Registration Service Act 1953

JurisdictionUK Non-devolved
Citation1953 c. 37


Registration Service Act , 1953

(1 & 2 Eliz. 2) CHAPTER 37

An Act to consolidate certain enactments relating to the registration service in England and Wales with corrections and improvements made under the Consolidation of Enactments (Procedure) Act, 1949.

[31st July 1953]

Be it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—

Registrar General, etc.

Registrar General, etc.

S-1 Registrar General.

1 Registrar General.

1. Her Majesty may from time to time under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom appoint a Registrar General for England and Wales, and any person so appointed shall exercise the powers and perform the duties conferred or imposed by or under any enactment on the Registrar General, whether described by that title alone or with any additional description, and shall hold office during Her Majesty's pleasure.

S-2 General Register Office.

2 General Register Office.

2. The offices of the Registrar General shall be known as the General Register Office and any place in which any registers or records in the custody of the Registrar General by virtue of this or any other Act are deposited by direction of the Registrar General with the approval of the Treasury shall, so long as those registers or records are there deposited, be deemed to be part of the General Register Office.

S-3 Registrar General's staff, etc.

3 Registrar General's staff, etc.

(1) Subject to the consent of the Treasury as to number, the Registrar General may appoint such officers and servants for the purposes of his functions as he may determine.

(2) Any act or thing required by or under any enactment to be done by, to or before the Registrar General may be done by, to or before any officer or servant of the Registrar General authorised generally or specially in that behalf in writing by the Registrar General.

S-4 Salaries, receipts and expenses.

4 Salaries, receipts and expenses.

(1) There shall be paid to the Registrar General and to the officers and servants appointed by the Registrar General such salaries or remuneration as the Treasury may from time to time determine.

(2) Every sum received under the Registration Acts by or on behalf of the Registrar General otherwise than under the foregoing subsection shall be accounted for by the Registrar General and paid by him, at such times as the Treasury may from time to time direct, into the Exchequer.

(3) The salary of the Registrar General and his expenses under the Registration Acts and in respect of the General Register Office shall be paid out of moneys provided by Parliament.

General organisation of registration service

General organisation of registration service

S-5 Districts and sub-districts.

5 Districts and sub-districts.

(1) For the purposes of the Registration Acts, in every county and county borough there shall be one or more districts and in every district there shall be one or more sub-districts.

(2) Without prejudice to any provision of the local scheme as to additional officers, for each district there shall be a superintendent registrar of births, deaths and marriages, and for each sub-district there shall be a registrar of births and deaths, and any registrar of births and deaths upon whom the functions of a registrar of marriages are conferred by the local scheme shall also be deemed to be a registrar of marriages within the district for the purposes of the Marriage Act, 1949.

S-6 Superintendent registrars and registrars of births and deaths.

6 Superintendent registrars and registrars of births and deaths.

(1) Every superintendent registrar and every registrar of births and deaths shall be appointed by the council of the county or county borough in which his district or sub-district is situated:

Provided that if, on the occurrence of a vacancy in any office of superintendent registrar or registrar of births and deaths, the council refuses to fill the vacancy or, having been required by the Registrar General to fill the vacancy within a period of not less than twenty-eight days specified in the requirement, fails to do so, the appointment shall be made by the Registrar General.

(2) No person shall be appointed as superintendent registrar or as registrar of births and deaths unless he is qualified in accordance with the prescribed conditions.

(3) Every superintendent registrar and every registrar of births and deaths shall be a salaried officer paid by the council of the county or county borough in which his district or sub-district is situated and shall—

(a ) at such times and in such manner as may be prescribed account to the Registrar General for all fees received by or payable to him in respect of the execution of his duties under the Registration Acts; and

(b ) upon the direction of the Registrar General pay to the council aforesaid such sum as the Registrar General may certify to be due to the council in respect of those fees.

(4) Every superintendent registrar and every registrar of births and deaths shall hold office during the pleasure of the Registrar General.

S-7 Additional registrars of marriages.

7 Additional registrars of marriages.

(1) The Registrar General may from time to time, and a superintendent registrar may with the approval of the Registrar General, by writing under his hand appoint any person qualified in accordance with the prescribed conditions to be registrar of marriages within the district of any or, as the case may be, of that superintendent registrar in addition to any registrar of births and deaths upon whom the functions of a registrar of marriages have been conferred by the local scheme.

(2) Any person appointed under this section—

(a ) if appointed by the Registrar General, shall hold office during the pleasure of the Registrar General;

(b ) if appointed by a superintendent registrar, shall hold office during the pleasure of that superintendent registrar but be removable by the Registrar General.

(3) A registrar of marriages appointed under this section shall be entitled to retain any fees received by or payable to him in respect of the execution of his duties under the Marriage Act, 1949:

Provided that he shall at such times and in such manner as may be prescribed account to the Registrar General for and pay to the council of the county or county borough within whose area the registration district for which he acts is situated so much of the aggregate sum received by or payable to him by way of those fees as the Registrar General may certify to represent an amount equal to one third part of that sum less such deduction as the Registrar General may allow as remuneration to him for the trouble and expense of collecting and accounting for that third part.

S-8 Deputy superintendent registrars and registrars.

8 Deputy superintendent registrars and registrars.

(1) Subject to the provisions of the local scheme, every superintendent registrar and every registrar of births and deaths shall, and any registrar of marriages may, from time to time by writing under his hand appoint, subject to the approval of the Registrar General, one or more fit persons to act as his deputy in the case of his illness or unavoidable absence or in any prescribed case, and any person so appointed shall while so acting have all the powers and duties of a superintendent registrar or, as the case may be, a registrar of births and deaths or a registrar of marriages.

(2) Subject as aforesaid, a superintendent registrar or registrar shall be civilly responsible for any act or omission of his deputy, who shall hold office during the pleasure of the officer by whom he was appointed but be removable by the Registrar General.

S-9 Interim superintendent registrars and registrars.

9 Interim superintendent registrars and registrars.

(1) If any superintendent registrar or any registrar of births and deaths ceases to hold his office, his deputy or, if he has more than one deputy, such one of his deputies as shall from time to time be determined by the clerk of the county council or the town clerk of the county borough for the county or county borough in which his district or sub-district is situated shall become interim superintendent registrar or, as the case may be, interim registrar of births and deaths.

(2) If a superintendent registrar or registrar of births and deaths ceases to hold his office and he has no deputy, the clerk of the county council or town clerk of the county borough aforesaid shall appoint an interim superintendent registrar or, as the case may be, an interim registrar of births and deaths.

(3) An interim superintendent registrar and an interim registrar of births and deaths shall, until a new superintendent registrar or, as the case may be, registrar of births and deaths enters into office, have all the powers and duties of that office.

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