Civil Partnership Certificate Documents

Civil Partnership Certificate

A civil partnership is a legal relationship between two people of the same sex, which can be registered and therefore receive legal recognition. In order to register a civil partnership, both people in the relationship must be 16 or over, must have lived in the same area of England or Wales for at least 7 days, not already be married or in a civil partnership, and not be close blood relatives. If either party is 16 or 17, consent from each parent with parental responsibility and any legal guardian will be required in order to register the civil partnership. If parental consent cannot be obtained, an application can be made to a court for permission to register the civil partnership. Registering the civil partnership requires two steps. The first step is to give notice of intention to register at a local registry office, followed by actually registering the civil partnership.

Application and Registration

Notice of intention to register must be done in person. When giving notice, details of the date and place where the civil partnership will take place must be provided. This notice must be made available for public viewing for 28 days before the civil partnership can be registered. This gives an opportunity for any objections to be made.

After this period the partnership can be registered. The partnership must be registered within 12 months otherwise the whole process will have to be repeated.

Once the civil partnership is recorded, the couple will receive their civil partnership certificate. There are two types of certificate. The first is a document which shows all of the details of the civil partnership. The second is an extract that does not show any addresses. On the day of registration, the cost of the certificate is £3.50.

Requirements

The registry office will require certain details, such as the applicant’s name, addresses, ages, nationalities and whether either party has been in a civil partnership or married before. Additional information may also be required such as passports, birth certificates, death certificates or divorce decree absolute documents if applicable. Any documents relating to immigration control may also need to be provided.

If the couple require a further copy after this day, there will be a charge of £7.00. An application can be made to the registration authority where the civil partnership was originally registered, but the couple will need to provide sufficient details of both civil partners in order for their record to be identified.