Preparing for your Civil Partnership

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By law, both parties in a civil partnership need to provide completed civil partnership notice forms (Form CP10) to the registrar for the district in which the civil partnership is taking place. These forms can be collected from any registration office in Scotland or printed off with the accompanying notes from the Registrar General for Scotland's website.

For your civil partnership ceremony, you'll need to download and complete a witness form:

Civil Partnership Witness Form (pdf - 163KB)

Complete the witness form and return it to the relevant registration office when you lodge your civil partnership notice forms.If you have any special requirements for your civil partnership ceremony, download and complete this civil partnership information sheet:

Civil Partnership Information Sheet (pdf - 104KB)

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Other documentation you need to take when you hand in your civil partnership notice forms to the registrar:

• birth certificates for both partners
• if you were born in Britain after 1983, the registrar will also need to see your British passport
• if you have been married, or if you have been in a civil partnership before and the marriage or civil partnership was dissolved, the registrar will also have to see a certificate of divorce or annulment. A decree of divorce granted outside Scotland must be absolute or final. A 'decree nisi' is not acceptable.
• if you are a foreign national, you may need to produce a 'certificate of no impediment'.

All your documentation must be translated into English. Please note we do not accept photocopies.

With effect from 1 February 2005, if you are a foreign national who is subject to immigration control, you'll have to meet specific requirements before the registrar will accept notice of civil partnership. For more information, please contact any registration office in Scotland or visit the Home office website.