Marriage registration in Hong Kong is governed by the Marriage Ordinance. All marriages contracted under the ordinance involve the voluntary union for life of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others. There is no residential or nationality requirement for marrying parties but neither can be under the age of 16 years.

Normally, the Registrar of Marriages should be given at least 15 days' notice of an intended marriage and the marriage must take place within three months from the date of giving the notice. A marriage can take place in one of the five marriage registries, or any of the 255 licensed places of public worship. In 2005, 40 339 marriages were celebrated in the marriage registries and 2 624 in licensed places of public worship.

An appointment to give notice of marriage can be booked through the Internet under the Electronic Service Delivery Scheme or the Interactive Voice Response System. During the year, over 99 per cent of the parties who filed their marriage notices on the first day of the notice-giving period booked their appointments through the system.

The Registrar of Marriages is also responsible for issuing Certificates of Absence of Marriage Records. During the year, 15 701 such certificates were issued.

The Marriage (Introduction of Civil Celebrants of Marriages and General Amendments) Bill to authorise the Civil Celebrants of Marriages Scheme was passed by the Legislative Council on November 16, 2005. Under the ordinance, civil celebrants of marriages can be appointed to celebrate marriages at any time and place other than the marriage registries and licensed places of public worship in Hong Kong. It is expected that the first batch of civil celebrants will be appointed in the second quarter of 2006.