The Marriage (Same Sex) Couples Act 2013 made same sex marriage legal in England and Wales.  One of the sections in this legislation comes into force today, 10 December 2014, making it legal for civil partners in England and Wales to convert their civil partnership to a marriage if they so wish.

The conversion process will take place in a Marriage Registrar’s office.  Procedurally the civil partners will be required to declare that they know of “no legal reason why we may not convert our civil partnership into a marriage”. On completing the conversion process a Marriage Certificate will be issued, which will backdate the date of marriage to the date the civil partnership commenced. However, the certificate will also include the date of conversion.

The marriage will thereafter be treated as a legal marriage, commencing on the date of the original civil partnership