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Transgender 10/08/2005
How gender recognition certificates affect civil partnership and marriage.
Civil partnership is only open to same-sex couples. Civil marriage is only open to mixed-sex couples.
A transman who has been issued a gender recognition certificate for his male gender can:
- marry a woman
- register a civil partnership with a man
A transwoman who has been issued a gender recognition certificate for her female gender can:
- marry a man
- register a civil partnership with a woman
The Gender Recognition Panel and the General Registration Office for Scotland (GROS) provide details of how to get a gender recognition certificate: for further information on the Gender Recognition Act 2004, see the Department for Constitutional Affairs website.
If you are married or in a civil partnership, and apply for a gender recognition certificate, you will receive an interim gender recognition certificate which can be presented to a court as a cause for divorce or for dissolution. You cannot be issued a full gender recognition certificate until you have ended your current marriage or civil partnership.
If you want to continue your current relationship:
- If you were in a civil partnership, after being issued your full gender recognition certificate, you can then marry your former civil partner.
- If you were married, after being issued your full gender recognition certificate, you can then register a civil partnership with your former spouse.
You cannot publish the banns (the initial notice of marriage or civil partnership) until you have registered a divorce or dissolution of a former marriage or civil partnership. Usually, the banns must be published for 15 working days (3 weeks) before you can register marriage or civil partnership. If you consult with GROS, you may be able to avoid the usual 15 day waiting period. You will need to explain your circumstances to the registrar, and show your interim gender recognition certificate. This may let you and your partner minimise the period during which you are not legally married or in a civil partnership with each other.
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