Convert your civil partnership to a marriage

Couples who registered their civil partnership in England and Wales before 29 March 2014 can convert their civil partnership to a marriage. This includes all civil partnerships registered according to the law of England and Wales (for example in a consulate or armed forces base overseas).

There are two ways to convert a civil partnership into a marriage

• a simple administrative process called a 'standard conversion'
• a two stage process where the conversion is followed by a ceremony

The standard conversion

This is a simple administrative process where you will both attend an appointment at Gateshead register office to complete a declaration with details about you and your civil partnership. The documents that you will need to produce include:

Evidence of your name and date of birth

• current passports or birth certificates

Evidence of your address

• recent Council Tax, utility bill dated no more than three months old or
• bank or building society statement dated no more than one month old or
• council tax bill dated no more than one year or
• a valid United Kingdom driving licence (full or provisional issued by the United Kingdom, Isle of Man or Channel Islands) (whether or not it was also provided for proof of name and date of birth)
• an original civil partnership certificate

A legal declaration will then be drawn up for you to both sign with the Superintendent Registrar. It's quite an informal process, but if you wish you can choose to say the declaration wording aloud to one another before signing the conversion document. Your marriage is then registered and a marriage certificate will be issued.

There is a charge for each marriage certificate ordered before the conversion.

A conversion followed by a ceremony

There are two stages to this type of conversion. The first part is where you will both need to attend an appointment at Gateshead register office and complete a declaration with details about you and your civil partnership. The documents that you will need to produce include

Evidence of your name and date of birth

• current passports or birth certificates

Evidence of your address

• recent Council Tax, utility bill dated no more than three months old or
• bank or building society statement dated no more than one month old or
• council tax bill dated no more than one year or
• a valid United Kingdom driving licence (full or provisional issued by the United Kingdom, Isle of Man or Channel Islands) (whether or not it was also provided for proof of name and date of birth)

The signing of the declaration can then be followed by a ceremony at venues where same sex couples are able to marry, for example:

• register office
• approved premises
• religious buildings that are registered for the marriage of same sex couples
• premises where a ceremony according to the Jewish faith of the Society of Friends is to immediately follow the conversion

Following the ceremony your marriage is registered, and a marriage certificate can then be issued. Your marriage certificate can either be collected or posted.

Make an appointment

To make an appointment at Gateshead Register Office, phone 0191 433 3000.

Fees apply to this service.