Gender Recognition Certificate Marriage
As a rule, you will be able to stay married after applying for a Gender Recognition Certificate. But, an exception applies for marriages registered under the law of Northern Ireland.
As a married couple, you would both need to fill in a statutory declaration.
The purpose is to state that you both agree to stay married together after a change of gender.
You would get an ‘interim certificate’ if neither of you fill in the statutory declaration. This also applies to couples who choose not to remain married. The interim certificate can serve as valid grounds to end a marriage.
Married couples living in England or Wales would only get a full certificate if, or when, the marriage ends.
The rules change if the marriage was registered in Scotland. In this case, having an interim certificate means you can apply to the sheriff court to get a full certificate. There would be no need to end the marriage beforehand.
One of you may decide to change your mind about staying married. This can sometimes happen during the actual Gender Recognition Certificate application process.
If this happens, you should contact the administrative team at the Gender Recognition Panel.
Gender Recognition Panel
Telephone: +44 (0) 300 1234 503
Mail: [email protected]
Find out national phone call charges.
Gender Recognition Certificate Civil Partnership
Is the civil partnership (often called a civil union) registered in England, Scotland, or Wales? If so, you will either need to end it or convert it to a marriage. You will not be able to convert a civil partnership to a marriage if the registration took place elsewhere.
Note: If you decide to convert a civil partnership to marriage it must happen before applying to the Gender Recognition Panel.
Couples still in a civil partnership will get an interim certificate when they apply to the Gender Recognition Panel. The only way to get a full certificate would be to end the civil partnership.
If Both Civil Partners Apply for Gender Recognition
You and your partner can both apply for gender recognition at the same time. If this case, you should inform the administrative team of the ‘link’ between the two applications.
Is the civil partnership registered in England, Scotland, or Wales? If so, they would usually grant both of the ‘full’ certificates on the same day.
If You are in Northern Ireland
A marriage or a civil partnership registered in Northern Ireland can only get an interim certificate. You would need to end the marriage or civil union before you can apply for a full certificate. Even so, the interim certificate would serve as grounds to end the marriage or the civil partnership.