Our commitment to you
We are committed to focussing our service on your needs, to delivering the highest quality service, and to giving you the best value for money. Our overall aim is to provide you with a courteous, helpful and efficient service.
A snapshot of our services
Our principal functions are to:
- register births, deaths, marriages and civil partnerships occurring in Wandsworth;
- take notices of intention to marry and intention to form a civil partnership – legal civil preliminaries for residents of the borough;
- conduct civil marriages and register civil partnerships at the Register Office and at other approved premises in Wandsworth;
- provide you with copies of birth, marriage, civil partnerships and death certificates relating to Wandsworth; and assist you if you want to research the indices of births, deaths and marriages, as far back as 1837 – perhaps for your family tree.
- conduct Citizenship Ceremonies for new British Citizens to make their oath and pledge of allegiance and receive their Naturalisation certificates.
- assist those applying for British Citizenship by providing a nationality application form checking service.
- conduct celebrating services for 'Every child is special' naming ceremonies, re-affirmation of marriage vows
So much else depends on the service
Today, birth, marriage and death certificates are often required as proof of eligibility for a wide range of welfare payments or benefits and for other legal documents (e.g. passports). It is, therefore, essential that complete and accurate records of births, marriages civil partnerships and deaths are kept. Registration records also form a basic and continuous source of information which is used for many purposes including the planning of schools, hospitals, housing and for medical research into the causes and prevention of disease.
Registering a birth or death or intending to marry or form a civil partnership
When you visit the Register Office you will be seen by our reception staff immediately. They will record your time of arrival to ensure that your waiting time is kept to a minimum.
Unless you have made an appointment, the Registrar (the person who will register the birth or death, or take your notice of intention) will normally see you within 30 minutes of your arrival. If your waiting time is likely to exceed 30 minutes, the reason will be explained to you and an approximate waiting time given. Delays can sometimes occur on Mondays and on other days between 12.30pm and 2pm when the office tends to be particularly busy. Our aim is to see 90% of users of the drop in service within 15 minutes, and 98% within 30 minutes.
If waiting will be inconvenient, then our reception staff will be happy to offer you an appointment for a different time, guaranteeing you immediate attention.
If you have come to register a still-birth or the death of a baby or child, you will be seen immediately on order to minimise the distress as much as possible.
When the Registrar is ready to see you, you will be taken into a private office and your meeting will be conducted in a confidential manner, lasting between 15 and 30 minutes.
If you have come to register a birth or death, all certificates will be issued immediately after the registration, unless you want us to send these to you afterwards.
You will find information on all of the following on this web site:
Your wedding day
When you come to give notice of your intention to marry, you will be provided with an attractive guide if you are marrying at the Wandsworth Register Office, telling you all you need to know about getting married there.
We will discuss all our facilities and any enhancements you would like to incorporate in the marriage ceremony. For example, we can offer music, additional words and commitments to the legally required ones, readings of poetry or prose and use of our internet web cams. We will be happy to discuss the incorporation of any other special or cultural features.
Similarly, if you are planning not to marry in the Register Office but instead to marry in one of the premises in Wandsworth approved for civil marriages, we will discuss with you any enhancements you would like incorporated in the marriage ceremony.
Whether you are marrying at our Register Office or at one of the approved premises for civil marriages, our overall aim will be to ensure that your wedding runs smoothly, to reflect your specific wishes and to provide you with a truly enjoyable and carefree experience.
Forming your civil partnership
When you attend to give notice of your intention to form a civil partnership we will discuss with you the options that are available. The legal process of registering the partnership in the presence of two witnesses does not include a requirement for a ceremony. However, for those who wish to mark the occasion and share it with friends and family, we offer a choice to build your own special and unique occasion around the registration. We offer music, reading, examples of special vows and words of commitment and the use of our internet web cam facilities and photo opportunities. Similarly if you are planning to form your partnership at one of the approved premises in Wandsworth we will discuss with you your choices and preferences for the event. Our aim will be to ensure that your specific wishes are met for a truly enjoyable and carefree experience.
Access to records and copy certificates
The records held at the Register Office relate to the births, deaths and marriages registered within the Wandsworth area since the introduction of the registration service in 1837.
Although by law the registers are not open to public inspection, certificates of entries are available if you can provide sufficient information to trace a registered entry.
Our records and certificates pages include information about obtaining certificates from elsewhere, family history research, links to other useful websites and an on –line certificate ordering system for those applying for Wandsworth certificates
British Citizenship
For those becoming British Citizens our ceremonies are held on weekday evenings. Contact the citizenship officers (020 8871 6136) to book a ceremony when you receive notification from the Home Office. We will offer you a place on our earliest available ceremony, and other dates if that is not convenient to you. We are also able to offer individual ceremonies, often at short notice.
Nationality Checking Service
This service is available by appointment only. Please ring 020 8871 6124 to make an appointment for a weekday or Saturday with one of the authorised advisers. |
