Registar General's Licence (Death Bed Weddings)
The Marriage (Registrar General’s Licence) Act 1970 provides for a marriage or civil partnership to take place at short notice in circumstances where one of the parties is seriously ill and not expected to recover and cannot be moved to a place where a marriage or civil partnership could normally take place. Marriage or civil partnership by Registrar General’s licence cannot take place in a register office, approved premises or a registered building.
A marriage may be by civil ceremony or according to the rites of any non-Anglican denomination or according to the usages of the Jews or Society of Friends.
The Registrar General cannot grant a licence for a marriage to be solemnized according to the rites of the Church of England or the Church in Wales and where parties in a similar situation wish to be married according to those rites they should be advised to apply for a special licence of the Archbishop of Canterbury. It should also be noted that the Act does not allow a clergyman of those Churches to solemnize a marriage by Registrar General’s licence.
A twenty-four hour service is available every day of the year to provide for arrangements to be made for marriage or civil partnership by Registrar General’s Licence (death-bed weddings). Access to this service outside normal opening hours is made via the WMDC Contact Centre, on 0845 850 6506, who will then contact a member of our staff with details.'
