Registering a civil partnership

Summary

You and your partner can register a civil partnership as long as all the following apply: * 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 * neither of you are in prison serving a whole life order You can't register a civil partnership in England or Wales. If you were 16 or 17 when you registered your civil partnership, it's still valid. You needed the consent of each parent with parental responsibility and any legal guardian to have registered a civil partnership. For more information about parental responsibility, see Children in Living together and marriage - legal differences. You may not have been able to get the consent of your parents, perhaps because you don't know where they are. Or your parents might have refused to give their consent for you to register a civil partnership. If this was the case, you would have needed to apply to a court for permission to register your civil partnership. If you didn't have permission from your parents or the court, your civil partnership probably isn't legal. However, the rules are different if either of you are serving a life sentence without the.

Key information

• you are both aged 18 or over
• 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
• neither of you are in prison serving a whole life order
• just civil partnerships between 2 people of the same sex
• just civil partnerships between 2 people of the opposite sex
• 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.
• 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 28-day notice period runs out - see under heading How to register a civil partnership.

Practical guidance

• Source: Registering a civil partnership

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