The Registration Services (Fees, etc.) (Scotland) Regulations 2006

Made: 29th November 2006

Laid before the Scottish Parliament: 30th November 2006

Coming into force: 1st January 2007

The Registrar General, in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 28A(4), 37(1), 38(2) and (3), 39D(1) and 39E(3), 43(8), 47 and 54(1) of the Registration of Births, Deaths and Marriages (Scotland) Act 1965[^f00001], sections 38 and 39C of that Act as applied by sections 98 and 122(7) of the Civil Partnership Act 2004[^f00002], sections 3(1) and 19(2) of the Marriage (Scotland) Act 1977[^f00003], sections 88(1), 95(4), 122(4) and 134(2) of the Civil Partnership Act 2004, sections 58(5) and (8) and 61(2)(a) of the Local Electoral Administration and Registration Services (Scotland) Act 2006[^f00004] and of all other powers enabling him in that behalf, with the approval of the Scottish Ministers[^f00005] in accordance with sections 54(1) of the 1965 Act, 25(1) of the 1977 Act, 126(3) of the 2004 Act and 60(1) of the 2006 Act, makes the following Regulations:

Citation and commencement

1

These Regulations may be cited as the Registration Services (Fees, etc.) (Scotland) Regulations 2006 and shall come into force on 1st January 2007.

Interpretation

2

• (1) In these Regulations–

• “the 1965 Act” means the Registration of Births, Deaths and Marriages (Scotland) Act 1965;

• “the 1977 Act” means the Marriage (Scotland) Act 1977;

• “the 2004 Act” means the Civil Partnership Act 2004;

• “the 2006 Act” means the Local Electoral Administration and Registration Services (Scotland) Act 2006;

• “bulk particular search” means a search for multiple specified entries, by comparison of electronic records, caused to be made by the Registrar General;

• “express bulk particular search” means a bulk particular search made within 5 working days of the first working day after the date on which the application is received by the Register General;

• “general search” means a search (other than an Internet search) over any period of years for any number of entries, made by any person with the permission of the Registrar General or the district registrar;

• “Internet search” means a search, in the indexes to the statutory registers, to the Register of Dissolutions of Civil Partnership , to the accessible material under section 58(1) of the 2006 Act or to the parochial registers made available on the Internet, made by any person by means of the Internet with the permission of the Registrar General;

• “Internet search session” means the period of time beginning with the time at which a person has–access to the indexes made available on the Internet; andagreed to pay the prescribed fee for an Internet search session,and ending–1 year after that time; or if sooner,with the time at which that person has retrieved 5 electronic images of index data;

• “particular search” means a search for a specified entry caused to be made by the Registrar General or made by a district registrar;

• “public holiday” means Good Friday, Easter Monday, the first Monday in May and the third Monday in September;

• “search” means a bulk particular search, a general search, an Internet search or, as the case may be, a particular search;

• “the statutory registers” means–any register of births, still-births, deaths and marriages kept by a district registrar;any register of births, deaths and marriages transmitted to the Registrar General under the 1965 Act or any enactment repealed by that Act;the Register of Divorces; andthe civil partnership register; and

• “working day” means a day on which the General Register Office is open for the purpose specified in section 38(2) of the 1965 Act.

• (2) Any reference in these Regulations–

• (a) to an application made by post includes an application made by facsimile; and

• (b) to anything done in writing includes by electronic means.

Fees payable to Registrar General

3

Subject to regulation 7, the fees payable under the provisions of the Acts specified in–

• (a) column 1 of Part I of Schedule 1 for the services described in column 2 of that Schedule (searches in the indexes) shall be the amounts specified in column 3 thereof;

• (b) column 1 of Part II of Schedule 1 for the services described in column 2 of that Schedule (issue of copy or extract entries and abbreviated extracts of births or deaths) shall be the amounts specified in column 3 thereof;

• (c) column 1 of Part III of Schedule 1 for the services described in column 2 of that Schedule (recording of names or changes of names) shall be the amount specified in column 3 thereof;

• (d) column 1 of Part IV of Schedule 1 for the services described in column 2 of that Schedule (notification of death) shall be the amount specified in column 3 thereof

Priority handling fee

4

Subject to regulation 7, where–

• (a) a person applies for a service which is described in the entry numbered 1 in column 2 of Part II of Schedule 1;

• (b) the application is made–

• (i) in person before 1300 hours and the person requests that the extract be issued after 1600 hours on the same day, or

• (ii) in person after 1300 hours and the person requests that the extract be issued after 1000 hours on the next working day following the application, or

• (iii) by post and the person requests that the extract be issued by post on the next working day following receipt of the application; and

• (c) the Registrar General considers that the request can reasonably be complied with,

then, in addition to the amount specified in column 3 of Part II of that Schedule as the fee payable for that service, a further fee of £15 per extract issued shall be payable, but, if the extract is not issued within the time requested, the further fee shall be refunded.

Fee payable to district registrars

5

Subject to regulation 7, the fees payable under provisions of the Acts specified in–

• (a) column 1 of Part I of Schedule 2 for the services described in column 2 of that Schedule (searches in statutory and other registers or indexes) shall be the amounts specified in column 3 thereof;

• (b) column 1 of Part II of Schedule 2 for the services described in column 2 of that Schedule (the issue of copy or extract entries and abbreviated extracts of births or deaths) shall be the amount specified in column 3 thereof.

Fees payable under the Marriage (Scotland) Act 1977 and the Civil Partnership Act 2004

6

• (1) The fees payable under the provisions of the 1977 Act specified in column 1 of Part I of Schedule 3 for the services described in column 2 of that Schedule (submission of marriage notice and civil marriage ceremony) shall be the amounts specified in column 3 thereof.

• (2) The fees payable under the provisions of the 2004 Act specified in column 1 of Part II of Schedule 3 for the services described in column 2 of that Schedule (submission of notice of intended civil partnership and civil partnership registration) shall be the amounts specified in column 3 thereof.

Remission of fees

7

The Registrar General may remit any fee or part of a fee payable under the provisions of the Acts specified in column 1 of Schedules 1 and 2 where–

• (a) the payment of the fee is likely to cause hardship to the person by whom it is payable;

• (b) the service in respect of which the fee is payable is performed for research purposes;

• (ba) these criteria are met—

• (i) remission is likely to promote public knowledge of the registers in respect of which fees are payable under these Regulations;

• (ii) the fee remitted is for—

• (aa) a general search made at the ScotlandsPeople Centre at General Register House, 2 Princes Street, Edinburgh, EH1 3YY; or

• (bb) an Internet search; and

• (iii) the search is made—

• (aa) by or on behalf of an association whose objects include genealogy;

• (bb) by or on behalf of a school within the meaning of section 135 of the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 or at a public library managed by a library authority (within the meaning of section 2 of the Public Libraries Consolidation (Scotland) Act 1887); or

• (cc) using a discount voucher which has previously been issued by the Register General;

• (c) an extract has been requested by the father or mother of a still-born child within one month of the date of registration of the still-birth, and the Registrar General consents in terms of section 37(2) of the 1965 Act[^f00006] to the extract being issued from the register of still-births; or

• (d) the person named as the informant on an entry in the register of deaths (“the relevant entry”) has requested an extract of the relevant entry in the following circumstances:–

• (i) the informant has previously been issued with an extract of the relevant entry on payment of the prescribed fee,

• (ii) the informant has subsequently been notified by the Registrar General that an entry has been made in the Register of Corrections Etc. relating to the relevant entry following a notice received by the Registrar General from a procurator fiscal under section 28(1)(b) of the 1965 Act, and

• (iii) the request has been made in writing within one month of the date of receipt of the notification by the Registrar General.

Accessible material provided to district registrars

8

The accessible material within the meaning of section 58(1) of the 2006 Act is prescribed for the purposes of section 58(6) of that Act (material a copy of which arrangements are to be made for access to be provided to district registrars).

Revocations

9

The Regulations specified in the first column of Schedule 4 are revoked.

SCHEDULE 1 — Fees payable to Registrar General

PART I — SEARCHES IN STATUTORY REGISTERS AND PAROCHIAL REGISTERS

1

Particular search for each period of 5 years or part thereof in the indexes to the statutory registers, whether the specified entry is traced or not and application is made–

2

Particular search for each period of 5 years or part thereof in the parochial registers, whether the specified entry is traced or not, and application is made–

3

Internet search – per Internet search session

4

General search in both the parochial registers and in the indexes to the statutory registers–

5

Bulk particular search in the indexes to the statutory registers, whether the specified entry is traced or not–

6

Particular search for each period of 5 years or part thereof in the index to the Register of Dissolutions of Civil Partnership, whether the specified entry is traced or not and application is made–

7

Internet search – per Internet search session

8

General search in the index to the Register of Dissolutions of Civil Partnership–

9

Bulk particular search in the index to the Register of Dissolutions of Civil Partnership, whether the specified entry is traced or not–

10

Particular search for each period of 5 years or part thereof in the index of accessible material under section 58(1) of the 2006 Act, whether the specified entry is traced or not and application is made–

11

Internet search – per Internet search session

12

General search in the index of accessible material under section 58(1) of the 2006 Act–

13

Bulk particular search in the index of accessible material under section 58(1) of the 2006 Act, whether the specified entry is traced or not–

PART II — ISSUE OF EXTRACTS OF ENTRIES IN STATUTORY AND PAROCHIAL REGISTERS AND OF ABBREVIATED EXTRACTS

1

Issue of an extract of an entry in a statutory register or an abbreviated extract of birth or death or an extract of an entry in a parochial register

2

Issue of an extract of an entry identified by an Internet search where application is made by electronic mail in the course of that search

3

Issue of an extract of an entry in the Register of Dissolutions of Civil Partnership

4

Issue of such an extract of an entry identified by an Internet search where application is made by electronic mail in the course of that search

5

Issue of a copy or extract of accessible material under section 58(1) of the 2006 Act

6

Issue of such a copy or extract of an entry identified by an Internet search where application is made by electronic mail in the course of that search

PART III — CHANGES OF NAME

1

Recording of name, or change of name or surname or alternative name

2

Recording of name, or change of name or surname or alternative name for second or any subsequent members of the family intimated at the same time

SCHEDULE 2 — Fees payable to District Registrars

PART I — SEARCHES IN STATUTORY REGISTERS AND PAROCHIAL REGISTERS

1

Particular search for each period of 5 years or part thereof in the indexes to the statutory registers and the Register of Dissolutions of Civil Partnership, whether the specified entry is traced or not, unless the specified entry has been entered in the Registers of births, still-births, deaths, marriages or civil partnerships within the preceding month, in which case no fee is payable

2

Particular search for each period of 5 years or part thereof in the parochial registers, whether the specified entry is traced or not

3

General search in the indexes to the statutory registers, the Register of Dissolutions of Civil Partnership and the parochial registers–

4

Particular search for each period of 5 years or part thereof in the index of accessible material under section 58(6) of the 2006 Act, whether the specified entry is traced or not

5

General search in the index of accessible material under section 58(6) of the 2006 Act to which the district registrar has access–

PART II — ISSUE OF EXTRACTS OF ENTRIES IN STATUTORY REGISTERS AND PAROCHIAL REGISTERS AND OF ABBREVIATED EXTRACTS

1

Issue of an extract of an entry in a statutory register or an abbreviated extract of birth or death, not being an abbreviated extract of birth or death issued under section 39E(1) of the 1965 Act, an entry in the Register of Dissolutions of Civil Partnership, or an entry in a parochial register

2

Issue of a copy or extract of any of the accessible material under section 58(6) of the 2006 Act

SCHEDULE 3 — Fees payable under the Marriage (Scotland) Act 1977 and the Civil Partnership Act 2004 – Marriage and Registration

PART I — FEES PAYABLE UNDER THE MARRIAGE (SCOTLAND) ACT 1977

1	2	3	4
Marriage (Scotland) Act 1977	Service	Fee payable under these Regulations	...
		£	...
Section 3(1)[^f00014]	Submission of marriage notice	£45.00	...
Section 19(2)	Civil marriage ceremony	55.00	...

PART II — FEES PAYABLE UNDER THE CIVIL PARTNERSHIP ACT 2004 – REGISTRATION

1	2	3	4
Civil Partnership Act 2004	Service	Fee payable under these Regulations	...
		£	...
Section 88(1)	Submission of notice of proposed civil partnership	£45.00	...
Section 95(4)	Civil partnership registration	55.00	...

SCHEDULE 4 — Revocations

Column 1 – enactment	Column 2 – references
The Births, Deaths, Marriages and Divorces (Fees) (Scotland) Regulations 1998	S.I. 1998/643
The Births, Deaths, Marriages and Divorces (Fees) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 1998	S.I. 1998/3191
The Births, Deaths, Marriages and Divorces (Fees) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2000	S.S.I. 2000/447
The Births, Deaths, Marriages and Divorces (Fees) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2002	S.S.I. 2002/390
The Births, Deaths, Marriages and Divorces (Fees) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2003	S.S.I. 2003/89
The Births, Deaths, Marriages and Divorces (Fees) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2005	S.S.I. 2005/100
The Marriages and Civil Partnerships (Fees) (Scotland) Regulations 2005	S.S.I. 2005/556

Signed

D MACNIVEN — Registrar General for Scotland — 29th November 2006

Approved by the Scottish Ministers

GEORGE LYON — Authorised to sign by the Scottish Ministers — 29th November 2006

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations prescribe, with effect from 1st January 2007, the fees payable to the Registrar General for Scotland and district registrars for services provided under the Registration of Births, Deaths and Marriages (Scotland) Act 1965 (“the 1965 Act”), the Marriage (Scotland) Act 1977 (“the 1977 Act”), the Civil Partnership Act 2004 (“the 2004 Act”) and the Local Electoral Administration and Registration Services (Scotland) Act 2006 (“the 2006 Act”).

Section 44 of the 2006 Act, which inserted section 39D into the 1965 Act, widened the scope of the information of which an extract can be provided for a fee by district registrars, and the fees for that wider sharing are prescribed here. The opportunity has been taken to consolidate the existing fees for births, deaths and marriages and incorporate the equivalent fees for the submission of a notice of proposed civil partnership and for a civil partnership registration and for searches and the issuing of extracts of entries in the registers of civil partnerships and dissolution of civil partnerships previously contained in S.S.I. 2005/556 with the equivalent and similar fees for births, deaths and marriages.

The fees payable for the existing services listed have been increased by these Regulations as noted in Schedule 3 to the Regulations. Otherwise they have not been increased.