Civil partnerships: what you need to know
Everything you need to know about getting legal recognition for your gay or lesbian relationship
What rights does a civil partnership offer me?
A civil partnership gives you the same legal rights as a heterosexual married couple in respect of pension rights, house ownership, inheritance issues and making ‘next of kin' decisions in hospital. In the first two months after civil partnerships were introduced, more than 2,500 male couples and more than 1,000 female couples formed a civil partnership in England and Wales.
What does the ceremony involve?
The law allows for ‘registering a civil partnership' under the Civil Partnership Act where you both sign a document before the registrar and two witnesses at a register office. It doesn't provide for an actual ceremony. However, you can ask to include a few personalised vows in your register office ceremony and ask friends and family to share the moment. Or you can celebrate the occasion in a more leisurely way at one of the many licensed venues across England and Wales. You can include music, readings and vows, although all your choices will need to be approved by your registrar, and nothing can be of a religious nature.
How do I arrange a civil partnership ceremony?
In much the same way as you would arrange a civil wedding. Choose where you would like to marry and check availability with the local superintendent registrar. You will be required to give 15 days notice and produce various identification documents such as a birth certificate or passport; proof of your address; final divorce papers or a death certificate if one of you has been married before; any documentation relating to a previous name change
Where can the ceremony actually take place?
You can choose any licensed marriage venue in the UK and Wales, be it register office, stately home, castle, hotel or restaurant. Don't feel you are restricted to the registration district in which you live either. You are free to give notice anywhere you choose providing you meet the relevant criteria (below).
Who can enter into a civil partnership?
Both parties of the same sex must be single and over the age of 16. If one of you is under 18, your Superintendent Registrar will need parental permission before you can proceed.
How much will it cost?
To give notice in advance to your local superintendent registrar costs £30 per person. Registering your civil partnership at the register office will then cost £40. The fee to register your civil partnership on approved premises (ie at a stately home or hotel) - which involves the registrar travelling to your venue - will be set by the local registration authority. You are also likely to be charged a hire fee by the owners/management of your chosen venue.
Further information
General Register Office
www.gro.gov.uk
Photography Darren Black
