Civil partnerships

The Civil Partnership Act 2004 gives same-sex couples the ability to form a legal partnership which gives the same rights and benefits as married couples.

After you have given your notice to form a Civil Partnership you can choose to have a ceremony or just visit the register office to sign the schedule. If you choose not to have a ceremony you will still need to make an appointment to see a Registrar and both of you will need to attend the Register Office in person with two witnesses. If you decide to have a ceremony, we will work with you to ensure this is personal and special to you both.

You can form your partnership in our ceremony rooms in Aylesbury and Wycombe, or in one of the licensed venues of your choice. In Buckinghamshire, we have over sixty licensed venues to choose from, providing beautiful and stunning settings for your civil ceremony. Many licensed venues will also, if you wish, arrange your reception for you.

Once you have chosen your venue and made a provisional booking, you need to contact us to check a Registrar is available on the day and time you want. It is essential you do this before making any other arrangements. Bookings can be taken up to two years ahead of time. To contact us please call – Aylesbury area 01296 382481 or Wycombe area 01494 475092.

By law, a partnership must be formed between 8am and 6pm. Our Registrars will attend on any day of the week but please note we have restrictions for some Bank Holidays.

If you need to arrange an urgent wedding or civil partnership for medical reason and our offices are closed, please call 07949 720672 and if necessary leave a message.

Notice of Civil Partnership

Before you can form your partnership there are certain formalities which are required by law.

You must both attend the register office in the district in which you live to inform them of your intention to form your partnership. This is called “Giving Notice”. A notice of civil partnership may be given up to a year in advance of the formation.

Giving notice means declaring that you are both free to form a civil partnership and you will be required to provide certain documents.

You will need to make an appointment at the register office in the district in which you live. If you live in Buckinghamshire please call either - Aylesbury area on 01296 382481 or Wycombe area on 01494 475092.

If you live outside Buckinghamshire and would like details of your local office, please call us on either number.

When you give notice, the Registrar will ask questions about you and your partner. You and your partner will be asked for:

your full names
your address
your date of birth
your occupation
your nationality
whether either of you has been married or entered into a civil partnership before
your mother's and father's full names and occupations

A statutory fee of £33.50 is chargeable for each notice of civil partnership. This fee is non-refundable. If you decide on a new venue you will have to give a new Notice and pay a further statutory fee for this.

You will also need to bring the following documents:

proof of identity - passports should be used, but we may accept two other documents, one of which should be a birth certificate together with another document such as a driving licence. If you have no passport and you were born after 1st January 1983 you must produce a full birth certificate showing your parents details to prove nationality
proof of the address you are living at - this could be a Council Tax bill, a utility bill or a bank statement
if either of you has been married or formed a civil partnership before you need to show that this has legally ended. In England and Wales this will be the Decree Absolute for marriage and bear the original seal of the court. If the divorce or dissolution took place in another country, you should bring the appropriate original document. If you do not have this we will tell you what you need
if either of you is widowed, you need to show your late partner’s death certificate
if documents are not in English you need to bring an English translation and the original document (not a photocopy)
if you are under eighteen, you need to bring proof of your parents’ or guardians’ consent. You can do this by asking them to fill in a form which we will supply.

All documents must be originals and not photocopies.

You and your partner must have lived in England or Wales for nine days - one day travelling, seven days residency, we can then take notice on the ninth day. It does not matter if either of you then moves to a different address after you have given notice.

Once you have given notice the soonest you can form your partnership is after 15 days and the notice is valid for one year.