{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/marriage-act-1949/section-45",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/marriage-act-1949/section-45.json",
  "legislation": "ukpga/Geo6/12-13-14/76",
  "legislation_title": "Marriage Act 1949",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/marriage-act-1949",
  "path": "section/45",
  "kind": "section",
  "number": "45",
  "heading": "Solemnization of marriage in register office.",
  "text": "(1) Where a marriage is intended to be solemnized on the authority of a marriage schedule, the persons to be married may state in the notices of marriage that they wish to be married in the office of the superintendent registrar or one of the superintendent registrars, as the case may be, to whom notice of marriage is given, and where any such notices have been given and the marriage schedule has been issued accordingly, the marriage may be solemnized in the said office, with open doors, in the presence of the superintendent registrar and a registrar of the registration district of that superintendent registrar and in the presence of two witnesses, and the persons to be married shall make the declarations and use the form of words set out in subsection (3) or (3A) of section 44 in the case of marriages in registered buildings in the presence of a registrar.\n(2) No religious service shall be used at any marriage solemnized in the office of a superintendent registrar.",
  "extent": "E+W",
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F1",
      "text": "Words in s. 45(1) substituted (4.5.2021) by The Registration of Marriages Regulations 2021 (S.I. 2021/411), reg. 1(2), Sch. 1 para. 31(a) (with Sch. 2)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F2",
      "text": "Word in s. 45(1) substituted (1.1.2001) by 1999 c. 33, s. 169(1), Sch. 14 paras. 3, 24(b); S.I. 2000/2698, art. 2"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F3",
      "text": "Words in s. 45(1) substituted (1.1.2001) by 1999 c. 33, s. 169(1), Sch. 14 paras. 3, 24(c); S.I. 2000/2698, art. 2"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F4",
      "text": "Words in s. 45(1) substituted (4.5.2021) by The Registration of Marriages Regulations 2021 (S.I. 2021/411), reg. 1(2), Sch. 1 para. 31(b) (with Sch. 2)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F5",
      "text": "Words in s. 45(1) inserted (1.2.1997) by 1996 c. 34, s. 1(2)(a); S.I. 1996/2506, art. 2"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F6",
      "text": "Words in s. 45 substituted (10.12.2014) by The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 (Consequential and Contrary Provisions and Scotland) and Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Act 2014 (Consequential Provisions) Order 2014 (S.I. 2014/3168), art. 1(2)(3), Sch. para. 3(2)"
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Geo6/12-13-14/76/section/45",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T11:20:09.980125+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."
}