Marriage certificate to include mothers’ names in England and Wales

Mothers of brides and grooms in England and Wales will now be added to marriage certificates for the first time.

Until now, the document only included the names of the fathers of the couple, but a change to the Marriage Act means both parents will be included.

The Home Office said the move would “correct a historic anomaly”.

Marriages will also be recorded electronically, rather than written in a registry book, as part of the biggest changes to the system since 1837.

The government said the creation of a single electronic register, which goes live on Tuesday, would speed up the process and remove the need for any details to be extracted from hard copies.

Marriages were previously recorded by the couple signing a register book – there are around 84,000 held at register offices, in churches and chapels, and at registered religious premises.

The changes to the Marriage Act were made in consultation with the Church of England.

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