Registrar of births, deaths, marriages and civil partnerships
Registrars collect and record details of all births, deaths, marriages and civil partnerships.
Also known as: Registration officer
- Starter salary£26,000 a year
- Experienced£40,000 a year
- Typical hours30 to 40 a week
What you'll do
As a registrar, you could:
- complete paper and digital registration records
- check registration documents supplied by applicants
- issue certificates for births, deaths, marriages and civil partnerships
- report suspected fraudulent registrations and certificate requests
- perform civil ceremonies for marriages, civil partnerships, and naming and citizenship events
- collect statistics to send to the General Register Office
- handle customer payments
- inform the coroner if there are any suspicious circumstances surrounding a death
Working environment
You could work in the community or in an office.
Skills and knowledge you'll need
You'll need:
- administration skills
- customer service skills
- excellent verbal communication skills
- knowledge of English language
- to be thorough and pay attention to detail
- active listening skills
- be able to work well under pressure
- legal knowledge including court procedures and government regulations
- to be able to use a computer and the main software packages confidently
How to become a registrar of births, deaths, marriages and civil partnerships
You can get into this job through:
- working towards this role
- applying directly
Work
You could start as a registration admin assistant or deputy registrar. With experience and on-the-job training, you could apply for a registrar position.
To apply for an assistant or deputy role, you'll usually need:
- to be at least 18 years of age
- GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) in English and maths, or equivalent
You could also work your way up from a managerial role at a local council or by getting relevant experience with a commercial company.
Direct application
To apply directly for registrar jobs, you'll need experience in management and handling budgets. It's useful to have knowledge of relevant legislation and legal processes. You'll also need excellent skills in customer service, public speaking and IT.
You might get this type of experience from working at managerial level in a registrar's department, a local council, or from being a manager in the private sector.
You must be over 21 to apply to be a registrar.
Restrictions and requirements
You'll need to:
- be over 21 years of age
Doctors, midwives, ministers of religion, funeral directors and anyone working in the life assurance industry are not allowed to become registrars.
You may need a driving licence for some jobs.
Career path and progression
With experience, you could be promoted from assistant registrar to deputy registrar, then to registrar and superintendent.
Each local district has at least one superintendent registrar and deputy, and each sub-district has a registrar and deputy.
Career tips
Each local council registration service sets its own entry requirements, so check with them for details of what you'll need.
Guides for this industry
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Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0