Marriage Act 1949

65 Searches of indexes kept by Registrar General

(1) The Registrar General shall cause indexes of all certified copies of entries in marriage register books sent to him under this Part of this Act to be made and kept in the General Register Office.

(2) Any person shall be entitled to search the said indexes between the hours of ten in the morning and four in the afternoon of every day, except Sundays, Christmas Day and Good Friday, and to have a certified copy of any entry in the said certified copies of marriage register books, on payment to the Registrar General or to such other person as may be appointed to act on his behalf of the following fee, that is to say :—

(a) for every general search, the sum of twenty shillings;

(b) for every particular search, the sum of one shilling; and

(c) for every certified copy, the sum of two shillings and sixpence.

(3) The Registrar General shall cause all certified copies of entries given in the General Register Office to be sealed or stamped with the seal of that Office; and any certified copy of an entry purporting to be sealed or stamped with the said seal shall be received as evidence of the marriage to which it relates without any further or other proof of the entry, and no certified copy purporting to have been given in the said Office shall be of any force or effect unless it is sealed or stamped as aforesaid.

(4) Every sum received under this section by or on behalf of the Registrar General shall be accounted for by the Registrar General and paid by him, at such times as the Treasury from time to time may direct, into the Exchequer.