers appropriate to secure that the giving of such a consent is an opt-in activity under that section).
(7) A statutory instrument containing regulations under this section may not be made unless a draft of the instrument has been laid before, and approved by resolution of, each House of Parliament.
(8) In this section a reference to the cancellation of a registration is a reference to the cancellation, under section 70(2) (as applied by this section), of a registration under this section.
Where a marriage has been solemnized under this Part of this Act, it shall not be necessary, in support of the marriage, to give any proof—
(a) that the chapel in which the marriage was solemnized was certified or licensed or registered in accordance with this Part of this Act; or
(b) that either of the parties was a qualified person within the meaning of this Part of this Act; or
(c) in the case of a marriage according to the rites of the Church of England, that the marriage was solemnized in the presence of a clergyman duly appointed under this Part of this Act for the purpose of registering marriages;
and no evidence shall be given to prove the contrary in any proceedings touching the validity of any such marriage.
(1) The Secretary of State may by regulations provide for fees to be payable to such persons as may be prescribed in respect of—
(a) the giving of notice of a marriage to a superintendent registrar;
(b) an application for the reduction of the waiting period in relation to a notice of marriage (see section 31(5A));
(c) the registration for the solemnization of marriages of a building certified as required by law as a place of religious worship, or the cancellation of such a registration;
(d) the authorisation of a person to be present at the solemnization of marriages in such a building;
(e) the presence of a superintendent registrar or registrar at a marriage (except in a case falling within section 51(1A));
(f) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(g) the carrying out of a search of—
(i) any marriage register book,
(ii) any index kept in relation to the marriage register or such a book, ...
(iii) certified copies of entries in such a book , or
(iv) entries in the marriage register
(h) the provision of a certified copy, or other record of information, relating to an entry in the marriage register or a marriage register book;
(i) the issue of the Registrar General's licence under section 7 of the Marriage (Registrar General's Licence) Act 1970;
(ia) a correction to the marriage register or a marriage register book;
(j) such other marriage services as may be prescribed.
(2) Regulations under this section may—
(a) specify the amount of any fee payable under the regulations, or
(b) set out how such a fee is to be determined.
(3) Subsection (4) applies where the regulations provide for a fee to be payable to a superintendent registrar or registrar.
(4) The regulations may provide for such part of the fee as may be specified by or determined in accordance with the regulations to be payable by the superintendent registrar or registrar to the Registrar General in prescribed circumstances.
(5) The regulations may provide for the reimbursement, reduction, waiver or refund of part or all of a fee whether by conferring a discretion or otherwise.
(6) Regulations under this section must be made by statutory instrument.
(7) Regulations under this section may—
(a) provide for exemptions from any of the provisions of the regulations;
(b) contain such consequential, incidental, supplemental and transitional provision as the Secretary of State considers appropriate.
(8) A statutory instrument containing regulations under this section is subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.
(9) In this section—
“marriage services” means services in connection with marriages which are provided by or on behalf of the Registrar General, a superintendent registrar or registrar;
“prescribed” means prescribed in regulations made under this section.
72 Supplementary provisions as to marriages in usual places of worship.
(1) For the purposes of the following provisions of this Act, that is to say, subsection (4) of section six, paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section fifteen and subsection (3) of section thirty-five, no parish church or authorised chapel shall be deemed to be the usual place of worship of any person unless he is enrolled on the church electoral roll of the area in which that church or chapel is situated, and where any person is enrolled on the church electoral roll of an area in which he does not reside that enrolment shall be sufficient evidence that his usual place of worship is a parish church or authorised chapel in that area.
(2) Persons intending to be married shall have the like but no greater right of having their banns published and marriage solemnized by virtue of the said provisions in a parish church or authorised chapel which is the usual place of worship of one or both of them as they have of having their banns published and marriage solemnized in the parish church or public chapel of the parish or chapelry in which they or one of them resides.
(3) Where any marriage has been solemnized by virtue of the said provisions it shall not be necessary in support of the marriage to give any proof of the actual enrolment of the parties or of one of them on the church electoral roll of the area in which the parish church or authorised chapel in which the marriage was solemnized was situated, nor shall any evidence be given to prove the contrary in any proceedings touching the validity of the marriage.
(4) In this section the expression “church electoral roll” means a church electoral roll provision for which is made in the Church Representation Rules.
73 Lists of licensed chapels and registered buildings.
(1) The registrar of every diocese shall, within fifteen days after the first day of January in every year, make out and send by post, or in an approved electronic form, to the Registrar General at his office a list of all chapels within that diocese in which marriages may be solemnized according to the rites of the Church of England (being chapels which belong to the Church of England or have been licensed under Part V of this Act), and shall distinguish in that list which chapels have a parish, chapelry or other recognised ecclesiastical division annexed to them, which are chapels licensed under section twenty of this Act and which are chapels licensed under the said Part V, and, in the case of chapels licensed under the said section twenty, shall state in the list the district for which each chapel is licensed according to the description thereof in the licence.
(2) The Registrar General shall in every year make out and cause to be printed a list of all chapels included in any list sent to him under the last foregoing subsection and of all registered buildings and shall state in that list the county and registration district within which each chapel or registered building is situated and the names and places of residence of the superintendent registrars, registrars and deputy registrars of each district; and the duty imposed by this subsection to make out a list may be discharged by making out a list in an approved electronic form.
(3) A copy of every list made by the Registrar General under the last foregoing subsection shall be sent to every registrar and superintendent registrar; and the duty imposed by this subsection may be discharged by sending a copy in an approved electronic form.
74 Regulations and approval of electronic forms etc.
(1) The Registrar General, with the approval of the Secretary of State, may by statutory instrument make regulations—
(a) prescribing the duties of . . . authorised persons under this Act;
(b) prescribing any thing which by this Act (other than section 71A) is required to be prescribed ;
(c) making provision in relation to—
(i) corrections to or the re-issue of a marriage schedule or marriage document before the marriage is solemnized;
(ii) the keeping of a signed marriage schedule or signed marriage document after the particulars set out in it have been entered in the marriage register;
(iii) corrections to entries entered under this Act in the marriage register or a marriage register book;
(iv) the keeping of marriage register books in which the particulars of a marriage have been entered under this Act;
(v) the keeping in a church or chapel of records of marriages solemnized according to the rites of the Church of England in the church or chapel
(1A) For the purposes of subsection (1)(c) “provision in relation to” the keeping of a book, document or other record includes, in particular, provision about—
(a) who is to be responsible for keeping the book, document or other record and how it is to be stored;
(b) the circumstances in which the book, document or other record must or may be annotated;
(c) the circumstances in which the book, document or other record must or may be sent to the Registrar General or a superintendent registrar.
(2) The Registrar General may approve forms of electronic communications or electronic storage for the purposes of a provision of this Act; and a reference in this Act to an approved electronic form is to a form approved under this subsection for the purposes of that provision.
(3) Any order or regulations made under this Act may make different provision for different cases.
75 Offences relating to solemnization of marriages.
(1) Any person who knowingly and wilfully—
(a) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(b) solemnizes a marriage according to the rites of the Church of England without banns of matrimony having been duly published (not being a marriage solemnized on the authority of a special licence, a common licence or a marriage schedule);
(c) solemnizes a marriage according to the said rites (not being a marriage by special licence or a marriage in pursuance of section 26(1)(dd) of this Act) in any place other than a church or other building in which banns may be published;
(d) solemnizes a marriage according to the said rites falsely pretending to be in Holy Orders;
shall be guilty of felony and shall be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding fourteen years.
(2) Any person who knowingly and wilfully—
(a) solemnizes a marriage (not being a marriage by special licence, a marriage according to the usages of the Society of Friends or a marriage between two persons professing the Jewish religion according to the usages of the Jews) in any place other than—
(i) a church or other building in which marriages may be solemnized according to the rites of the Church of England, or
(ii) the registered building office , approved premises or person’s residence specified as the place where the marriage was to be solemnized in the notices of marriage and (if so specified) in the marriage schedule required under Part III of this Act;
(aa) solemnizes a marriage purporting to be in pursuance of section 26(1)(bb) of this Act on premises that are not approved premises;
(b) solemnizes a marriage in any such registered building as aforesaid (not being a marriage in the presence of an authorised person) in the absence of a registrar of the district in which the registered building is situated;
(bb) solemnizes a marriage in pursuance of section 26(1)(dd) or 26B(6) of this Act, otherwise than according to the rites of the Church of England, in the absence of a registrar of the registration district in which the place where the marriage is solemnized is situated;
(c) solemnizes a marriage in the office of a superintendent registrar in the absence of a registrar of the district in which the office is situated;
(cc) solemnizes a marriage on approved premises in pursuance of section 26(1)(bb) of this Act in the absence of a registrar of the district in which the premises are situated;
(d) solemnizes a marriage on the authority of a marriage schedule when none of the conditions in section 31(3) is met; or
(e) solemnizes a marriage on the authority of a marriage schedule after the expiration of the period which is, in relation to that marriage, the applicable period for the purposes of section 33 of this Act;
shall be guilty of felony and shall be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years.
(2A) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(3) A superintendent registrar who knowingly and wilfully—
(a) issues a marriage schedule when none of the conditions in section 31(3) is met;
(b) issues a marriage schedule after the expiration of the period which is, in relation to that marriage, the applicable period for the purposes of section 33 of this Act; or
(c) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(d) solemnizes or permits to be solemnized in his office or, in the case of a marriage in pursuance of section 26(1)(bb) or (dd) or 26B(6) of this Act, in any other place any marriage which is void by virtue of any of the provisions of Part III of this Act;
shall be guilty of felony and shall be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years.
(4) No prosecution under this section shall be commenced after the expiration of three years from the commission of the offence.
(5) Any reference in subsection (2) of this section to a registered building shall be construed as including a reference to any chapel registered under section seventy or 70A of this Act.
76 Offences relating to registration of marriages.
(1) Any person who refuses or without reasonable cause omits to register any marriage which he is required by this Act to register, and any person having the custody of a marriage register book or a certified copy of a marriage register book or part thereof who carelessly loses or injures the said book or copy or carelessly allows the said book or copy to be injured while in his keeping, shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.
(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(3) Any registrar who knowingly and wilfully registers any marriage which is void by virtue of any of the provisions of Part III of this Act shall be guilty of felony and shall be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years.
(4) The balance of any sum paid or recovered on account of a fine imposed under subsection (1) ... of this section after making any such payments in respect of court or police fees as are mentioned in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of subsection (1) of section five of the Criminal Justice Administration Act, 1914, shall be paid—
(a) ... into the Exchequer; ...
(b) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(5) Subject as may be prescribed, a superintendent registrar may prosecute any person guilty of an offence under subsection (1) committed within his district, and any costs incurred by the superintendent registrar in prosecuting such a person, being costs which are not otherwise provided for, shall be defrayed out of moneys provided by Parliament.
(6) No prosecution under subsection (3) of this section shall be commenced after the expiration of three years from the commission of the offence.