Civil Partnerships in Waltham Forest

Entrance to the Register Office - click on the image for a virtual tour (pops up in separate window)

Signing the Register at Waltham Forest Register Office

You can sign the Civil Partnerships Register at Waltham Forest Register Office. You can also have a Civil Partnership Ceremony in the Forest Suite at the Register Office to accompany the signing, although the Act does not require you to have a ceremony.

There are details of other venues in Waltham Forest further down this page.

Giving notice

It is a legal requirement to give notice of your intention to register a civil partnership before you can sign the Register. We will then publicise your notices for fifteen days. A civil partnership notice states for each person:

  • name and surname
  • date of birth
  • condition (this is your marital or civil partnership status)
  • occupation
  • nationality
  • place of formation (where you intend signing the Register)

After giving notice, you must normally wait fifteen clear days before the civil partnership can be registered – for example, if notice is given on 5 December, the registration can take place on or after 21 December. Once given, your notice is valid for 12 months.

Special licence

This facility provides for a marriage or civil partnership to take place where one of the parties is terminally or seriously ill and not expected to recover, and therefore cannot be moved to a place where the marriage or civil partnership would normally take place.

» More about Registrar General Special Licences (death bed)

Minimum age

The minimum legal age for registering a civil partnership in England and Wales is 16 years of age but written consent may be required for anyone under 18.

Immigration controls

If you are subject to immigration controls, you will have to give notice of your intention to register a civil partnership at a special designated office. You will need:

  • to have an entry clearance granted expressly for the purpose of registering a civil partnership in the UK,
    or
  • to have the written permission of the Home Secretary to register a civil partnership in the UK. This will take the form of a certificate of approval, which can be obtained from the Immigration and Nationality Department,
    or
  • you fall within a class of persons specified by the Home Secretary. This will be someone with settled status in the UK or former spouses whose marriage has been annulled.

These restrictions do not apply to foreign nationals who have been given the right of abode in the UK, or who are exempt from immigration controls because of their employment.

Authorised persons have a statutory duty to report any civil partnership they suspect has been registered for the sole purpose of evading statutory immigration controls.

There is more information on the General Register Office website, or you can contact the Register Office for more information.

Other venues for civil partnerships and receptions

You may now choose to have a civil partnership ceremony in any Register Office in England and Wales or any approved civil partnership approved venue. At present in Waltham Forest we have the following approved venues:

Background

Civil Partnership wedding

The Civil Partnership Act 2004

The Civil Partnership Act 2004 received Royal Assent on 18 November 2004, and was implemented from 5 December 2005. The Act allows same-sex couples who wish to have legal recognition of their partnership to sign the Register and have similar rights to married couples.

More information

There is a Civil Partnership explanatory document (PDF) for Waltham Forest.

Contact Us

If you want to make arrangements to sign the Register for a civil partnership, or have any questions about the Act, or would like more information, please contact Waltham Forest Register Office.  

 

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