Convert a civil partnership
Same-sex marriages give you the same legal rights as marriages of opposite sex couples.
Civil partnerships give you the same legal rights given to married couples for:
- pensions
- life assurance
- recognition under intestacy rules
- being able to register the death of a partner and arrange the funeral
Find our more about civil partnerships on GOV.UK
Civil partnership conversions
You can convert your civil partnership into a same-sex marriage if you registered your civil partnership in England and Wales.
You can convert your civil partnership into marriage using a one-stage or two-stage procedure:
The one-stage procedure
- Make an appointment to attend any register office for a civil partnership conversion into marriage
- Complete a declaration with details about yourselves and your civil partnership you'll need proof of name, date of birth and address, and bring your civil partnership certificate
- You and the superintendent registrar sign the declaration - you can say the declaration wording to each other before signing, if you'd like to
The conversion costs £45 and your marriage certificate costs £11 (per copy).
The two-stage procedure
Stage 1: Declaration (£27)
- Make an appointment to attend any register office for a civil partnership conversion into marriage
- Complete a declaration with details about yourselves and your civil partnership - you'll need to prove your name, date of birth and address, and bring your civil partnership certificate
Stage 2: Signing of the declaration ceremony
- the signing of the declaration ceremony can take place at any venue licensed for the marriage of same sex couples - see Rutland’s licensed venues
- we can convert your civil partnership into marriage even if you didn’t form your civil partnership in Rutland
- you don’t need to live in Rutland
- your ceremony can immediately follow the conversion or be on a different date and venue
The cost of stage 2 depends where and when you have your ceremony, and includes the £45 conversion fee.