Marriage Act 1949

43 [F1Buildings registered under section 41: appointment of authorised persons]E+W

(1)For the purpose of enabling marriages to be solemnized in a [F2building registered under section 41] without the presence of a registrar, the trustees or governing body of that building may authorise a person to be present at the solemnization of marriages in that building and, where a person is so authorised in respect of any [F2building registered under section 41], the trustees or governing body of that building shall, within the prescribed time and in the prescribed manner, certify the name and address of the person so authorised to the Registrar General and to the superintendent registrar of the registration district in which the building is situated.

[F3(1A)The power conferred by this section may only be exercised after the end of the relevant one year period (and, if that period has ended before the date of the registration under section 41, the power may accordingly be exercised immediately).

(1B)The relevant one year period is the period of one year beginning with the date of the registration of the building under section 41 (the “new registration”).

(1C)But if—

(a)there is any earlier registration of the building under section 43A which is still in force at the date of the new registration, or

(b)there has been any earlier qualifying registration of a previous building,

the relevant one year period is the period of one year beginning with the date of that registration (or the earlier of those dates).

(1D)For that purpose there is a qualifying registration of a previous building if—

(a)the congregation on whose behalf the new registration is made previously used another building for the purpose of public religious worship,

(b)that building was registered under section 41 or 43A, and

(c)that registration was cancelled not more than one month before the date of the new registration.]

F4(2). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(3)Nothing in this section shall be taken to relate or have any reference to marriages solemnized according to the usages of the Society of Friends or of persons professing the Jewish religion.