Same sex couples in England and Wales who wish to be among the first to marry have been able to give notice to their local register office from 13th March.
The UK Government has issued a reminder to couples that for most marriages or civil partnerships, couples need to give at least 16 days’ notice at their local register office, and there might be different rules for religious ceremonies.
Same sex couples who married abroad under foreign law and are currently treated as civil partners will be recognised as being married in England and Wales from 13th March 2014.
The Government has also said that:
- same sex weddings in some British consulates and overseas armed forces bases will be possible, and arrangements for same sex weddings in military chapels will be in place from June 2014, and
- couples wishing to convert civil partnerships into marriages, and married people wanting to change their legal gender while remaining married, will be able to do so before the end of 2014.
These changes are the result of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013, which became law in July 2013 in England and Wales and allows same sex couples to marry in civil ceremonies. The Act also allows same sex couples to marry in religious ceremonies, where the religious organisation has ‘opted in’ to conduct such ceremonies and the minister of religion agrees.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v2.0.
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