PART IV
REGISTRATION
Registration of marriages
25. Every marriage solemnized in Singapore after 15th September 1961 shall be registered in accordance with the provisions of this Part.
Appointment of Registrar, Assistant Registrars and Deputy Registrars
26. —(1) The Minister may appoint any public officer either by name or office to be the Registrar of Marriages or an Assistant Registrar of Marriages for the purposes of this Act.
(2) The Minister may appoint by name or office such number of Deputy Registrars as may be necessary for the purposes of this Act.
(3) The Minister may appoint by name or office such other officers as may be necessary for carrying this Part into effect.
(4) The Registrar and every Assistant Registrar and Deputy Registrar appointed under this section shall be deemed to be public servants within the meaning of the Penal Code (Cap. 224).
Books and registers
27. —(1) The Registrar shall keep a State Marriage Register as prescribed by this Act.[30/96]
(2) The Registrar shall cause all certificates of marriage issued under this Act to be bound together to form a State Marriage Register.
Registration of marriage solemnized by Registrar
28. —(1) Every marriage solemnized by the Registrar shall immediately after the solemnization thereof be registered by the Registrar in the certificate of marriage.[30/96]
(2) The entry of such marriage in the certificate of marriage shall —
(a) be signed by the Registrar solemnizing the marriage, and by the persons married; and
(b) be attested by 2 credible witnesses, other than the Registrar solemnizing the marriage, present at the solemnization.[30/96]
Registration of marriage not solemnized by Registrar
29. —(1) The parties to a marriage which is not solemnized by the Registrar shall —
(a) appear before a Deputy Registrar within one month of the marriage;
(b) produce to the Deputy Registrar such evidence of the marriage either oral or documentary as the Deputy Registrar may require;
(c) furnish such particulars as may be required by the Deputy Registrar for the due registration of the marriage; and
(d) apply in the prescribed form for the registration of the marriage to be effected. [9/67]
(2) The Deputy Registrar shall register a marriage by entering the particulars thereof in a certificate of marriage. [30/96]
(3) The entry of the marriage in the certificate of marriage shall —
(a) be signed by the Deputy Registrar who made the entry and the parties to the marriage; and
(b) be attested by 2 credible witnesses present at the solemnization of the marriage. [30/96]
(4) The Deputy Registrar registering the marriage shall send the certificate of marriage within 3 days of the registration of the marriage to the Registrar. [14/69]
Registration where parties have not appeared within prescribed time
30. Where the parties to a marriage have not appeared before a Deputy Registrar within the time prescribed by section 29, the marriage may, with the consent in writing of the Registrar, be registered by a Deputy Registrar on payment of such penalty as may be prescribed.[9/67]
Copy of entry to be given
31. On the completion of the registration of any marriage, the Registrar or the Deputy Registrar shall deliver to the bride a copy of the certificate of marriage duly signed and sealed with his seal of office.
Unlawful registers
32. No person other than the Registrar or a Deputy Registrar shall —
(a) keep any book being or purporting to be a register kept in accordance with the provisions of this Act; or
(b) issue to any person any document being or purporting to be a copy of a certificate of a marriage or a certificate of a marriage registered by the Registrar or a Deputy Registrar.
Legal effect of registration
33. Nothing in this Act shall be construed to render valid or invalid merely by reason of its having been or not having been registered any marriage which otherwise is invalid or valid.