53 Persons by whom marriages are to be registered.E+W
Subject to the provisions of Part V of this Act, a marriage shall be registered in accordance with the provisions of this Part of this Act by the following person, that is to say,—
(a)in the case of a marriage solemnized according to the rites of the Church of England, by the clergyman by whom the marriage is solemnized;
(b)in the case of a marriage solemnized according to the usages of the Society of Friends, by the registering officer of that Society appointed for the district in which the marriage is solemnized;
(c)in the case of a marriage solemnized according to the usages of persons professing the Jewish [F1religion—
(i)where the parties to the marriage are both members of the same synagogue, the marriage shall be registered by the secretary of that synagogue; and
(ii)where the parties to the marriage are members of different synagogues, the marriage shall be registered by the secretary of whichever of those synagogues the parties to the marriage nominate;]
(d)in the case of a marriage solemnized in a registered building [F2or at a person’s residence] in the presence of a registrar, by that registrar;
(e)in the case of a marriage solemnized in a registered building without the presence of a registrar, by the authorised person in whose presence the marriage is solemnized;
(f)in the case of a marriage solemnized in the office of a superintendent registrar, by the registrar in whose presence the marriage is solemnized.
[F3(g)in the case of a marriage solemnized on approved premises in pursuance of section 26(1)(bb) of this Act, by the registrar in whose presence the marriage is solemnized.]
Textual Amendments
F1Words in s. 53(c) substituted (13.3.2014) by Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 (c. 30), s. 21(3), Sch. 7 para. 16; S.I. 2014/93, art. 3(k)(i)
F2Words in s. 53(d) inserted by Marriage Act 1983 (c. 32, SIF 49:1), s. 1(7), Sch. 1 para. 16
F3S. 53(g) added (1.4.1995) by 1994 c. 34, s. 1(3), Sch. para. 6; S.I. 1995/424, art. 2(2)(c)