Births, deaths, and marriages

Civil partnerships

About civil partnerships

A civil partnership is a legal union between two people giving the partners similar rights as married couples. A couple of differences are:

  • A marriage is formed by vows; a spoken element, and the legal paperwork signed.
  • A civil partnership requires the signing only element of the legal paperwork. Civil partners cannot call themselves 'married' for legal purposes. Couples that form a civil partnership have a legal status of 'civil partner'

You can find more information about the difference between marriage and civil partnership at GOV UK: Marriage and civil partnerships in England and Wales

A civil partnership formation does not include any exchanging of words or promises. It is formed by both parties signing the legal declaration. You can form your civil partnership in either of our town halls or at one of our venues.

You can check to see who's eligible to form a civil partnerships at Marriages and civil partnerships in England and Wales .

What is involved

There is a legal requirement to give notice of civil partnership. Whether you choose to form your civil partnership in Kirklees or in a different district, if you live in Kirklees, and you would like to form your civil partnership within the next 12 months, you will need to book notice of civil partnership at give notice of marriage or civil partnership.

You can choose to simply sign the relevant paperwork to form your civil partnership. This service is available every Monday morning between 10am and 11.30am. This booking is a Simple Ceremony booking and you will need to attend with your 2 witnesses only. Please note: There are no spoken words or ceremony attached to this booking.

Alternatively, the signing of the paperwork, can occur on other days. This booking is a 'standard ceremony booking'

Your 2 witnesses will still need to attend, and you may invite other guests if you wish. Ceremonies are not required as part of the legal process, but we would be happy to offer these to you as part of the booking.

They can be held at Dewsbury or Huddersfield Town Hall or at one of our approved venues. Please see standard ceremonies for more information or contact our ceremonies team who will be happy to discuss this with you in more detail.

How much it costs

Please see our fees and how to pay. Ceremony fees for marriage and civil partnership are the same.

Civil partnership booking

The civil partnership, can be booked over the phone with our ceremonies team. Alternatively you can contact the ceremonies team about a marriage or civil partnership query.