Registration Service Act 1953

General organisation of registration service E+W

5 Districts and sub-districts. E+W

(1) For the purposes of the Registration Acts, in every [F1 non-metropolitan county and metropolitan district] there shall be one or more districts and in every district there shall be one or more sub-districts.

(2) Without prejudice to any provision of the local scheme as to additional officers, for each district there shall be a superintendent registrar of births, deaths and marriages, and for each sub-district there shall be a registrar of births and deaths, and any registrar of births and deaths upon whom the functions of a registrar of marriages are conferred by the local scheme shall also be deemed to be a registrar of marriages within the district for the purposes of the M1 Marriage Act 1949.

Textual Amendments

F1 Words substituted by Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70), Sch. 29 para. 41(1)

Marginal Citations

M1 1949 c. 76.

6 Superintendent registrars and registrars of births and deaths. E+W

(1) Every superintendent registrar and every registrar of births and deaths shall be appointed by the council of the non-metropolitan county or metropolitan district in which his district or sub-district is situated.

F2 ...

(2) No person shall be appointed as superintendent registrar or as registrar of births and deaths unless he is qualified in accordance with the prescribed conditions.

(3) Every superintendent registrar and every registrar of births and deaths shall be [F3 an officer of ] the council of the [F4 non-metropolitan county or metropolitan district] in which his district or sub-district is situated F5 ... .

F6 (4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Textual Amendments

F2 S. 6(1) proviso repealed (1.12.2007) by Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 (c. 18), ss. 70(2)(a), 74(1), Sch. 4 Pt. 2; S.I. 2007/3388, art. 2(i)

F3 Words in s. 6(3) substituted (1.12.2007) by Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 (c. 18), ss. 70(2)(b)(i), 74(1); S.I. 2007/3388, art. 2(i)

F4 Words substituted by Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70), Sch. 29 para. 41(2)

F5 Words in s. 6(3) repealed (1.12.2007) by Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 (c. 18), ss. 70(2)(b)(ii), 74(1), Sch. 4 Pt. 2; S.I. 2007/3388, art. 2(i)

F6 S. 6(4) repealed (1.12.2007) by Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 (c. 18), ss. 70(2)(c), 74(1), Sch. 4 Pt. 2; S.I. 2007/3388, art. 2(i)

F7 7 Additional registrars of marriages. E+W

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Textual Amendments

F7 S. 7 repealed (1.12.2007) by Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 (c. 18), ss. 72, 74(1), Sch. 4 Pt. 2; S.I. 2007/3388, art. 2(i)

[F8 8 Deputy superintendent registrars and registrars. E+W

(1) Subject to the provisions of the local scheme, a council which employs a superintendent registrar or a registrar of births and deaths may appoint one or more fit persons to act as his deputy.

(2) Any person appointed as a deputy under subsection (1) shall have all the powers and duties of a superintendent registrar or a registrar of births and deaths, as the case may be.]

Textual Amendments

F8 S. 8 substituted (1.12.2007) by Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 (c. 18), ss. 71, 74(1); S.I. 2007/3388, art. 2(i)

9 Interim superintendent registrars and registrars. E+W

(1) If any superintendent registrar or any registrar of births and deaths ceases to hold his office, his deputy or, if he has more than one deputy, such one of his deputies as shall from time to time be determined by the [F9 proper officer of the non-metropolitan county or metropolitan district] in which his district or sub-district is situated shall become interim superintendent registrar or, as the case may be, interim registrar of births and deaths.

(2) If a superintendent registrar or registrar of births and deaths ceases to hold his office and he has no deputy, the [F10 proper officer of the non-metropolitan county or metropolitan district] aforesaid shall appoint an interim superintendent registrar or, as the case may be, an interim registrar of births and deaths.

(3) An interim superintendent registrar and an interim registrar of births and deaths shall, until a new superintendent registrar or, as the case may be, registrar of births and deaths enters into office, have all the powers and duties of that office.

Textual Amendments

F9 Words substituted by Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70), Sch. 29 para. 41(3)

F10 Words substituted by Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70), Sch. 29 para. 41(4)

10 District register offices. E+W

(1) The countil of every [F11 non-metropolitan county and metropolitan district] shall provide and maintain for the superintendent registrar of each district within the [F12 non-metropolitan county or metropolitan district] a register office according to a plan approved by the Registrar General, and shall provide therein to the satisfaction of the Registrar General a suitable fireproof repository or strong fire-resisting boxes for the safe custody of the records in the charge of the superintendent registrar.

(2) For any period during which a register office is not so provided, the superintendent registrar shall appropriate some fit room to be approved by the Registrar General as a temporary register office and the council shall pay to the superintendent registrar a reasonable rent for that room.

(3) Without prejudice to the last foregoing subsection, if in the case of any district, by reason of the refusal or neglect of the council of the [F12 non-metropolitan county or metropolitan district], a register office for that district is not provided or is not maintained and kept in repair, the Registrar General may, if so authorised by the Treasury, expend a sum not exceeding three hundred pounds in providing an office, or any sum from time to time necessary for repairing or maintaining any office provided by him, and any sum so expended shall be repaid to the Registrar General by the council.

(4) The register office for any district shall be deemed for the purposes of the Registration Acts to be situated within that district even though it is not locally situated therein.

Textual Amendments

F11 Words substituted by Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70), Sch. 29 para. 41(1)

F12 Words substituted by Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70), Sch. 29 para. 41(2)

11 Sub-district offices, etc. E+W

(1) Subject to the provisions of the local scheme, every registrar of births and deaths and every deputy registrar of births and deaths shall either dwell in or have a known office within the sub-district of which he is registrar or deputy registrar.

(2) Subject as aforesaid, every registrar of births and deaths shall appoint within or contiguous to his sub-district such stations, if any, as may be directed by the Registrar General, and for the purposes of the provisions of the Registration Acts with respect to the attendance of persons and the registration of births and deaths any station for a registrar’s sub-district, as well as the office therefor, shall be deemed to be his office.

(3) Subject as aforesaid, every registrar and every deputy registrar shall attend at his dwelling-house or office and at any such station as aforesaid on such days and at such hours as may be approved by the Registrar General for the purpose of registering births and deaths.

12 Provision of register boxes. E+W

The Registrar General shall provide such number of strong fire-resisting boxes as may be required to hold the registers kept by each registrar of births and deaths and registrar of marriages.