(1)    These Regulations may be cited as the Registration of Marriages (Welsh Language) Regulations 1999 and shall come into operation on 1st July 1999.

(2)    In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires, “the principal Regulations” means the Registration of Marriages Regulations 1986 and any expression in these Regulations which is also used in the principal Regulations has the same meaning as in those Regulations.

In relation to a notice of marriage attested in Wales regulation 3(a) and (b) and 4 of the principal Regulations (forms of notice of marriage and endorsement on notice of marriage) shall have effect as if they referred respectively not to forms 1, 2 and 4 in Schedule 1 to those Regulations but to forms 1, 2 and 3 in Schedule 1 to these Regulations.

In relation to a marriage intended to be solemnized in Wales, regulation 5(c) of the principal Regulations shall have effect as if it referred not to form 7 in Schedule 1 to those Regulations but to form 4 in Schedule 1 to these Regulations.

In relation to a marriage intended to be solemnized in Wales, regulation 6 of the principal Regulations shall have effect as if it referred not to form 8 in Schedule 1 to those Regulations but to form 5 in Schedule 1 to these Regulations.

In relation to a certificate for marriage and a certificate and licence for marriage issued in Wales, regulations 7(1) and (2) and 8 of the principal Regulations (forms of certificate, and of certificate and licence, issued by a superintendent registrar and form of instructions for solemnization of a marriage) shall have effect as if they referred respectively not to forms 9, 10 and 12 in Schedule 1 to those Regulations but to forms 6, 7 and 8 in Schedule 1 to these Regulations.

In relation to any marriage solemnized in Wales, regulations 10 to 12 of the principal Regulations (form of registration of particulars, manner of registration and entry of attestation) shall have effect as if they referred not to form 13 in Schedule 1 to those Regulations but to form 9 in Schedule 1 to these Regulations.

(1)    Forms 1 to 7 and form 9 in Schedule 1 to these Regulations shall be completed in English and shall also be completed in Welsh if—

(a)    in the case of—

(i)    forms 1 to 4, 6 and 7, the party giving notice of the marriage, and

(ii)    form 5, the person making the declaration

so elects and provides the required particulars in both languages and the officer by whom the notice, or as the case may be the declaration, is attested can understand and write Welsh;

(b)    in the case of form 9, the parties to the marriage so elect and provide the required particulars in both languages and the person who registers the marriage can understand and write Welsh.

(2)    Where a form of words set out in column 1 of Schedule 2 to these Regulations is used in completing a form in English the form of words set out opposite thereto in column 2 shall be used where the form is also completed in Welsh.

Where an error or omission is corrected in an entry in a marriage register book kept in Wales, the correction shall be made in English if the error or omission occurs in particulars entered in English and in Welsh if the error or omission occurs in particulars entered in Welsh.

Where a certified copy of an entry in a marriage register book containing English only, or in a certified copy of such a book, is made on a form containing both English and Welsh but the particulars in the original entry and those entered in the certified copy of that entry do not differ in any other respect the certified copy shall be treated as a true copy of the original entry.

The regulations specified in column 1 of Schedule 3 to these Regulations are hereby revoked to the extent mentioned in column 3 of that Schedule.

Given under my hand on 8th June 1999

Dr D Holt

Registrar General

I approve,

Signed by authority of the Chancellor of the Exchequer

Patricia Hewitt

Economic Secretary to the Treasury

9th June 1999

These Regulations consolidate with mostly minor amendments the Registration of Marriages (Welsh Language) Regulations 1986, and subsequent amending regulations which are revoked. The Welsh language translation of the forms set out in Schedule one to the regulations has been updated and modernised.

The Regulations prescribe forms in English and Welsh for use in Wales in place of the forms prescribed under the Registration of Marriages Regulations 1986 which are in English only (regulations 2 to 6) and they specify the conditions subject to which the forms may be completed in Welsh as well as in English and the form of Welsh wording to be used (regulation 7 and Schedule 2). The forms prescribed include (regulation 4) a form of declaration of certain affinal relationships. Provision is also made for the correction of errors in marriage entries (regulation 8), and for a certified copy made on a bilingual printed form to be treated as a true copy of the original entry notwithstanding that the original was in English only (regulation 9).