Marriage Registration Certificates

In England and Wales, the law requires all marriages to be registered once they have taken place. The system for registering marriages is currently paper-based. The prescribed particulars to be registered for a marriage include details of the father and not the mother of the bride and groom. This inequality has received media and public attention. On 18 August 2014 the Prime Minister announced the Government’s intention to address this inequality. The Government has subsequently stated that proposals and a timetable for change will be confirmed in due course. There have been no further Government announcements regarding this issue.

The Marriage and Civil Partnership Registration (Mothers’ Names) Bill, is a Private Member’s Bill sponsored by Christina Rees. The Bill proposes to make provision about the recording of the names of the mother of each party to a marriage or civil partnership for registration purposes. The Bill had its first reading on 4 November 2015, and second reading is scheduled for 22 January 2016.