Explanatory note

These Regulations provide that the information contained in an entry in the Registrar General’s records of births, deaths and marriages (including where a civil partnership has been converted into a marriage) may be provided, upon request, to a person applying via the website www.gov.uk, in portable document format. They provide for the Registrar General to charge a fee for this service and for that fee to differ depending on whether the record is held in a digital or other format and whether the applicant requests a standard or expedited service.

These Regulations also provide for any of the information contained in an entry in the Registrar General’s records of births to be provided, upon request, to a Government department (including the Welsh Government but not including a Northern Ireland department or any part of the Scottish Administration) in electronic format.

A full impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument. The impact of regulations 2 to 4 and regulation 6 will be tested by way of pilot to inform an Impact Assessment produced after the pilot period. In relation to regulation 5, no significant impact on the private, voluntary or public sectors is foreseen.