Civil partnership

A civil partnership may be registered by a district registrar or an assistant registrar or a religious or belief celebrant who has been authorised by the Registrar General for that purpose or whose religious or belief body has been prescribed in regulations under the Civil Partnership Act 2004.

You can register your civil partnership in:

• your local registration office
• any place in North Ayrshire agreed by the couple and Registrar

The registration of a civil partnership by a religious or belief celebrant may take place anywhere agreed between the celebrant and the couple.

The National Records of Scotland website provides full guidance on Registering Civil Partnership in Scotland.

Any 2 persons, regardless of where they live, may register a civil partnership in Scotland as long as they meet the criteria as highlighted in the Registering a Civil Partnership in Scotland information leaflet RCP1.

It’s important to make early arrangements for the date, time and place of your civil partnership registration and ceremony. Find out about booking a civil partnership ceremony.

By law both parties to a proposed civil partnership in Scotland are required to submit notice forms to the Registrar of the district in which the civil partnership is to be registered informing them of their intention to register a civil partnership.

Notice must be given in the 3 month period prior to the date of the intended civil partnership and not later than 29 days before that date.

You must each complete a civil partnership notice form, available to download here Civil partnership notice and guidance notes - Form CP10, or from any registrar in Scotland.

Return the completed forms to your Registrar along with:

• the required documents, as listed in the Registering a Civil Partnership in Scotland RCP1 leaflet
• a completed witness form
• £90 notice fee and £10 for your certificate. Fees can be paid by credit/debit card or cash.

Each person giving notice must sign the notice stating that the information on their notice form is correct. As a safeguard against bigamy, a further check is made by the National Records of Scotland.

The Registrar will publish details on the list of intended civil partnerships which is displayed in Irvine Registration Office.

When the Registrar is satisfied the civil partnership can go ahead, a civil partnership schedule will be prepared. A civil partnership cannot go ahead without a civil partnership schedule. The schedule must be signed by:

• both partners
• the person carrying out the marriage
• the 2 witnesses aged 16 years or over

• up to 1 month after your registration: £10
• thereafter: £15

Please note: if postage is required, this will be calculated for you and the total cost will be given to you by a member of the Registration Team.