{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/civil-partnership-act-2004/section-158",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/civil-partnership-act-2004/section-158.json",
  "legislation": "ukpga/2004/33",
  "legislation_title": "Civil Partnership Act 2004",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/civil-partnership-act-2004",
  "path": "section/158",
  "kind": "section",
  "number": "158",
  "heading": "Offences",
  "text": "(1) Any registrar who signs a civil partnership schedule in the absence of the civil partners is guilty of an offence.\n(2) Any person who is not a registrar but officiates at the signing of a civil partnership schedule in such a way as to lead the civil partners to believe that he is a registrar is guilty of an offence.\n(3) A person who is guilty of an offence under this section is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both.\n(4) Notwithstanding anything in Article 19(1) of the Magistrates' Courts (Northern Ireland) Order 1981 (S.I. 1981/1675 (N.I. 26)) (limitation of time for taking proceedings), proceedings for an offence under this section may be instituted at any time within 3 years after the commission of the offence.",
  "extent": null,
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2004/33/section/158",
    "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."
}