UK law requires the details of all births, stillbirths, deaths, marriages and civil partnerships to be recorded officially. The role of a registrar is to collect this information. Registrars also perform civil marriage and partnership ceremonies and other celebratory duties. There are about 1750 registrars in England and Wales and about 500 in Scotland. Small councils might only employ one or two registrars, whereas larger councils might have a range of staff who specialise in different areas of work.

Work Environment

Registrars work in register offices, which are usually based in based in local council offices.

Full and part time opportunities might be available, but some weekend working is required, particularly for those registrars who conduct marriage or civil partnership ceremonies.

Daily Activities

A registrar’s main duties can be divided into four of key areas:

• Registering births – the registrar interviews the parents to find out the details needed for the child’s birth certificate. The registrar then enters the information into the computer and issues the parents with the relevant documents.
• Registering deaths – the registrar checks the documents describing why the person has died and consults with the doctor or coroner if anything is out of place. The registrar then interviews a close family member or friend in order to gain the information needed for the death certificate and issues the relevant documentation so that the funeral can go ahead.
• Performing civil marriage and civil partnership ceremonies – before the ceremony takes place, the registrar interviews the couple to make sure they can legally marry or form a civil partnership. The registrar checks all relevant documents and asks the couple to sign formal notices of intention. The registrar performs the marriage or civil partnership ceremony either at the register office or another venue with a licence to hold the ceremony such as a hotel, castle or sports club.
• Keeping records – a registrar is responsible for looking after the birth, deaths and marriage registers dating back to 1837 when civil registration began in the UK. Members of the public can request certificates to be issued from this register for legal or genealogical reasons. A registrar might oversee this work, but clerical assistants usually do much of it.

In addition there are a number of other areas of work, which an experienced registrar might learn, for example, officiating naming ceremonies, civil funerals, renewals of marriage vows and citizenship celebrations. Other work might involve helping people fill in nationality application forms.

Skills & Interests

Registrars need:

• excellent communication skills in order to deal sensitively and tactfully with a wide range of different people;
• a good knowledge of the law, particularly in relation to birth and death registration;
• patience and an ability to extract information from people, some of whom might be in an emotional state;
• the ability to work well in a team and own their own initiative;
• the ability to understand and explain complex legislation;
• accurate writing skills;
• good organisational and IT skills.

Entry Requirements

There are no minimum entry requirements for registrars in England and Wales. However, most employers would expect a good level of education – usually to at least GCSE level or equivalent including English and maths. In Scotland, applicants need three S-Grades (1-3) including English.

As some of the work requires registrars to travel around, it is often useful to have a full, clean driving licence and access to a car.

Some people, including doctors, midwives, ministers of religion, funeral directors and anyone working in the life assurance industry, are not allowed to become registrars.

Estimated salary range

Salaries start at around £16,000 per annum, but can reach around £40,000 for very senior staff.

Please note that salary information is a guide only and there may be local agreements in place. For further information about salaries for particular positions, please contact your local council directly.

Future prospects & opportunities

Registrars might have some opportunities to progress, but it depends on the size of the council and the amount of staff employed in the registration office. Some registrars may take on additional specialist responsibilities.

With additional training and development, there might also be opportunities to move into other areas of work within the council, for example, legal executive, administration manager or archivist.

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