# The National Ministry Register (Clergy) Regulations 2020, Regulation 3: Registration officer

Extent: E

(1) This regulation applies for the purpose of determining who under these Regulations is the registration officer for a clerk in Holy Orders.
(2) For an archbishop, the registration officer is the other archbishop.
(3) For the bishop of a diocese, the registration officer is the archbishop of the province in which the diocese is situated.
(4) For any other clerk in Holy Orders, the registration officer is—
(a) in relation to the clerk’s authority to exercise ministry in a diocese or an area of a diocese, in the cathedral of a diocese, in a private chapel in a diocese or at any institution or other place in a diocese (other than a Royal Peculiar), the bishop of the diocese;
(b) in relation to the clerk’s authority to exercise ministry in a Royal Peculiar (whether as the dean or in some other capacity), the dean of that Royal Peculiar;
(c) in relation to the clerk’s authority to exercise ministry as a chaplain in Her Majesty’s Forces, the Bishop to the Forces.
(5) Paragraph (4)(a) does not apply to an authority to exercise ministry which takes the form of a licence to preach granted by the University of Oxford or the University of Cambridge.
(6) In the case of a Chapel Royal, the references in this Regulation to the dean are references to the Dean of the Chapels Royal.
(7) Where there is a vacancy in the see of an archbishop or diocesan bishop or in the office of the dean of a Royal Peculiar or a registration officer is unable to exercise functions as such, and the functions of registration officer have not already been delegated, the registration officer is—
(a) in the case of an archbishop, the senior bishop of the province (with seniority for these purposes being determined in accordance with section 10(4) of the Bishops (Retirement) Measure 1986);
(b) in the case of a diocesan bishop, the senior suffragan bishop of the diocese or, if there is no suffragan bishop, the senior archdeacon (with seniority for these purposes being determined for each office according to the length of service in that office in that diocese);
(c) in the case of the dean of a Royal Peculiar, the senior clerk in that Royal Peculiar (with seniority for these purposes being determined according to the length of service as a clerk in that Royal Peculiar) or, if there is no such clerk, the person who is for the time being the registration officer for clerks who have authority to exercise ministry in the diocese the area of which includes the Royal Peculiar.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2020/1538/regulation/3 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/national-ministry-register-clergy-regulations-2020/regulation-3
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.