Marie Claire UK Marie Claire UK
  • Fashion Fashion
      • Fashion
        • View all Fashion
        • Fashion Trends
        • Shopping
        • Watches and Jewellery
        • Fashion News
  • Beauty Beauty
      • Beauty
        • View all Beauty
        • Fragrance
        • Hair
        • Make Up
        • Skincare
        • Nails
        • Marie Claire Beauty Awards
  • Health Health
      • Health
        • View all Health
        • Fitness
        • Nutrition
        • Female Health
        • Wellbeing
  • Life Life
      • Life
        • View all Life
        • Opinions
        • Travel
        • Sustainability
        • Weddings
        • Money & Work
        • Competitions
  • Culture Culture
      • Culture
        • View all Culture
        • TV and Film
        • Celebrity News
        • Books
        • Royal News
  • Vouchers Vouchers
      • Clothing
        • View all Vouchers
        • Mint Velvet
        • Karen Millen
        • H&M
        • nobody's child
        • ASOS
        • ARKET
        • MANGO
      • Designer Clothing
        • View all Vouchers
        • Reiss
        • THE OUTNET
        • SSENSE
        • Mytheresa
        • Liberty London
        • Selfridges
        • Farfetch
      • Accessories
        • View all Vouchers
        • AllSaints
        • Aspinal of London
        • Charles & Keith
        • River Island
        • FitFlop
        • Kate Spade
        • Vagabond
      • Jewellery
        • View all Vouchers
        • Pandora
        • Abbott Lyon
        • Goldsmiths
        • Beaverbrooks
        • Astrid & Miyu
        • Swarovski
        • Angara Jewellery
      • Beauty
        • View all Vouchers
        • Sephora
        • Cult Beauty
        • Space NK
        • Dyson
        • Clarins
        • Look Fantastic
        • Clinique
      • Activewear
        • View all Vouchers
        • Lululemon
        • Gymshark
        • Sweaty Betty
        • Nike
        • adidas
        • New Balance
        • Helly Hansen
  • NEWSLETTER Signup to our newsletter
  • logoCreated with Sketch.
    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!


    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    You are now subscribed

    Your newsletter sign-up was successful


    An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
    Trending
    • Women in Sport 2026
    • Marie Claire Masters
    • Spring Summer 2026
    • Nail Trends 2026
    • Best Investment Bags
    • Best Perfumes
    • Digital Issues
    • Women Who Win
    1. Life
    2. Relationships

    Mothers' details are finally set to be included on marriage certificates

    By Anna Duff
    Published 11 January 2018 In Features

    When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

    (Image credit: Granger/REX/Shutterstock)
    • Facebook
    • X
    • Pinterest
    Share this article
    Join the conversation
    Follow us
    Add us as a preferred source on Google
    Subscribe to our newsletter

    We can't quite believe it's 2018 and we're only just telling you this, but... mothers' names are finally going to be included on marriage certificates.

    According to the Sunday Times, the Home Office signed off on a proposal towards the end of last year.

    Currently, the document only records the names and occupations of the bride and groom's fathers. But a campaign led by MP Dame Caroline Spelman and the Rev. Alan Smith - who sits in the House of Lords - fought to modernise the system.

    It will also include changes on civil partnership certificates.

    This isn't the first time that the update has been sought, but previous proposals failed to go through because of concerns over cost.

    You may like
    • Wedding planning I Love My Fiancé, but I Resent the Emotional Labour of Planning Our Wedding
    • Anne Hathaway has just announced her third pregnancy at 43 Anne Hathaway's Pregnancy Hides a Much Bigger Truth About Having Babies in Your 40s
    • Louise Thompson is campaigning for a Maternity Commissioner following the traumatic birth of her son. “It Is One Of The Grossest Failings In Humanity That Women Are Treated Like This”

    It had been argued that replacing register books across the country could cost as much as £13 million, as 84,000 marriage registers only have space for the fathers’ names.

    The mothers' details will reportedly be included in a digital register, solving this issue, although it's not clear if certificates presented on the day will be in the new or old format.

    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!

    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    David Cameron pledged to add mothers' details three years ago, saying that the current system 'does not reflect modern Britain'. This isn't exactly surprising, seeing as it dates back to the reign of Queen Victoria.

    Harry Benson, of the Marriage Foundation, tells MailOnline: 'Having only the father's name on the certificate is one reason why people mistakenly think marriage can be a patriarchal institution.'

    What are your thoughts? Let us know @marieclaireuk.

    Anna Duff
    Social Links Navigation
    Read more
    Wedding planning
    Relationships I Love My Fiancé, but I Resent the Emotional Labour of Planning Our Wedding
    Anne Hathaway has just announced her third pregnancy at 43
    Life Anne Hathaway's Pregnancy Hides a Much Bigger Truth About Having Babies in Your 40s
     
     
    Louise Thompson is campaigning for a Maternity Commissioner following the traumatic birth of her son.
    Life “It Is One Of The Grossest Failings In Humanity That Women Are Treated Like This”
    Broken disco ball smashed to pieces on the floor. Black and white for a dramatic touch. Shiny backdrop is defocused.
    Relationships Why Do Men Ruin Your Birthday?
     
     
    Latest in Relationships
    Wedding planning
    Relationships I Love My Fiancé, but I Resent the Emotional Labour of Planning Our Wedding
    Wicker husband: Alexander Skarsgård and Olivia Coleman in the new film Wicker
    Relationships Move Over Regular Men and AI Boyfriends, The “Wicker Husband” Has Arrived
     
     
    Emotionally Unavailable Men: Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie in Wuthering Heights
    Relationships Why Are We Still Glamourising Emotionally Unavailable Men?
    Broken disco ball smashed to pieces on the floor. Black and white for a dramatic touch. Shiny backdrop is defocused.
    Relationships Why Do Men Ruin Your Birthday?
     
     
    Latest in Features
    Charlotte Mensah Afro Hair
    Hair Charlotte Mensah Has Spent 40 Years Changing the Conversation Around Afro Hair—Now, Her Legacy Is Going on Display
    Aesthetics Safety
    Beauty "What Did She Expect?"—The Sexism and Classism Behind The UK’s Aesthetics Safety Crisis
     
     
    Wedding planning
    Relationships I Love My Fiancé, but I Resent the Emotional Labour of Planning Our Wedding
    Expensive beauty products, luxury beauty
    Beauty The Expensive Products That Are Actually Worth It, According to Beauty Editors Who’ve Tried Thousands
     
     
    logoCreated with Sketch.
    • Site Archive
    • Contact Future's experts
    • Contact us
    • Terms and conditions
    • Advertise with us
    • Privacy policy
    • Cookies policy
    • About us
    Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google

    Marie Claire UK is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

    © Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.