Civil partnership in the United Kingdom

A civil partnership is formed once both individuals have signed the civil partnership document in the presence of a registrar and two witnesses.[18]

Under the standard procedure, before registration, each party will usually have to give notice to the appropriate authority. Each party must have resided in the British jurisdiction in which they intend to register (England and Wales or Northern Ireland) for at least seven days immediately preceding the giving of notice, and there will, in most cases, be a fifteen-day waiting period after notice is given.

A civil partnership in Wales (Welsh: Partneriaeth Sifil) may be conducted either in English or – provided that both registering parties, the registrar and witnesses are able to understand and write in the Welsh language – in Welsh. Civil partnership documents issued in Wales (regardless of the registering language) follow a standardised bilingual English and Welsh format.

In Scotland there is no minimum residence requirement to contract a valid partnership.

During the waiting period, the proposed partnership is publicised and anyone may make a formal objection. If there is such an objection, the proposed civil partnership cannot be formed unless the objection is withdrawn or if the registration authority is satisfied that the objection ought not to prevent the formation of the civil partnership. Provided no objection has been recorded, or any recorded objections have been cleared, the registration authority must issue a civil partnership schedule at the request of either party upon the expiration of the waiting period. The civil partnership must then be registered within twelve months of the notice first being given.

Specific registration procedures apply to certain special circumstances, e.g. concerning the housebound, detained persons and those seriously ill and in danger of death.

Each party to the civil partnership must be at least 16 years of age. Anyone below 18 years of age will usually need parental consent, except in Scotland where such consent is not required. Furthermore, the parties to the proposed partnership must not be within the prohibited degrees of relationship specified in part 1 of schedule 1, paragraphs 1 and 2 of the Act (paragraph 3 was not brought into force [19] following a ruling from the European Court of Human Rights against similar provisions for marriage).[20] Any party who is already in a marriage or a civil partnership is ineligible to register.

Where permitted, civil partnerships may be registered at British embassies or consulates-general. As of October 2009, the British Embassy in France listed 28 such places as being authorised to hold civil partnerships.[21] For such registrations, at least one partner must be a British citizen. Overseas couples wishing to register their partnership in the UK must reside in the country for seven days prior to application for the partnership, and wait a further fifteen days before the civil partnership may be formed.

It is prohibited for civil partnerships to include any readings, music or symbols that are religious.[22] It was originally prohibited for the ceremonies to take place in religious venues. On 17 February 2011, the UK government announced that, as the result of the passing of the Equality Act 2010, it would bring forward the necessary measures to remove the latter restriction in England and Wales, although religious venues would not be compelled to offer civil partnerships. This was implemented by The Marriages and Civil Partnerships (Approved Premises) (Amendment) Regulations 2011.[23] The first civil partnership to be registered in a place of worship in the UK was at Ullet Road Unitarian Church in Liverpool on 6 May 2012.[24]

On 26 September 2011, the Home Office published the following statement on its website:

A public consultation to consider how to make civil marriage available to same-sex couples will begin in March 2012, the government announced today.

As part of its commitment to advancing equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals the government announced in February this year its intention to look at how legislation could develop on equal civil marriage. Minister for Equalities Lynne Featherstone said:

"I am delighted to confirm that early next year, this government will begin a formal consultation on equal civil marriage for same-sex couples. This would allow us to make any legislative changes before the end of this Parliament. We will be working closely with all those who have an interest in the area to understand their views ahead of the formal consultation."

The consultation will only cover civil marriage for same sex couples – not religious marriage.[25]

It falls within the respective jurisdictions of the Scottish Parliament and Northern Ireland Assembly to decide whether or not to remove the restrictions in the areas of civil partnerships and marriage. From September to December 2011, the Scottish Government held a consultation on not only removing religious prohibitions for civil partnerships but also legalising same-sex marriage within that country.[26] In the foreword to the consultation document, Deputy First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon stated

"The Scottish Government is choosing to make its initial views clear at the outset of this consultation. We tend towards the view that religious ceremonies for civil partnerships should no longer be prohibited and that same sex marriage should be introduced so that same sex couples have the option of getting married if that is how they wish to demonstrate their commitment to each other. We also believe that no religious body or its celebrants should be required to carry out same sex marriages or civil partnership ceremonies."[27]

Unlike the English and Welsh Consultation due to begin in March 2012, the Consultation for Scotland dealt with the issue of same-sex marriage in a religious context. On 10 December 2011, The Scotsman newspaper reported that some 50,000 responses had been received and that a government spokesperson stated that an analysis would be published in the spring of 2012.[28] Despite the legalisation of same-sex marriage by the Scottish Parliament in February 2014, the Government of Scotland has yet to decide whether or not to open civil partnerships to opposite-sex couples. Other aspects of Scotland's Marriage and Civil Partnership Act which legalised same-sex marriage in Scotland and relate to civil partnership include:[29]

• Possible tests for religious and belief bodies to meet when solemnising marriages or registering civil partnerships, in light of increasing concerns over sham and forced marriages
• Introducing religious and belief ceremonies to register civil partnerships

The Gender Recognition Act 2004 allows transgender people to obtain legal recognition for their 'acquired gender' allowing individuals to obtain a change in sex on birth certificates.[30] Under special provisions of the Civil Partnership Act 2004, in such situations a couple may dissolve their marriage and enter into a civil partnership the same day, and under the provision of the Civil Partnerships, Marriages and Deaths (Registration etc) Act 2019[31] a same-sex marriage can be converted to an opposite-sex civil partnership. Alternatively they can stay married or in a civil partnership if their spouse signs a statutory declaration that they agree to the gender change changing the opposite sex marriage into a same sex marriage or vice versa.

Where a same-sex couple has registered an overseas relationship which is specified in Schedule 20 of the Civil Partnership Act, or meet certain general conditions, they are treated as having formed a civil partnership. The requirements can be found in section 212 and sections 215 to 218 of the Act.[32]

For an overseas relationship to meet the general conditions it must, under the law of the country or territory in which it was formed:

• be exclusive in nature (i.e., the law must not permit a person to be in a civil or marital relationship with more than one person);
• be indeterminate in duration (this would exclude an arrangement whereby the parties agreed to live together for a fixed period of time); and
• result in the parties being treated as a couple (thus excluding local registers which have no legal effects under state/provincial or national law).

The position of civil partners in relation to financial arrangements mirrors that of spouses. For instance, Section 11 of the Married Women's Property Act 1882 applies to civil partnerships; thus, money payable to a surviving partner under a policy of life assurance no longer forms part of the deceased partner's estate.

The laws governing wills, administration of estates and family provisions also apply to civil partners as to spouses; thus, provisions governing financial relief under Part 2 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 (MCA) and the Domestic Proceedings and Magistrates' Court Act 1978 also apply to civil partnerships. Tax exemptions available to spouses under s.18 of the Inheritance Tax Act 1984 are available to civil partners under the Civil Partnership Act 2004. In Scotland the centuries-old system of minimum legal rights to a deceased estate for a widowed spouse were expressly extended to civil partners by section 131 of Act.

In any dispute between civil partners as to title or possession of property, either partner may apply to the Court, which can then make any order in relation to the property, including an order to sell such property. Contributions by either partner to property improvement are recognised if the contributions are substantial and in actual money or money's worth.

When dealing with an application for dissolution, nullity or separation where there is a child in the family, the Court must consider if it should exercise its powers under the Children Act 1989. Section 75 amends the definition of 'a child of the family' accordingly.

Other amendments were also made to equalise the position of civil partners with that of spouses. Civil partners are able to acquire parental responsibilities as a stepparent under Section 75 of the Act. They may also apply for residence or contact orders. Further, the right to apply for financial provision for children under schedule 1 of the 1989 act was extended to civil partners. Adoption provisions were amended to treat civil partners the same as married couples in Britain, although this does not apply to Northern Ireland at 18 November 2011. The Northern Ireland Adoption law is due to go to the judicial review in December 2011.[33]

The Act also amended other areas to equalise the position of civil partners. Such areas included matters relating to housing, tenancies and the Fatal Accidents Act 1976. Applicable parts of the Family Law Act 1996 were also amended.

There is no requirement that either party must change their surname upon entering a civil partnership. However, many couples wish to follow marital traditions and seek to change their surname to that of either partner, or combine their names to make a double-barrelled surname. This change can be made after the civil partnership is registered, and authorities will accept a certificate of civil partnership as evidence of name change, e.g. when applying for a passport or a driving licence. In Scotland, names need not be changed to be considered valid (deeds poll do not exist under Scots law), though some English-based companies may still ask for proof from an official such as a Justice of the Peace. Civil partners of male peers or knights do not receive a courtesy title to which the spouse of a peer or knight would be entitled.[34]

Section 37(1) of the Act provides for the making of dissolution, nullity, separation and presumption of death orders. These provisions broadly mirror those governing marriage.

No applications for dissolution may be made within one year of the formation of the civil partnership, except in Scotland. Like marriage, irretrievable breakdown is the only ground on which the court may make a dissolution order. Also, Section 44 provides that the Court may not make such an order unless the applicant satisfies as to certain facts which are the same as those for divorce under the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 (MCA), except that adultery cannot be relied on for a civil partnership dissolution: the respondent's behaviour, 2 years' separation and consent, 2 years' desertion or 5 years' separation. If the applicant satisfies the court in this respect, the court must make a dissolution order unless it is not convinced by the evidence that the partnership has indeed broken down irretrievably. The MCA section 5 defence is also available. While adultery cannot be cited as a reason in itself for dissolving a civil partnership, it could be cited as an example of unreasonable behaviour.

As with the breakdown of a marriage, the court will have powers to provide financial relief upon dissolution of a Civil Partnership. The court may make Maintenance and lump sum orders, Orders for Sale, Pension Sharing Orders or Property Adjustment Orders.[35]

A nullity order is one which annuls a void or voidable civil partnership. Section 49 of the Act provides that a civil partnership is void on grounds of ineligibility to register, if the parties: disregarded certain requirements as to the formation of the partnership, where any party is a minor, where any person whose consent is required (e.g. a parent) has forbidden the formation of the partnership and the court has not given its consent. Where a civil partnership is voidable, applications for nullity orders are subject to the bars of time, knowledge of defect and approbation.

A presumption of death order dissolves the partnership on the grounds that one of the partners is presumed to be dead, while a separation order provides for the separation of the parties. These orders are governed by Sections 55 and 56 of the Act and they largely mirror the position for married couples.

As the established church in England, the Church of England has discussed and established guidelines for clergy entering into civil partnerships. Within the guidelines, "The House of Bishops does not regard entering into a civil partnership as intrinsically incompatible with holy orders, provided the person concerned is willing to give assurances to his or her bishop that the relationship is consistent with the standards for the clergy...The House of Bishops considers it would be a matter of social injustice to exclude from ministry those who are faithful to the teaching of the Church, and who decide to register a civil partnership."[48]

In 2010, the General Synod extended pension and employee rights to clergy who have entered in a same-sex civil partnership.[49] In 2013, the church ruled that priests in civil partnerships could become bishops.[50] Speaking on its support for partnerships, the church has communicated that "The Church of England recognises that same-sex relationships often embody fidelity and mutuality. Civil partnerships enable these Christian virtues to be recognised socially and legally in a proper framework."[51] The Anglican Church was also among the institutions that supports keeping civil partnerships as a legal option. In 2018, the Church said "We believe that Civil Partnerships still have a place, including for some Christian LGBTI [lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex] couples who see them as a way of gaining legal recognition of their relationship."[52]

The Church has not authorised a formal blessing for civil partnerships and does not legally perform civil partnerships. However, the Chancellor of the Diocese of London explained, "There is no prohibition on prayers' being said in church or there being a 'service'".[53]

The Church of England Archbishops' Council confirmed that:

• Clergy may enter into a civil partnership as this does not conflict with the church's doctrine on marriage
• Clergy may offer "prayers of support" on behalf of same-sex couples following a civil partnership or civil marriage[54]

Civil partnerships became available to opposite-sex couples in Northern Ireland on 13 January 2020.[11] This change came at the same time as the UK Government issued regulations extending same-sex marriage to Northern Ireland.[86] The Scottish Government introduced legislation allowing opposite-sex civil partnerships to the Scottish Parliament on 30 September 2019, and the bill passed the parliament by a vote of 64–0 on 23 June 2020.[12] It received royal assent on 28 July 2020 and has been in effect since 1 June 2021.[12][87]