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In accordance with Section 5A of the Marriage Ordinance, Chapter 181, Laws of Hong Kong, the Registrar of Marriages (the Registrar) may, upon application, appoint any person / renew the appointment of any person who meets all criteria prescribed for the time being in Schedule 4 of Chapter 181 as a civil celebrant of marriages.

Schedule 4 of Chapter 181 (Eligibility Criteria for Civil Celebrants) reads as follows:

1. Being
   1. a solicitor
      1. holding a current practising certificate issued under section 6 of the Legal Practitioners Ordinance (Cap. 159) which is unconditional save as to the condition of compliance with the Continuing Professional Development Rules (Cap. 159 sub. leg. W) and the Legal Practitioners (Risk Management Education) Rules (Cap. 159 sub. leg. Z); and
      2. holding a certificate issued by The Law Society of Hong Kong
         1. certifying that he has practised as a solicitor; or
         2. upon a statutory declaration by him in such form as the Council of The Law Society of Hong Kong may determine certifying that he has been employed while his name is on the roll of solicitors within the meaning of the Legal Practitioners Ordinance (Cap. 159) to provide legal service to the employer,
         for a period or periods in aggregate of not less than 7 years; or
   2. a notary public
      1. who holds a current practising certificate issued under section 40E of the Legal Practitioners Ordinance (Cap. 159) which is unconditional; or
      2. who is qualified to practise as a notary public under subsection (1) of section 40D of the Legal Practitioners Ordinance (Cap. 159) by virtue of subsection (2) of that section.
2. Has not been
   1. the subject of a valid order made under section 10(2) of the Legal Practitioners Ordinance (Cap. 159) by a Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal constituted under section 9B of that Ordinance;
   2. removed from or struck off the register of notaries public before 30 June 2005 under section 42 of the Legal Practitioners Ordinance (Cap. 159) as then in force;
   3. suspended from practice as a notary public before 30 June 2005 under section 42 of the Legal Practitioners Ordinance (Cap. 159) as then in force; or
   4. the subject of a valid order made under section 40J(2) of the Legal Practitioners Ordinance (Cap. 159) by a Notaries Public Disciplinary Tribunal constituted under section 40I of that Ordinance,
   during the 3 years immediately preceding the date of the application for appointment as civil celebrant or renewal of appointment as civil celebrant, as may be appropriate.
3. Having completed such training organized for the purposes of this Ordinance as the Registrar may specify.

If this is the first time for the applicant to apply for appointment as a CCM and he / she can fulfill paragraphs 1 and 2 of the eligibility criteria mentioned above, he / she may submit the application to the Registrar.

For application for renewal appointment, if the Registrar does not receive the application form with all supporting documents at least 2 months before the expiry of current appointment, the renewal appointment may not take effect immediately after the expiry. In other words, the applicant will have to cease acting as a civil celebrant of marriages upon expiry of current appointment until the application for renewal appointment is approved and takes effect again.

By Post

If the applicant wants to apply by post, the completed application form (link) and supporting documents should be sent to:

Births, Deaths and Marriage Registration (Support) Section
Room 1501, Immigration Tower
7 Gloucester Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong

Underpaid mail items will not be accepted by the Immigration Department. For proper delivery of your mail items, please ensure your mail items bear sufficient postage with return address before posting. (Details)

Online

Applicant may submit application via the following website.
Online Application for Appointment / Renewal of Appointment as a Civil Celebrant of Marriages

List of forms and documents in support of an application for appointment / renewal of appointment as a civil celebrant of marriages is available for download at “Checklist of Forms and Documents Required for Application for Appointment / Renewal of Appointment as a Civil Celebrant of Marriages”.

Appointment as civil celebrant of marriages

• The Registrar will invite applicants who have satisfied paragraphs 1 and 2 of the eligibility criteria in Schedule 4 of Marriage Ordinance to attend a training course in order to fulfil the requirement of paragraph 3. The content of the training course covers the procedures of giving of Notice of Intended Marriage and celebration of marriage, potential offences and penalties relevant to marriage registration, identification of forged documents of identity, etc. The “Guidance Notes for Civil Celebrants of Marriages”, “Information Leaflets for the Marrying Parties” and “DOs and DON’Ts for CCM” will be issued to applicants during the training.

Renewal of appointment as civil celebrant of marriages

• The Registrar will arrange those applicants who have not provided any marriage solemnization service in the current appointment period or past 5 years (for applicants whose appointment periods has already expired upon application) and have satisfied paragraphs 1 and 2 of the eligibility criteria to attend a refresher training course organised by the Registrar. The content of the refresher course covers the procedures of giving of Notice of Intended Marriage and celebration of marriage, potential offences and penalties relevant to marriage registration, identification of forged documents of identity as well as recent cases sharing as well as cases sharing.

Processing application for appointment / renewal of appointment as a civil celebrant of marriages: HK$715

Appointment / Renewal of appointment as a civil celebrant of marriages: HK$405

Applying By Post

• The prescribed fee for processing application and appointment / renewal appointment as civil celebrant of marriages should be sent together with the application.
• The applicant should pay crossed cheque in Hong Kong dollars payable to "The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region". Post-dated cheques will not be accepted. No cash should be sent with the application.

Applying Online

• Having received the online application, we will check the application form and all the supporting documents. Applicant will be contacted to pay for the prescribed fee afterwards or provide supplementary documents (if necessary).

Upon approval of the application for appointment / renewal of appointment, the applicant will be informed the result and to collect his / her notice of appointment / renewal of appointment accordingly.