Section 88: Notice of proposed civil partnership, Civil Partnership Act 2004

In order to register as civil partners, each of the intended civil partners must submit to the district registrar a notice, in the prescribed form . . . , of intention to enter civil partnership (in this Part referred to as a “notice of proposed civil partnership”).

Each of the intended civil partners must also pay the prescribed fee and submit the following documents—

that person's birth certificate,

if that person has previously been married or in civil partnership and—

the marriage or civil partnership has been dissolved, a copy of the decree of divorce or dissolution, or

the other party to that marriage or civil partnership has died, the death certificate of that other party, and

if that person has previously ostensibly been married or in civil partnership but decree of annulment has been obtained, a copy of that decree.

If an intended civil partner is a relevant national as defined in section 30A(ab)(i) or (ii) the intended civil partner must also submit—

where the intended civil partner falls within section 30A(ab)(i), an electronic certificate which confirms that the leave referred to in that provision has been granted; or

where the intended civil partner falls within section 30A(ab)(ii)—

a certificate of application which confirms that the application referred to in regulation 4 of the Citizens' Rights (Application Deadline and Temporary Protection) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 has been made; and

evidence that the relevant period referred to in regulation 4 of those Regulations has not expired.

If a person is unable to submit a certificate or decree required by subsection (2) he may instead make a declaration to that effect, stating what the reasons are; and he must provide the district registrar with such—

information in respect of the matters to which the certificate or document would have related, and

documentary evidence in support of that information,

as the district registrar may require.

If a document submitted under subsection (2) or (3) is in a language other than English, the person submitting it must, unless subsection (4A) applies, attach to the document a translation of it in English, certified by the translator as a correct translation.

This subsection applies where—

the document submitted is accompanied by a multilingual standard form issued by an authority in a Member State of the European Union in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2016/1191 of the European Parliament and of the Council, and

the district registrar considers that the information included in the multilingual standard form is sufficient for processing the document.

A person submitting a notice under subsection (1) must make and attest in the prescribed manner the necessary declaration (the form for which must be included in any form prescribed for the notice).

Regulations prescribing the form of the notice of proposed civil partnership may make provision for the notice to be electronic rather than paper-based.

The necessary declaration is a declaration that the person submitting the notice believes that the intended civil partners are eligible to be in civil partnership with each other.

In this section, “the district registrar” means—

where the civil partnership is to be registered in a registration district, the district registrar for that district,

where the civil partnership is to be registered in Scottish waters—

in the case where the civil partnership is to be registered by an approved celebrant, the district registrar for any registration district,

in the case where the civil partnership is to be registered by an authorised registrar, the district registrar for the registration district of the proposed authorised registrar.

A district registrar to whom a notice under subsection (1) is submitted may require the person submitting the notice to provide the district registrar with specified nationality evidence relating to each of the intended civil partners.

A requirement under subsection (8) may be imposed at any time—

on or after the submitting of the notice under subsection (1), but

before the district registrar completes the civil partnership schedule.

In subsection (8), “specified nationality evidence” means such evidence of that person's nationality as may be specified in guidance issued by the Registrar General.

Section 88: Notice of proposed civil partnership

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