{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/civil-partnership-act-2004/section-138",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/civil-partnership-act-2004/section-138.json",
  "legislation": "ukpga/2004/33",
  "legislation_title": "Civil Partnership Act 2004",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/civil-partnership-act-2004",
  "path": "section/138",
  "kind": "section",
  "number": "138",
  "heading": "Eligibility",
  "text": "(1) Two people are not eligible to register as civil partners of each other if—\n(a) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .\n(b) either of them is already a civil partner or lawfully married,\n(c) either of them is under 16,\n(d) they are within prohibited degrees of relationship, or\n(e) either of them is incapable of understanding the nature of civil partnership.\n(2) Schedule 12 contains provisions for determining when two people are within prohibited degrees of relationship.",
  "extent": "N.I.",
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F1",
      "text": "S. 138(1)(a) omitted (13.1.2020) by virtue of The Marriage (Same-sex Couples) and Civil Partnership (Opposite-sex Couples) (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/1514), regs. 1(2), 16(3) (with regs. 6-9)"
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2004/33/section/138",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T09:16:53.191982+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}