#Adviceguide (England) Adviceguide (Northern Ireland) Adviceguide (Scotland) Adviceguide (Wales) Skip to content Skip to footer * Accessibility * Help * Privacy and cookies * Contact us * About * Cymraeg * A Small text * A Medium text * A Large text * C Standard colours * C Beige colours * C High contrast Adviceguide: self help from Citizens Advice Search our site ____________________ Search * A to Z index * Wales home Change to country… + England + Northern Ireland + Scotland + Wales * Benefits Browse category... + Benefits - introduction + Help if on a low income + In work or looking for work + Sick or disabled people and carers + Children and young people + Older people + Armed forces and veterans + Bereavement + Coming from abroad and claiming benefits + Welfare benefits reform + The Benefit Cap Straight to... + Benefits fact sheets + Problems with benefits and tax credits + Bedroom calculator for social housing tenants Keep track of your ESA claim writing a letter Try our new claimant diary and help us push for change. * Work Browse category... + Rights at work + Problems at work + Work comes to an end + Time off work + Discrimination + Health and safety at work + Self-employed or looking for work + Young people Straight to... + Employment fact sheets + Basic rights at work + Holidays and holiday pay Shared parental leave Family Sharing parental leave and pay from April 2015. * Debt and money Browse category... + Help with debt + Dealing with urgent debts + Action your creditor can take + Borrowing money + Mortgage problems + Rent arrears + Bailiffs + Pensions + Savings + Banking + Insurance Straight to... + Budgeting tool + Sample letters to creditors + Financial health check - Money Advice Service Pensions guidance black man Citizens Advice to offer free face-to-face guidance on pensions, from April 2015. * Consumer Browse category... + Cars and other vehicles + Builders and home improvements + Phones, TV, internet and computers + Furniture, household goods and clothing + Travel, leisure and food + Common problems with products + Energy supply + Water supply + Post + Professional and financial services + Common problems with service providers + Taking action about consumer problems + Protection for the consumer + Different ways of buying + Problems with Business to Business services Straight to... + Taking action about consumer problems + Green deal + Letter complaining about faulty goods Be an energy shopper! light bulb next to coins Get a better deal from your energy supplier. * Relationships Browse category... + Living together, marriage and civil partnership + Relationship problems + Relationship breakdown and housing + Gender violence + Death and wills + Children and young people + Looking after people + Birth certificates + Change of name Straight to... + Relationships fact sheets + Getting a divorce + Making a will Civil partners get option to convert to marriage gay couple Same-sex couples have the option to convert their civil partnership into a marriage. * Housing Browse category... + Finding a place to live + Mortgage problems + Renting a home + Repairs in rented housing + Rent arrears + Moving and improving your home + Problems where you live + Discrimination in housing Straight to... + Housing fact sheets + Housing FAQs + Tenancy deposits fact sheet [ Adobe Acrobat Document 140 KB] Immigration checks by landlords terrace door Private landlords to check tenants' immigration status before letting a property. * Law and rights Browse category... + Civil rights + Legal system + Immigration + Society Straight to... + Alternatives to court + Small claims + Help with legal costs - legal aid Free or affordable legal help adviser speaking to a client Where to get free or low cost legal advice. * Discrimination Browse category... + About discrimination + Are you protected from discrimination? 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The information we provide differs between countries. To get information for your country, please select from the dropdown. * Bookmark * Tweet * Share on Facebook * Share on Google+ * n/a Share… + Delicious + Digg + Facebook + Google bookmarks + Google+ + LinkedIn + livejournal + Reddit + StumbleUpon + Tumblr + Twitter (BUTTON) Close * Email Email a link to this page Send from your own account or To email address (required) Please enter an email address ____________________ Your name (required) Please enter a name ____________________ Your email address (required) Please enter an email address ____________________ (BUTTON) Send [BUTTON Input] (not implemented)_____ * Print Registering a civil partnership Table of contents * What is a civil partnership * Who can register a civil partnership * How to register a civil partnership * The cost of registering a civil partnership * Special rules for housebound people * Special rules for people who are seriously ill * Special rules if one of you has acquired a different gender * People subject to immigration control * Recognition for partnerships of same-sex couples formed overseas * Ending a registered civil partnership * Converting a civil partnership into a marriage What is a civil partnership A civil partnership is a legal relationship which can be registered by two people of the same sex. If you are in a same-sex relationship, registering a civil partnership will give your relationship legal recognition. This will give you added legal rights, as well as responsibilities. To register a civil partnership, you and your partner must sign a civil partnership document in front of two witnesses and a registrar. In some situations, a same-sex couple who have not registered a civil partnership will have the same legal rights and responsibilities as a couple who have registered a civil partnership. This will be the case, for example, when working out your entitlement to welfare benefits and tax credits. For more information about the rights and responsibilities of same-sex couples, see Rights of same-sex couples in Family fact sheets. Back to contents Who can register a civil partnership You and your partner can register a civil partnership as long as all the following circumstances apply: * you are both 16 or over. If you are 16 or 17, you will usually have to get written consent from your parents or legal guardians * you have lived in the same area in England or Wales for at least seven days * neither of you is already either a civil partner, or married * you are not close blood relatives. People aged 16 or 17 and parental consent If you are 16 or 17, you will need the consent of each parent with parental responsibility and any legal guardian in order to register a civil partnership. You may not be able to get the consent of your parents, perhaps because you don't know where they are. Or your parents may refuse to give their consent for you to register a civil partnership. If this is the case, you can apply to a court for permission to register your civil partnership. You will need to get legal advice to do this. For more information about parental responsibility, see Children in Living together and marriage - legal differences. Back to contents How to register a civil partnership There are two steps needed to register a civil partnership. The first step is to give notice of your intention to register and the second is to actually register the civil partnership. Giving notice You and your partner will each need to give notice of your intention to register a civil partnership to the local register office where you live. You must do this in person. You will need to do this even if you are going to register your civil partnership somewhere else. You must have lived in an area for at least seven days before you can give notice there. When you give notice, you will be asked to give details of the date and place where the civil partnership is to be registered, so you should contact the venue where you are going to register first. You will also have to give the register office certain personal details. These are your name, your address, your age, your nationality and whether you have been in a civil partnership or married before. You will be asked to provide documentary evidence of these details, for example your passport, your birth certificate, a divorce decree absolute or the death certificate of a former civil partner. If one of you is subject to immigration control, you may have to provide additional documentary evidence - see under heading People subject to immigration control. Once you have given notice of your intention to register a civil partnership, details from the notice will be made available in a register office for people to see. This will be in the area in which both of you live and the area where you're going to register, if this is different. The details must be made available for people to see for 15 days before you can register your civil partnership. This is to give an opportunity for objections to be made. After 15 days, you will be free to register your partnership, as long as there are no objections and no legal reasons why you can't go ahead. The register office must give you a legal document called a civil partnership schedule which you will need in order to register a civil partnership. You must register within the next twelve months. If you don't register your civil partnership within this period, you will not be able to register unless you start the whole process again. In some exceptional circumstances, for example, where one of you is seriously ill and not expected to recover, you can ask for the 15-day waiting period to be waived – see under heading Special rules for people who are seriously ill. The 15-day waiting period can also be waived in some circumstances where one of you has acquired a different gender - see under heading Special rules if one of you has acquired a different gender. From 2 March 2015, you and your partner will have to give 28 days notice of your intention to register a civil partnership. Registration You can register your civil partnership in any register office or at any venue that has been approved to register civil partnerships. Anywhere that has been approved to hold civil marriages automatically has approval to register civil partnerships. Non-religious venues cannot choose whether to hold civil partnerships or not, if they hold weddings. This would be unlawful discrimination. A civil partnership can also be registered on religious premises. However, religious organisations are not obliged to host civil partnership ceremonies. You can search for approved premises on the GOV.UK website at www.gov.uk. You should check the venue is available before giving notice to register. You and your partner have legally registered your civil partnership when you have signed a legal document, known as the civil partnership schedule, or a licence if one of you is seriously ill – see under heading Special rules for people who are seriously ill. This must be done in front of a registrar and two witnesses. There are no further legal requirements and you don't have to have a ceremony, although you can choose to have one if you want. Many local authorities will arrange for a ceremony in addition to the signing of the civil partnership document but they do not have to. No religious service is allowed at the signing of the civil partnership schedule.If you want a ceremony and the local authority refuses to carry one out, you could: * find a register office in another local authority where you can sign the civil partnership schedule and have a ceremony * find other approved premises where you can sign the civil partnership schedule and have a ceremony * arrange a ceremony somewhere else after signing the civil partnership schedule has taken place at the register office. Back to contents The cost of registering a civil partnership You will need to pay a fee to give notice of your intention to register a civil partnership and a registration fee. The fee depends upon where you want to register your civil partnership. You should contact the venue for details of the fees. You get a civil partnership certificate when you register. You will be charged a fee for this. For details of fees, visit the GOV.UK website at www.gov.uk. Back to contents Special rules for housebound people There are special rules for registering a civil partnership for housebound people. These enable a couple to register at the place where one of them is housebound. You are considered housebound if a doctor states that, in their opinion, you should not be moved because of disability or illness for at least the next three months. The procedure for someone who is housebound to register a civil partnership is exactly the same as the usual procedure, with the following exceptions: * a doctor's statement must be provided. The doctor's statement must be made no more than 14 days before you give notice and must be on a form provided by the register office * you will only have three months, instead of the usual twelve, to register your civil partnership after the 15-day notice period runs out - see under heading How to register a civil partnership. Back to contents Special rules for people who are seriously ill There are special rules for registering a civil partnership for people who are seriously ill and not expected to recover. These relax the rules for registering a civil partnership in order to speed up the process. This means that you will not have to wait 15 days between giving notice and registering your civil partnership – see under heading How to register a civil partnership. Also, only one of you will need to give notice of your intention to register a civil partnership to the register office. You will need to provide evidence that one of you is seriously ill and not expected to recover, and that they are too ill to be moved. Back to contents Special rules if one of you has acquired a different gender A person who wants to change their legal gender can do this by obtaining a gender recognition certificate. If you are in a civil partnership, you could not previously get a certificate without first ending your existing civil partnership. However, from 10 December 2014, if your civil partnership was registered in England and Wales, you will be able to convert your civil partnership to a marriage. It will be best for you to do this before applying for gender recognition. Similar arrangements will operate if your civil partnership was registered in Scotland. If your civil partnership was registered abroad or in Northern Ireland, then you will need to end your civil partnership before you can receive your full gender recognition certificate. For more information about gender recognition, visit the Ministry of Justice website at www.justice.gov.uk. Back to contents People subject to immigration control There are special rules for registering a civil partnership if either you or your partner is subject to immigration control. You will be subject to immigration control unless you are: * a British citizen or someone who has the right to live in the UK, or * an EEA national, or * someone who doesn't have any conditions attached to your stay in the UK because you are, for example, a diplomat or a member of visiting armed forces. For more information about who is subject to immigration control, see Help with immigration problems. If you are subject to immigration control, you and your partner must both give notice to register your civil partnership at a special Register Office. Before you will be allowed to give notice, you must have been granted entry clearance to the UK specifically for the purpose of registering a civil partnership in the UK. For more information, visit GOV.UK at www.gov.uk. If the registrar believes that someone is entering into a civil partnership for immigration purposes, they must report this to UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI). If you are subject to immigration control and want to register a civil partnership, you may need to get advice from an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by e-mail, click on nearest CAB. Back to contents Recognition for partnerships of same-sex couples formed overseas Some same-sex couples may already have formed a civil union, registered partnership, domestic partnership or a same-sex marriage abroad. If you are in one of these relationships, you can get automatic recognition in the UK as civil partners and will not need to register in the UK as well. However, you, your partner and your overseas relationship must meet certain conditions. To find out more about recognition for partnerships of same-sex couples formed overseas, visit www.gov.uk. Back to contents Ending a registered civil partnership Once you have registered a civil partnership, it can only be ended if one of you dies, or by applying to court to bring the partnership legally to an end. You cannot apply to bring a civil partnership legally to an end until it has lasted for at least one year. For more information about ending a civil partnership, see Ending a civil partnership. Back to contents Converting a civil partnership into a marriage From 10 December 2014, couples who registered their civil partnership in England and Wales can convert their civil partnership into a marriage. How to convert a civil partnership into a marriage There are two ways to convert your civil partnership into a marriage: * a simple administrative process called a 'standard' conversion; or * a two stage process where the conversion may be followed by a ceremony. The standard conversion process This is a simple process where you both attend an appointment at a register office. You will need to give the following evidence: * evidence of your name and date of birth, for example, current passports or birth certificates * evidence of your address, for example, recent Council Tax or utilities bill * your original civil partnership certificate. A legal declaration will be drawn up for you both to sign with the registrar. It states that you agree to convert your civil partnership to marriage and are happy to become your partner’s lawful husband or wife. If you wish to say the declaration to each other, you can. Your marriage is then registered and you will get a marriage certificate. A conversion followed by a ceremony This is a two stage process where the conversion can take place at venues where same sex couples are able to marry. For example: * register office * approved premises * religious buildings that are registered for the marriage of same sex couples where a ceremony is to immediately follow the conversion * premises where a ceremony according to the Jewish faith of the Society of Friends is to immediately follow the conversion. You must both attend an appointment at a register office. You will need to give the following evidence: * evidence of your name and date of birth, for example, current passports or birth certificates * evidence of your address, for example, recent Council Tax or utilities bill * your original civil partnership certificate. A legal declaration will be drawn up for you both to sign with the registrar. It states that you agree to convert your civil partnership to marriage and are happy to become your partner’s lawful husband or wife. If you wish to say the declaration to each other, you can. The signing of the declaration can then be followed by a ceremony. Following the ceremony the marriage is registered, and a marriage certificate is issued. The marriage certificate can either be collected or posted. Procedures for certain groups There are separate procedures for converting a civil partnership into a marriage if you are a housebound, detained or seriously ill person. You should contact your local registrar for more information on these procedures. Fees There is a fee of £45 for the standard conversion service, although the service is free if you entered into a civil partnership before 29 March 2014, and wish to convert your civil partnership into a marriage before 10 December 2015. There are also fees to pay for an additional ceremony, but for the first year the overall cost will be reduced by £45. Further information You can find more information on the Stonewall website at www.stonewall.org.uk. 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