The Act Marriages and civil partnerships: procedure Section 50 Marriage procedure: electronic communications
123.This section paves the way for completion of certain parts of marriage arrangements by electronic means.
124.Subsection (2) allows the marriage notice to be submitted electronically, and the prescribed fee and birth certificate to be submitted separately. Subsection (3) allows for an objection to marriage to be submitted separately from a medical certificate showing that a party to the marriage is incapable of understanding or consenting to marriage, which certificate can be submitted electronically. Subsection (4) allows electronic submission of a request by a marriage party for the marriage to take place within the normal 14 day notification period. Subsection (5) makes similar provision for electronic submission of objections, where a Scottish resident is getting married outwith Scotland. Subsection (6) allows the Registrar General to give notice by electronic means instead of in writing, where he rejects a nomination as authorised celebrant for a religious marriage, subsection (7) where the Registrar General removes a person from the register of celebrants, subsection (8) where the Registrar General issues a temporary authorisation of a marriage celebrant and subsection (9) where a party wishes a civil marriage to take place within the normal 14 days period of notice. Subsection (10) adds a new section 24A of the 1977 Act which enables documents to be prescribed in electronic form and for the manner of attestation of documents to be prescribed.
125.Section 50 came into force on 1st January 2007 – but see regulation 2(b) of S.S.I. 2006/597 for its initial use, temporarily preserving the existing position on attestation.