L.R.O. 1/2012
LAWS OF GUYANA
MARRIAGE ACT
CHAPTER 45:01
Act
25 of 1901
Amended by
26 of 1911 4 of 1972 11 of 1914 5 of 1982
7 of 1918 4 of 1985 4 of 1919 13 of 1985 3 of 1923 18 of 1985
28 of 1950 19 of 1990 35 of 1951 18 of 1993 28 of 1960 O. 4/1974
1 – 53 ... 1/2012 (inclusive) by L.R.O.
Pages Authorised
Current Authorised Pages
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Index
of
Subsidiary Legislation
Page
Amerindian Marriage Banns Regulations 51
(Reg. 15/5/1917)

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CHAPTER 45:01
MARRIAGE ACT
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
SECTION
PART I PRELIMNARY
1. Short title.
2. Interpretation.
PART II MARRIAGE DISTRICTS AND OFFICERS, AND REGISTERED BUILDINGS
Marriage Districts
3. Division of Guyana into marriage districts.
MARRIAGE OFFICERS
4. Appointment of marriage officers.
5. Power to refuse to act.
6. Applications for appointment as a marriage officer.
7. Notification of ceasing to act as a minister of religion.
8. Resignation.
9. Tenure of office.
10. Temporary absence from Guyana. 11. Cancellation of appointment.
12. Register of marriage officers.
13. Sending in of applications or notifications
14. Publication of appointments and changes.
SUPERINTENDENT REGISTRAR
15. Superintendent registrar of marriages.
16. Appointment of deputy.
17. Office.
18. Supply of marriage notice books and forms of certificates.
19. Limitation of powers.

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SECTION
20. Minister may declare any building a superintendent registrar’s
office.
REGISTERED BUILDINGS
21. Registration of buildings in use at the commencement of this Act.
22. Registration of buildings at any time set apart for religious worship.
23. What a separate building is.
24. Use of building as school.
25. Cancellation of registry if building disused.
26. Rebuilding or repair of registered building.
27. Notice to be placed in registered building.
28. Consent required for use of registered building.
PART III RESTRICTIONS ON MARRIAGE
Persons who may not intermarry
29. Prohibited degrees.
30. Marriages within the prohibited degrees void.
31. Restriction of power in cases of minority of parties.
32. Avoidance of marriages where either party is under the specified
age.
33. Case of parent or guardian of party to be married being unable to
consent or improperly refusing consent to marriage.
PART IV PRELIMINARIES TO MARRIAGE
34. Authority for solemnisation.
BANNS OR NOTICE OF MARRIAGE
35. Publication of banns.
35A. Publication of notice of marriage.
36. Notification to be made to minister before publication of banns by
parties intending to marry.
37. Publication when void.
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SECTION
38. Certificate of publication of banns or notice of marriage.
39. Supply of books for the registration of banns or notice of marriage.
40. Power of the Minister to grant marriage licences.
MARRIAGE LICENCES
41. Restriction of power in cases of minority of parties.
42. Rights of parties obtaining licence.
43. Applications for licences.
44. Form of licence.
45. Objections against issue of a licence.
46. Licence, when void.
SUPERINTENDENT REGISTRAR ’S CERTIFICATE
47. Notice of marriage.
48. Filing and entry of notice.
49. Publication of notice.
50. Certificate of notice.
51. Objections to issue of certificate.
52. Certificate, when void.
53. (1) Notice of foreign marriage.
(2) Form of notice.
(3) Publication of notice.
(4) Certificate of publication of notice.
(5) False declaration or representation.
54. [Repealed by Act 13 of 1985]
PART V SOLEMNISATION OR PERFORMANCE OF MARRIAGE
55. Provisions as to solemnisation.
(a) Time.
(b) By whom.
(c) Ceremony.
56. Addition of religious ceremony to civil marriage.
57. Person married under this Act may not contract marriage under
Indian Labour Act.
58. Fee of superintendent registrar for performance of marriage.
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SECTION
59. Case of marriage between minors after publication of banns.
PART VI REGISTRATION OF MARRIAGE
60. Supply of register books.
61. Keeping of register of marriages.
62. Duplicate register.
63. Right to search register books, and to have certified copies of entries
therein.
64. Fees payable for search and for certified copies of entries.
PART VIA MARRIAGES OF PERSONS BELONGING TO OTHER RELIGIONS
64A. Marriages of persons belonging to other religions.
PART VII CLINICAL MARRIAGES
65. As to marriage in articulo mortis.
PART VIII OFFENCES
66. Unduly solemnising marriage.
67. Making false declaration, etc.
68. Performance by superintendent registrar of a void marriage.
69. Liability of persons lodging an objection on frivolous grounds.
PART IX MISCELLANEOUS
70. Dispensing with proof of certain preliminary matters, after
solemnisation of marriage
71. Prohibiting proceedings to compel marriage.
72. Invalidation of certain marriages.
73. Securing of property where necessary consent to marriage not
obtained.
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SECTION
74. Fees.
75. Payment of fees into Treasury.
76. Power to make regulations.
77. Registration of certain marriages contracted before commencement
of Act.
FIRST SCHEDULE
SECOND SCHEDULE
__________________________ 1929 Ed.
c. 142
1953 Ed.
c. 164 _______________________________________________________
25 of 1901 An Act to consolidate and amend the Law relating to
Marriage.
[6TH NOVEMBER, 1901]
Short title.
Interpretation.
[13 of 1985]
1. This Act may be cited as the Marriage Act.
2. In this Act—
“Form” means Form in the First Schedule;
“marriage district” means a district declared by section 3 to be
a marriage district;
“marriage officer” means a marriage officer appointed under
this Act;
“registered building” means a building registered under this
Act as one wherein banns or notice of marriage may be
published;
“Registrar General” means the Registrar General of Births and
Deaths;
CHAPTER 45:01
MARRIAGE ACT

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Division of
Guyana into
marriage
districts.
c. 44:01

Appointment
of marriage
officers.
[35 of 1957
4 of 1972]
“superintendent registrar” means the district commissioner,
or any officer appointed to be superintendent registrar in
a registration district.
PART II MARRIAGE DISTRICTS AND OFFICERS, AND REGISTERED
BUILDINGS
Marriage Districts
3. (1) The several registration districts into which
Guyana is, from time to time, divided under the Registration
of Births and Deaths Act, shall be marriage districts for the
purposes of this Act.
(2) No alteration at any time made in the limits of
any of those registration districts shall affect any proceedings
which at the time of the alteration are being taken under this
Act to procure due solemnisation of any marriage, but those
proceedings may be continued and shall have the like effect
as if the alteration had not taken place.
MARRIAGE OFFICERS
4. (1) The Minister may appoint any fit and proper
person—
(a) being a minister of the Christian
religion, ordained, or otherwise set
apart, to the ministry of that religion,
according to the usage of the
communion to which he belongs; or
(b) being of the Hindu religion; or
(c) being of the Islamic religion, to be a
marriage officer for Guyana.
(2) Any marriage officer may act in that character
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Power to refuse
to act.
[35 of 1957
13 of 1985]



Applications
for
appointment as
a marriage
officer.
[35 of 1957]

Notification of
ceasing to act
as a minister of
religion.
throughout Guyana.
5. No marriage officer shall be required to act in that
character with respect to any marriage contrary to, or desired
to be solemnised in any manner other than is prescribed by,
the rules of the religious denomination to which he belongs.
Provided that if a marriage officer solemnises a marriage
in accordance with the Indian Labour Act, he shall, within
seven days thereof, give written notification of the fact to the
immigration agent for the district in which the parties to the
marriage reside.
6. (1) All applications for appointment as marriage
officers must be made in writing to the Registrar General,
who shall without delay transmit the application to the
Minister.
(2) Every minister of the Christian religion acting
in that character for a congregation, or having the local
superintendence of several congregations, who applies to be
appointed a marriage officer must state in his application the
name or other description of the place of public worship in
which he acts, or of the places of public worship of the
congregations over which he has local superintendence, and
the postal address at or to which all communications intended
for him may be delivered or sent.
(3) Every member of the Hindu or Islamic religion
who applies to be appointed a marriage officer shall state in
his application his postal address at or to which all
communications intended for him may be delivered or sent,
and the name of the Hindu or Islamic sect to which he
belongs.
7. Every marriage officer shall, if he ceases to act as a
minister of the Christian religion, or to profess the Hindu
religion or Islamic religion as the case may be, forthwith
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[35 of 1957]

Resignation.

Tenure of
office.

Temporary
absence from
Guyana.

Cancellation of
appointment.

Register of
marriage
officers.
Form A.

Sending in of
applications or
notifications.
notify the fact to the Registrar General.
8. Any marriage officer may resign his appointment as
that officer by notifying his resignation to the Registrar
General. The resignation shall be published in the Gazette and
shall take effect from the date of publication.
9. A marriage officer, when duly appointed, shall
retain his office until it is notified in the Gazette that he has
ceased to be a marriage officer.
10. A marriage officer intending temporary absence
from Guyana shall notify the Registrar General of his
intention, and shall make arrangements for the custody of the
marriage register books supplied to him satisfactory to the
Registrar General.

11. The Minister shall have full power, on good cause
shown, to cancel the appointment of any marriage officer.
12. (1) The Registrar General shall keep a register in
accordance with Form A of all marriage officers appointed
under this Act.
(2) Whenever a marriage officer changes his postal
address as last recorded on the list of marriage officers at the
Registrar General’s office, or takes the active charge or
superintendence of any place or places of worship of which
his charge or superintendence is not recorded at that office, he
shall forthwith report in writing to the Registrar General the
change of residence, postal address, or ministerial charge, and
in default thereof his appointment as marriage officer may be
cancelled.
13. Every application, notice, or other notification
required by or under this Part to be sent to the Registrar
General, if the minister concerned is a member of any
denomination having a recognised Head in Guyana, shall be
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Publication of
appointments
and changes.

Superintendent
registrar of
marriages.

Appointment
of deputy.
[28 of 1960]

Office.

Supply of
marriage notice
books and
forms of
certificates.
sent through that Head.
14. All appointments under this Part, and all changes
of residence, postal address, or ministerial charge, of marriage
officers, shall be published in the Gazette.
SUPERINTENDENT REGISTRAR
15. The Minister may designate any district
commissioner or other officer to be superintendent registrar
of marriages in a marriage district.
16. (1) The Minister may appoint a fit person as the
deputy of any superintendent registrar of marriages, for the
purpose of performing the functions of a superintendent
registrar in the event of illness or absence of the
superintendent registrar.
(2) The deputy while performing the functions of
the superintendent registrar, shall have all the powers and
duties and be subject to all the penalties herein specified
concerning superintendent registrars, and, in the event of the
death of the superintendent registrar he shall perform those
functions until another superintendent registrar is appointed.
17. The superintendent registrar’s office shall be
taken, for the purposes of this Act, to be within the district of
which it is the register office, although not locally therein.
18. (1) The Registrar General shall furnish to every
superintendent registrar a marriage notice book and a
sufficient number of forms of certificates, which shall be
accounted for by the superintendent registrar to the Registrar
General.
(2) The cost of providing marriage notice books
and forms of certificates shall be defrayed in like manner as
the cost of providing register books of births and deaths.
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Limitation of
powers.

Minister may
declare any
building a
superintendent
registrar’s
office.

Registration of
buildings in use
at the
commence-
ment of this
Act.
19. A superintendent registrar shall not perform any
function or act in respect of marriages elsewhere than in his
office, or otherwise than in accordance with the express
provisions of this Act.
20. The Minister may at any time declare any building
a superintendent registrar’s office under this Act, and, on
notice thereof being published in the Gazette, that place shall
be a superintendent registrar’s office for all the purposes of
this Act, and there may be more than one office in any
superintendent registrar’s district.
REGISTERED BUILDINGS
21. (1) The Head of every denomination of the
Christian religion in Guyana, within one month after the
commencement of this Act, shall make out and send to the
Registrar General a list of all buildings exclusively used as
places of public Christian worship belonging to the
denomination of which he is Head wherein banns of marriage
have been usually published, and the Registrar General shall
register the buildings in a book to be kept for that purpose at
his office and make out, and cause to be published in the
Gazette, a list of all of them, and shall state in the list the
marriage district within which each building so registered is
situate and shall add also the name and place of abode of the
superintendent registrar of each district, and a copy of the list,
or of the Gazette containing it, shall be sent to every
superintendent registrar and marriage officer.
(2) Where it is desired to register a building
belonging to a denomination which has no Head in Guyana,
and which has been exclusively used as a place of Christian
worship belonging to that denomination, and wherein banns
of marriage have been usually published, the person in
charge of the building shall do, in respect of it, what by the
preceding subsection is required to be done by the Head of a
denomination, and the Registrar General shall deal with the
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Registration of
buildings at
any time set
apart for
religious
worship.
[5 of 1982
13 of 1985
18 of 1985
6 of 1997]
What a
separate
building is.
building in the manner provided by that subsection.

22. (1) Any proprietor, or trustee, or any other person
who has the sole control of a separate building used as a place
of Christian worship, may apply to the Registrar General in
order that the building may be registered for the publication
of banns, and in that case shall deliver or send to the Registrar
General a certificate signed by not less than five householders
resident within the marriage district, that the building has
been and is intended to be used as a usual place of public
religious worship, and that they desire the place to be
registered as aforesaid, which certificate shall be
countersigned by the proprietor, or trustee, or other persons,
making the application.
(2) On receipt of the certificate, the Registrar
General shall register the building in the book in which
buildings used for the publication of banns are registered and
endorse on the certificate the date of the registration, and
shall keep the certificate with the other records of his office,
and shall give a certificate of the registration under his hand
on stout paper to the person by whom the certificate is
countersigned, and give public notice of the registration of the
building by advertisement in the Gazette.
(3) For the entry, certificate, and publication, the
Registrar General shall receive, at the time of the delivery to
him of the application for registration the sum of sixty dollars.

(4) The foregoing provisions of this section shall
apply in relation to any other religion subject to any reference
to publication of banns being construed as a reference to
publication of notice of marriage.
23. Any building which has been, and is intended to
be, used exclusively for public religious worship shall be
taken to be a separate building for the purpose of being
registered under the last preceding section, notwithstanding
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Use of building
as school.
[13 of 1985]
Cancellation of
registry if
building
disused.
[13 of 1985
6 of 1997]
that it is under the same roof with any other building or forms
a part only of a building.
24. The use of any building for the purposes of a
school or the holding of any entertainment therein for any
object in connection therewith while religious worship is not
going on therein, shall not prevent that building being
registered for the publication of banns or notice of marriage;
and the Registrar General, if satisfied that the necessities of
any marriage district so require and not otherwise, may, on
application as above provided, register for the publication of
banns or notice of marriage a building in which the religious
worship of any denomination is usually carried on within that
district, notwithstanding that it is used for other purposes
while religious worship is not going on therein.
25. (1) If, at any time subsequent to the registration of
a building, it is made to appear to the satisfaction of the
Registrar General that the building has been disused for the
public religious worship of the congregation on whose behalf
it was registered as aforesaid, the Registrar General shall
cause the registration thereof to be cancelled:
Provided that if it is proved to his satisfaction that the
same congregation use instead thereof some other building
for the purpose of public religious worship, he may substitute
and register the new place of worship instead of the disused
building.
(2) Every application for cancelling the registration
of a disused building, or for the substitution and registration
of a substituted building, shall be made to the Registrar
General, and the cancellation or substitution when made and
the date thereof shall be entered in the book provided for the
registration of those buildings, and shall be certified and
published in manner hereinbefore provided in the case of the
original registration of the disused building.

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Rebuilding or
repair of
registered
building.
[13 of 1985]

Notice to be
placed in
registered
building.
[13 of 1985]

Consent
required for
use of
(3) For every substitution the Registrar General
shall receive at the time of the delivery of the certificate from
the party requiring the substitution the sum of seven dollars
and fifty cents.

(4) After the cancellation or substitution has been
made by the Registrar General, banns or notice of marriage
may not lawfully be published in the disused building unless
it is again registered in the manner hereinbefore provided.
26. Whenever a registered building is being
reconstructed or repaired, the Registrar General, on
application in writing made to him for that purpose, may
order and direct that banns or notice of marriage may be
published in any church or other building in the same
marriage district which he by order in writing directs until
the registered building is again opened for the performance of
divine service, and during the whole of that period that
church or building, for all purposes relating to the publication
of banns or notice of marriage, shall be deemed and taken to
be the registered building under reconstruction or repair.
27. In some conspicuous place at the main entrance, or
one of the main entrances, of every registered building, a
notice shall be placed in these words:
(a) “Banns may be published in this
building.”, where the building is used
exclusively as a place of Christian
worship; or
(b) “Notice of marriage may be published
in this building”, where the building
is used exclusively as a place of
Hindu or Islamic worship.
28. No banns or notice of marriage shall be published
in any registered building without the consent of the minister
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registered
building.
[13 of 1985]
Prohibited
degrees.
or other person having the charge and control thereof, or of
the Head of the denomination to which the minister belongs,
where he is by law empowered to give that consent.
PART III RESTRICTIONS ON MARRIAGE
Persons who may not intermarry
29. Intermarriage between those hereinafter
mentioned is hereby prohibited, namely—
(a) in the case of those related by blood,
between
(i) ascendants and descendants,
namely, parents and children,
upward and downward in
infinitum;
(ii) brothers and sisters, or step-
brothers and step-sisters;
(iii) uncles and their nieces, that is,
their brother’s or sister’s
children or grandchildren and
descendants, or aunts and their
nephews, that is, their brother’s
or sister’s sons or grandsons or
their descendants, in both
classes of cases in infinitum;
(b) in the case of those related by affinity,
between
(i) a husband and any kinswoman
or kindred of his deceased wife,
or the wife and any kinsman or
kindred of her deceased
husband, related to the
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Marriages
within the
husband or wife in the
hereinbefore stated degrees,
namely: between any person
and his daughter-in-law, that is,
his son’s widow or his son’s or
daughter’s son’s widow, and so
downward, any widow of any
of his descendants, or any wife
and her son-in-law, that is, the
husband of her deceased
daughter, or the husband of her
son’s or daughter’s daughter,
and so downward, the husband
of any of her descendants;
(ii) a man and his step-daughter,
that is, the daughter of a former
marriage of his wife, or any of
his said wife’s descendants, or a
woman and her step-son, that
is, the son of a former marriage
of her deceased husband, or
any of her said husband’s
descendants;
(c) between any persons who by the
common law of Guyana are forbidden
to intermarry:
Provided that—
(i) any man may hereafter marry
the sister of his deceased wife;
and
(ii) any woman may hereafter
marry her deceased husband’s
brother.
30. All marriages celebrated between persons
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prohibited
degrees void.

Restriction of
power in cases
of minority of
parties.
[4 of 1972
O. 4/1974]
Second
Schedule.

Avoidance of
marriages
where either
party is under
the specified
age.
[35 of 1957
4 of 1972
O. 4/1974
13 of 1985
19 of 1990]

forbidden to intermarry shall be absolutely null and void to
all intents and purposes whatsoever.
31. (1) Where either of the parties, not being a
widower or widow, or a divorced person, is under the age of
eighteen years, no marriage shall take place between them
until the consent of the appropriate person or persons
specified in the Second Schedule has been first obtained.
(2) Persons who have reached the age of eighteen
years, and widowers and widows, may marry without the
consent of others.
32. (1) Notwithstanding section 31 and subject to
subsection (2) a marriage shall be void if the parties or either
of them is under the age of sixteen.
(2) If a female under the age of sixteen years
becomes pregnant or is delivered of a child, she may apply by
petition to a Judge of the High Court, for permission to be
married under that age to a person not being a person under
the age of sixteen years or, if under that age, he admits to
being the putative father of the child whether yet delivered or
not, or is adjudged by a court of competent jurisdiction to be
the father of the child; and the Judge of the High Court, if
satisfied that the petitioner is pregnant or has been delivered
of a child he shall, subject to sections 29 and 33, judicially
declare, by order in writing, that the marriage may be
solemnised forthwith; and every marriage duly solemnised in
pursuance or under the authority or direction of that Order
shall be good, valid and effectual to all intents and purposes
whatsoever as if both parties thereto had reached the age of
eighteen years.
(3) Nothing in subsection (1) shall affect any
marriage contracted before the commencement of this section
and any such marriage shall be or become valid in any case
where, if subsection (1) had not been enacted, it would be or
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Case of parent
or guardian of
party to be
married being
unable to
consent or
improperly
refusing
consent to
marriage.
[4 of 1972]

Authority for
solemnisation.
[35 of 1957
13 of 1985]
become valid.
33. If a person whose consent is necessary to a
marriage is non compos mentis or absent from Guyana, or
otherwise incapable as aforesaid of consenting, or withholds
his, her, or their consent to any marriage, or if there is no one
capable of consenting, anyone wishing to marry to whose
marriage that consent is necessary but cannot be given, or is
withheld, may apply by petition to a Judge of the High Court,
who is hereby empowered to proceed upon the petition in a
summary way, and if the marriage proposed, upon
examination, appears to him to be proper he shall judicially
declare, by his order in writing, that the marriage is proper
and may be solemnised forthwith; and every marriage duly
solemnised in pursuance or under the authority or direction
of that order shall be as good, valid, and effectual, to all
intents and purposes whatsoever, as if the consent aforesaid
had been duly given thereto.
PART IV PRELIMINARIES TO MARRIAGE
34. (1) Except in the cases mentioned in Part VII, no
marriage shall be solemnised or celebrated unless there is
produced to the marriage officer, or superintendent registrar,
solemnising or celebrating it, a certificate or certificates, as the
case may be, of the due publication of the banns or notice of
marriage within the preceding three months, or a licence of
the Minister which is still in force, or a superintendent
registrar’s certificate or superintendent registrar’s certificates
which is or are still in force:
Provided that where a marriage is solemnised by a
marriage officer officiating in the registered building in which
banns or notice of that marriage has been within the aforesaid
period duly published, or is celebrated at a superintendent
registrar’s office where any notice relating to that marriage,
and still in force, has been duly given, it shall not be necessary
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Publication of
banns.
to issue a certificate of the publication in that registered place
or of the notice given in that office.
(2) [Deleted by Act No. 13 of 1985].
BANNS OR NOTICE OF MARRIAGE
35. (1) Any minister of the Christian religion, ordained
or otherwise set apart to the ministry thereof, according to the
usage of the communion to which he belongs, if appointed as
a marriage officer (but not otherwise), may himself, or by
someone officiating under his control, publish banns of
marriage between persons wishing to be joined together in
holy matrimony.
(2) The publication shall be made in an audible
manner some time during public divine service on a Sunday,
in the face of the congregation before whom, and in the
registered building in which the minister officiates and in the
marriage district in which dwell both of the parties to be
married, and shall contain the Christian and other name and
surname and place of abode of each of the parties, and shall
be published on three Sundays within a period not exceeding
three months preceding the solemnisation of the marriage.
(3) If the parties to be married dwell in different
marriage districts the banns shall be published in like manner
in each marriage district.
(4) If one or both of the parties dwell in any place
not within any marriage district then, if there be a registered
building in use in that place, the banns of the party or parties
dwelling there shall, subject to section 28, be published there
in manner aforesaid; and if there be no registered building in
that place, then the banns of those of the parties to be married
who dwell there shall be published in manner aforesaid in
some marriage district next adjoining thereto.

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Publication of
notice of
marriage.
[13 of 1985]

Notification to
be made to
marriage officer
before
35A. (1) Any person being of the Hindu or Islamic
religion if appointed as a marriage officer may himself, or by
someone officiating under his control, publish notice of
marriage between persons wishing to be joined together in
holy matrimony.
(2) The publication shall be made in an audible
manner some time during religious service on any day of the
week, in the face of the congregation before whom and in the
registered building in which the marriage officer officiates
and in the marriage district in which dwell both of the parties
to be married, and shall contain the forename and surname
and place of abode of each of the parties, and shall be
published on three separate occasions within a period not
exceeding three months preceding the solemnisation of the
marriage, each publication being separated from the other by
a period of not less than seven days:
Provided that for a period of sixty days after the
commencement of this section notice of marriage may be
published in any building used for worship where the
marriage officer officiates notwithstanding that the building is
not registered under this Act.
(3) The provisions of section 35(3) and (4) shall, as
they apply in relation to the publication of banns of Christian
marriage, apply mutatis mutandis in relation to the publication
of notice of Hindu or Islamic marriage.
(4) Where notice of marriage has been published in
accordance with the foregoing provisions, the marriage may
be solemnised either in the building where the publication
was made or at the place of marriage stated in the notice
referred to in section 36.
36. No marriage officer shall be obliged to publish
banns or notice of marriage between any persons
whomsoever, unless the persons to be married, two days at
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publication of
banns or notice
of marriage by
parties
intending to
marry.
Publication
when void.
[13 of 1985]
Certificate of
publication of
banns or notice
the least before the time required for the first publication of
the banns or notice of marriage respectively, deliver or cause
to be delivered, to the marriage officer, a notice of their true
forenames and surnames, their respective rank, profession, or
occupation, and a description of their place or respective
places of abode in the marriage district or place aforesaid, and
of the time during which they have dwelt there, and state
whether they, or one, and if one only which of them, have or
has been married before, and the notice shall further contain a
statement signed by both parties to the effect that they know
of no lawful impediment to their marriage with each other. In
addition, in the case of a marriage which is proposed to be
solemnised in accordance with Hindu or Islamic rites, the said
statement shall specify the place where the parties propose to
have their marriage solemnised.
37. (1) Whenever anyone, whose consent to a marriage
is by this Act required, forbids the marriage and gives notice
thereof before it is solemnized to the minister or marriage
officer publishing the banns or notice of marriage therefor,
the publication of those banns or notice of marriage shall be
void unless the person so objecting afterwards withdraws his
objection, and then the publication shall hold good.
(2) Whenever three calendar months from the last
publication of banns or notice of marriage have elapsed
without the marriage to which those banns or notice of
marriage relate having been solemnised, the publication of
the banns or notice of marriage shall be void.
(3) In either of the cases aforesaid, before the
parties can be married by banns or notice of marriage, the
banns or notice of marriage must be published anew in
manner and form aforesaid, as if no banns or notice of
marriage had ever been published between them.
38. (1) The officiating minister or marriage officer at
any registered building where banns or notice of marriage
LAWS OF GUYANA
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of marriage.
[13 of 1985
6 of 1997]


Supply of
books for the
registration of
banns or notice
of marriage.
[13 of 1985]
Power of the
Minister to
grant marriage
licences.
[4 of 1972
13 of 1985]
Restriction of
power in cases
of minority of
parties.
[4 of 1972
O. 4/1974]
Second
Schedule.
Rights of
parties
obtaining
have been duly published as aforesaid, shall, unless that
publication is void, on the request of both or either of the
parties whose banns or notice of marriage have been so
published, give to the party requiring it a certificate of the
banns or notice of marriage having been duly published in
that building.

(2) For the certificate the officiating minister or
marriage officer shall be entitled to demand and receive a fee
of sixty-five dollars.
39. The Registrar General shall provide, for use at
every building wherein banns or notice of marriage may be
published under this Act, a proper register book of banns or
notice of marriage of substantial paper, ruled and having the
several pages numbered progressively; and the banns or
notice of marriage shall be published from that book and not
from loose papers and, after publication, shall be signed by
the officiating minister or marriage officer or by some person
under his direction.
MARRIAGE LICENCES
40. The Minister, subject to the restrictions hereinafter
mentioned, may, if he thinks fit in any case, grant a licence to
marry without publication of banns or notice of marriage.
41. Where either of the parties, not being a widower
or widow or a divorced person, is under the age of eighteen
years, the licence shall not be granted until the consent of the
appropriate person or persons specified in the Second
Schedule has been first obtained.
42. The parties intending marriage or either of them
may require that the licence shall authorise the solemnisation
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licence.
[13 of 1985]

Applications
for licences.
[O. 4/1974]
of the marriage, in respect of which application for the licence
is made, by any marriage officer by whom that marriage
could have been solemnised if banns or notice of marriage
thereof had been published as aforesaid.
43. (1) Those intending marriage who desire to obtain
the licence shall apply to the Minister therefor by petition
lodged at the office of the Minister at least two days before it
is required.
(2) The petition shall state—
(a) the forenames and surnames of the
parties, their respective rank,
profession or occupation;
(b) the place where, and the marriage
officer by whom, the marriage is to be
solemnised;
(c) whether the parties or either of them
have or has been previously married;
(d) that they know of no impediment of
kindred, or alliance, or other lawful
cause, to prevent the proposed
marriage;
(e) that one of the said parties, for the
space of fifteen days immediately
preceding the licence, has had his or
her usual place of abode within
Guyana;
(f) where either of the parties, not being
a widower or widow, is under the age
of eighteen years, that the consent of
the person or persons whose consent
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Form of licence.
Objections
against issue of
a licence.

Licence, when
void.

Notice of
marriage.
Form B.
[35 of 1957
O. 4/1974]
to the marriage is required under this
Act has been obtained.
(3) The petition shall be signed by both parties and
shall be accompanied by such evidence of the statements
therein made as the Minister may from time to time prescribe
in the case of those petitions.
44. A licence shall be in the form prescribed by the
Minister.
45. If any objection to the grant of any licence for a
marriage be lodged at the Minister’s office that objection
being duly signed by or on the behalf of the person who
lodges it, stating his place of residence and the ground of
objection, no licence shall issue until the Minister has
examined into the matter of the objection and is satisfied that
it ought not to obstruct the grant of the licence for the
marriage, or until the objection is withdrawn by the party
who lodges it.
46. Whenever three calendar months have elapsed
without the marriage to which a licence relates having been
solemnized, that licence shall be void, and before the parties
can be married by licence a fresh licence must be obtained as
if no licence had been previously granted.
SUPERINTENDENT REGISTRAR’S CERTIFICATE
47. (1) Those intending marriage who desire to obtain
a superintendent registrar’s certificate shall give notice under
their hands in Form B or to the like effect, to the
superintendent registrar of the district within which they
have dwelt for not less than seven days then next preceding,
or, if the parties dwell in different marriage districts, each
shall give the like notice to the superintendent registrar of the
district wherein he or she has dwelt for the period aforesaid.

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(2) The notice shall have at the foot thereof a
statutory declaration, made and signed by the parties or party
giving it, stating—
(a) that they, or he, or she (as the case
may be), know or knows of no
impediment of kindred, or alliance, or
other lawful hindrance, to the said
marriage; and
(b) that they, or he, or she (as the case
may be), for the space of seven days
immediately preceding the giving of
the notice, have or has had their, his,
or her usual place of abode and
residence within the district of the
superintendent registrar or registrars
to whom the notice or notices (as the
case may be) is or are so given; and
(c) when either of the parties intending
marriage, not being a widower or
widow, is under the age of eighteen
years, further stating that the consent
of the persons whose consent to that
marriage is by law required, or of a
Judge, has been given.
(3) The declaration may be made before and taken
by anyone by law authorised to administer an oath, or before
and by the superintendent registrar to whom the notice is
about to be given.
(4) The notice aforesaid shall not be received by
any superintendent registrar unless it is in the prescribed
form and accompanied by the declaration aforesaid together
with the birth certificates of the parties intending marriage or
other satisfactory evidence of the ages of such parties.
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Filing and
entry of notice.
[5 of 1982
6 of 1997]

Publication of
notice.

Certificate of
notice.
[5 of 1982
4 of 1985
6 of 1997]
Form C.

Objections to
issue of
certificate.

48. (1) The superintendent registrar to whom the
notice of marriage is given shall forthwith file it with the
records of his office, and also enter the particulars thereof in
the book to be called The Marriage Notice Book, and for each
entry shall be entitled to have a fee of fifty-five dollars.
(2) The marriage notice book may at any
reasonable time be inspected without fee by anyone.
49. The superintendent registrar receiving the notice
shall cause a true and exact copy thereof, with a statement
under his hand that any objections to the intended marriage
must be lodged with him within twenty-one days from the
date thereof, to be suspended or affixed in some conspicuous
place outside his office for the twenty-one days next after the
day of the entry of the notice in his marriage notice book.
50. (1) After the expiration of twenty-one days next
after the day of the entry of the notice in his marriage notice
book, the superintendent registrar shall issue under his hand,
upon the request of any party giving the notice, a certificate
in, or to the effect of, Form C, provided no lawful impediment
or valid objection to the marriage has been in the meantime
shown to exist.
(2) For the certificate the superintendent registrar
shall be entitled to demand and receive a fee of fifteen dollars.
51. (1) Anyone may enter an objection to the issue of a
superintendent registrar’s certificate on the ground of an legal
impediment to a marriage between the parties, or of consent
on the part of anyone whose consent is required to the
marriage not having been obtained.
(2) The objection shall be in writing, signed by or on
behalf of the person who enters it, shall state his name and
place of residence and the ground of his objection, and shall
be lodged with the superintendent registrar within twenty-
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Certificate,
when void.

Notice of
foreign
marriage.

Form of notice.
one days from the date of the notice set up outside his office
under section 49.
(3) When any objection is so lodged the
superintendent registrar shall transmit it to a Judge of the
High Court who shall decide upon it as expeditiously as the
circumstances of the case will allow, the objection so
transmitted being as far as practicable regarded and dealt
with as a petition.
(4) The superintendent registrar in that case shall
suspend the issue of his certificate until he receives a certified
copy of the Judge’s decision, and shall act in conformity
therewith.
(5) The costs of and attending the decision by a
Judge on any objection shall be in the Judge’s discretion.
52. Whenever three calendar months have elapsed
without the marriage to which a certificate relates having
been performed that certificate shall be void, and before the
parties can be married by a superintendent registrar’s
certificate a fresh notice must be given as if no proceedings
had previously been taken to obtain a certificate.
53. (1) A notice of a marriage intended to be
solemnised under the applied Act entitled the Foreign
Marriage Act, 1892, shall be given by one of the parties
intending the marriage who has had his or her usual abode in
some place in Guyana for one week preceding (or for any
other period prescribed by order in Council at any time
hereafter published under the applied Act aforesaid), to the
superintendent registrar of the marriage district in which that
place is.
(2) The notice shall be given in the like form, so far
as it is applicable, and shall be subject to the like requirements
as if that party were about to be married in that place.
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Publication of
notice.

Certificate of
publication of
notice.


False
declaration or
representation.
(3) The superintendent registrar shall deal with the
notice and shall publish it in like manner on payment of the
like fee as in the case of a marriage within his marriage
district.
(4) The superintendent registrar, unless he is aware
of any impediment or objection which should obstruct the
solemnisation of the marriage, shall give a certificate that the
notice has been so given and published as aforesaid, in the
like manner and in the like form, so far as the same is
applicable on payment of the like fee, as in the case of a
marriage in his marriage district.
(5) Anyone who—
(a) knowingly and wilfully makes a false
declaration, or signs a false notice
under this Act, for the purpose of
procuring a marriage under the
applied Act entitled the Foreign
Marriage Act, 1892; or
(b) forbids a marriage under that Act by
falsely representing himself to be a
person whose consent to the marriage
is required by law, knowing the
representations to be false, shall suffer
the penalties of perjury and may be
tried in any county in Guyana and
dealt with in the same manner in all
respects as if the offence had been
committed in that county.
54. [Repealed by Act No. 13 of 1985]

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30 Cap. 45:01 Marriage
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Provisions as to
solemnisation.
[35 of 1957
4 of 1972
13 of 1985]
Time.

By whom.
Ceremony.
PART V SOLEMNISATION OR PERFORMANCE OF MARRIAGE
55. Every marriage shall, except in the cases
mentioned in Part VII, be solemnised—
(a) between the hours of six in the
morning and nine in the evening, if
solemnised by anyone other than a
superintendent registrar, and between
the hours of eight in the morning and
four in the afternoon if performed at a
superintendent registrar’s office:
Provided that the provisions of this paragraph shall not
apply to marriages contracted by persons professing the
Hindu or Islamic religion;
(b) by some marriage officer, or by the
superintendent registrar of the
marriage district, if the marriage is
performed at his office, and in either
case in the presence of two or more
credible witnesses besides the
marriage officer or superintendent
registrar;
(c) (i) according to the form and
ceremony the parties see fit to
adopt:
Provided that in some part of the ceremony the consent
of each party to accept the other as his or her wife or husband
is clearly expressed in the presence of the marriage officer and
the witnesses;
(ii) if a marriage is performed in a
superintendent registrar’s
LAWS OF GUYANA
Marriage Cap. 45:01 31
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Addition of
religious
ceremony to
civil marriage.
[13 of 1985]
Person married
under this Act
may not
contract
marriage under
Indian Labour
Act.
c. 98:02
Fee of
superintendent
registrar for
performance of
marriage.
office, each of the parties shall
say to the other: “I call upon
these persons here present to
witness that I, A.B., do take
thee, C.D., to be my lawful
wedded wife (or husband)”:
Provided that in the marriage of persons professing the
Hindu or Islamic religion, it shall not be necessary for either
party to pronounce the name of either party.
56. If the parties to a marriage contracted at the
superintendent registrar’s office desire to add the religious
ceremony ordained or used by any Church or persuasion to
the marriage so contracted, they may present themselves for
that purpose to any minister or marriage officer of that
Church or persuasion, who, upon the production of their
certificate of marriage before the superintendent registrar,
may if he thinks fit perform the marriage service of the
Church or persuasion to which he belongs, but nothing in the
performance of that service shall supersede or invalidate a
marriage so previously contracted, nor shall the performance
of that service be entered as a marriage among the marriages
in any marriage register provided under this Act; and at no
marriage performed at the registrar’s office of any district
shall any religious service be used there.
57. No person who has contracted a marriage under
this Act shall, upon that marriage being dissolved for any
reason whatever, be permitted to contract a marriage under
the Indian Labour Act.
58. For every marriage performed in his office the
superintendent registrar shall be entitled to demand and
receive from the parties married a fee of seventy-five dollars.

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[5 of 1982
4 of 1985
6 of 1997]
Case of
marriage
between
minors after
publication of
banns.
[13 of 1985]

Supply of
register books.



Keeping of
register of
marriages.
[4 of 1972
13 of 1985]
59. No marriage officer who solemnises any marriage
after due publication of banns or notice of marriage as
aforesaid between persons, both or one of whom not being a
widow or widower, are or is at the time of the marriage under
legal age, shall be answerable or responsible, or liable to any
pain, penalty, or proceeding, for having solemnised the
marriage without the consent of the parents or guardians, or
other persons, if any, whose consent is required by law,
unless those parents or guardians, or other persons, or one of
them, forbid the marriage, and give notice thereof to the
marriage officer before he has solemnised the marriage.
PART VI REGISTRATION OF MARRIAGE
60. (1) A bound marriage register book and separate
sheets for a duplicate original register, all of substantial
paper, according to the forms provided for the registration of
marriages by this Act, shall, at the commencement of this Act
and thereafter whenever necessary, be supplied to each
marriage officer and superintendent registrar by the Registrar
General.
(2) The cost of providing the books and separate
sheets shall be defrayed in like manner as that of providing
register books of births and deaths.
61. Immediately after the solemnisation or
performance of every marriage, an entry thereof shall be
made in a marriage register book by the marriage officer or
superintendent registrar; and in every entry in every register
it shall be expressed that the marriage was had by banns or
notice of marriage, or by licence of the Minister, or
superintendent registrar’s certificate, and if both or either of
the parties married by licence or certificate be under age and
LAWS OF GUYANA
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Form D.

Duplicate
register.
[28 of 1950
18 of 1985
6 of 1997]
Form E.

Right to search
register books,
and to have
not a widow or widower, that it was had with the consent of
the parents or guardians, or other persons or person having
lawful authority to withhold consent to the marriage, or after
an order of a Judge of the High Court, and shall be signed by
the marriage officer or superintendent registrar, as the case
may be, with his proper addition, and by the parties married,
and shall be attested by the two witnesses; and every entry
shall be in or to the effect of Form D.
62. (1) Of every entry at the same time before the
parties depart shall then and there be made on a separate
piece of paper a duplicate original register in which the same
matter shall be entered and signed, and attested by the same
parties in or to the effect of Form E.
(2) All duplicate original registers made in any one
calendar month shall, within the first ten days of the calendar
month next following, be transmitted to the Registrar General
and shall be filed and safely preserved by him in his office,
and every marriage officer and superintendent registrar shall
be entitled to receive, out of any moneys provided by
Parliament for that purpose, the sum of fifteen dollars for
every marriage so entered and transmitted as aforesaid.
(3) Every original register, and also every copy
thereof certified, under the hand of the marriage officer, or
superintendent registrar, who for the time being has the
lawful custody of the original, to be a true copy, and every
duplicate original register, and also every copy thereof,
certified, under the hand of the Registrar General, or his
lawful deputy, to be a true copy, shall respectively be good
evidence of the facts therein recorded, in pursuance of this
Act in all courts and proceedings whatsoever in which it may
be necessary to give evidence of the marriage to which it
relates.
63. All persons at all reasonable times in the day
(except Sundays), may search the original register book, and
LAWS OF GUYANA
34 Cap. 45:01 Marriage
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certified copies
of entries
therein.

Fees payable
for search and
for certified
copies of
entries.
[5 of 1982
4 of 1985
18 of 1993
6 of 1997]

Marriages of
persons
belonging to
other religions.
[13 of 1985]
also the file of duplicate original registers, in the presence of
the person for the time being having the care of them
respectively, or his deputy, and may have a true copy of any
entry therein, certified under the hand of the marriage officer,
superintendent registrar, or officer for the time being
respectively having the custody of the original or duplicate
original register as aforesaid (as the case may be), which true
copy the marriage officer, or Registrar General, or his lawful
deputy, is hereby required to make, examine, and certify
under his hand to be a true copy, in the form of the duplicate
original register, except that the copy shall be headed
“Certified copy of original (or duplicate original) marriage
register”, (as the case may be), and shall be dated on the day,
month, and year when it is delivered.
64. The following fees shall be demandable and
payable before the performance of the duty to which they
respectively relate, that is to say—
for every general search not directed to
any particular entry

forty dollars
for every search for a particular entry
for every search for two or more
particular entries and not exceeding four
entries
twenty dollars
ten dollars for
each entry
for every such certified copy as
aforesaid
forty dollars
PART VIA MARRIAGES OF PERSONS BELONGING TO OTHER
RELIGIONS
64A. (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in
section 4, the Minister may appoint any fit and proper person
from among persons belonging to any religion other than the
Christian, Hindu or Islamic religion to be a marriage officer
for Guyana.

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As to marriage
in articulo
mortis.
[O. 4/1974
13 of 1985
6 of 1997]
(2) The provisions of this Act in so far as they
relate to marriage officers of the Hindu or Islamic religion and
marriages solemnised by them, shall apply mutatis mutandis
to, and in relation to, a marriage officer appointed under
subsection (1) and any marriage solemnised by him.
PART VII CLINICAL MARRIAGES
65. (1) A marriage officer may solemnise a marriage
without any licence, or certificate of notice, or banns or notice
of marriage, in the following special case, that is to say, where
the marriage is between two persons one of whom he
believes, from the certificate of a medical practitioner, if a
medical practitioner has been in attendance on that person,
and if no practitioner is actually in attendance on the person,
or it appears to the marriage officer impossible to obtain a
certificate in time, then from his own observation, to be in
articulo mortis, the person, before the solemnisation, declaring
that he or she believes that he or she is at the point of death.
(2) The marriage shall not be solemnised unless
both parties are able to signify their consent thereto in
presence of two witnesses.
(3) The marriage shall not be solemnised where
either of the parties is under eighteen years of age, not being a
widower or widow, without the verbal or written consent of
the person whose consent is by law required; if that person is
present the consent may be given orally, and the person shall
sign the register of the marriage in token assent thereto; if the
person is absent the consent shall be in writing, and shall be
attached to the duplicate register.
(4) A marriage so solemnised shall be specially
registered, and the certificate of the medical practitioner, or
the marriage officer who performed the ceremony, as the case
may be, that in his opinion the sick person is at the point of
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Form F.

Form G.
Unduly
solemnising
marriage.
[13 of 1985]


death, shall be attached to the duplicate register.

(5) The register and duplicate original register shall
contain the particulars and be in Form F; but shall in all other
respects be subject to the provisions of this Act relating to
marriage registers.
(6) No marriage solemnised under this section
shall be valid unless the foregoing conditions are observed.
(7) The certificate to be given by a medical
practitioner, or a marriage officer for the purposes of this
section, shall be in Form G. The fee payable to any
Government medical officer for the certificate shall be sixty-
five dollars, if a special visit is not required before it can be
given, and if a special visit is required, a fee of one hundred
and thirty dollars.
PART VIII OFFENCES
66. Anyone who knowingly and wilfully—
(a) solemnises marriage at any other time
than between the hours of six in the
morning and nine in the evening, save
in the case mentioned in Part VIII; or
(b) solemnises marriage save as aforesaid
without due publication of banns or
notice of marriage, or licence of
marriage from the Minister, or
certificate from a superintendent
registrar, first had and obtained; or
(c) falsely pretending to be a marriage
officer or superintendent registrar,
solemnises marriage; or
LAWS OF GUYANA
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Making false
declaration, etc.

Performance by
superintendent
registrar of a
void marriage.

Liability of
persons
lodging an
objection on
frivolous
grounds.
(d) solemnises any marriage save as
aforesaid more than three months
after the last publication of banns or
notice of marriage, or the issue of a
licence by the Minister, or the entry of
a notice of the marriage by a
superintendent registrar,
shall be guilty of a misdemeanour and liable to imprisonment
for two years:
Provided that all prosecutions therefor shall be
commenced within three years after the offence committed.
67. Anyone who knowingly and wilfully makes any
false declaration (statutory or other), or signs any petition,
notice, statement or certificate required by this Act, which is
in any material respect false, for the purpose of procuring any
marriage, shall be deemed guilty of wilful and corrupt
perjury and shall be liable to be prosecuted and punished
accordingly.
68. Any superintendent registrar who knowingly and
wilfully performs, or permits to be performed, in his office
any marriage in this Act declared to be null and void shall be
guilty of a misdemeanour and liable to imprisonment for two
years.
69. (1) Anyone who enters an objection with the
Minister or superintendent registrar against the grant of any
licence or issue of any certificate, on grounds which the
Minister or a judge declares to be frivolous as well as being
such as ought not to obstruct the grant of the licence, shall be
liable for the costs of the proceedings, and for damages which
may be recovered by plaint or action by the party against
whose marriage the objection has been lodged.
(2) For the purpose of enabling anyone to recover
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38 Cap. 45:01 Marriage
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Dispensing
with proof of
certain
preliminary
matters, after
solemnisation
of marriage.

Prohibiting
proceedings to
compel
marriage.
costs and damages in any action, as provided by this section,
from any person who has lodged an objection on frivolous
grounds, a copy of the declaration of the Minister, purporting
to be signed by him, or a copy of the judgment of the judge,
shall be evidence that the Minister or judge has declared the
objection to have been lodged on grounds that are frivolous
as well as being such as ought not to obstruct the grant of the
licence or issue of the certificate, as the case may be.
PART IX MISCELLANEOUS
70. After the solemnisation or performance of any
marriage under this Act, it shall not be necessary, in support
of the marriage, or in any action, suit, or proceeding where it
may come into question, to give any proof of the consent of
anyone whose consent thereunto is by law required, or, the
actual dwelling of the parties married, or of either of them,
before the marriage in any specified district, for any
prescribed period, or that the banns were published, or notice
of intended marriage given, in the place wherein, or by or to
the person by or to whom, the banns ought to have been
published, or the notice given, or that the marriage was
solemnized or performed in the place, and by a person, where
and by whom it ought to have been solemnised or performed:
Provided that nothing herein contained shall prevent any
evidence being given that the marriage is null and void under
any provision of this Act expressly declaring marriages to be
null and void, but the burden of proof shall in all those cases
lie on the party alleging the marriage to be null and void.

71. In no case whatsoever shall any suit or proceeding
be had, in any court, or before any jurisdiction whatsoever, to
compel the celebration of any marriage by reason of any
promise or marriage contract made, or by reason of seduction,
or of any cause whatsoever which arises after the
commencement of this Act, any law or usage to the contrary
LAWS OF GUYANA
Marriage Cap. 45:01 39
L.R.O. 1/2012
Invalidation of
certain
marriages.
[13 of 1985]

Securing of
property where
necessary
consent to
notwithstanding:
Provided that nothing herein contained shall prevent
anyone aggrieved from suing for or recovering damages in
any court, or by any proceeding wherein and whereby
damages may be lawfully recovered for breach of promise of
marriage, or for seduction, or other cause aforesaid.
72. If any persons, save in the cases mentioned in Part
VII, being married by a superintendent registrar—
(a) knowingly and wilfully intermarry in
any other place than a building
wherein marriages may lawfully be
solemnised; or
(b) knowingly and wilfully intermarry
without due publication of banns or
notice of marriage, or licence from the
Minister, or a certificate from a
superintendent registrar, first had and
obtained; or
(c) knowingly and wilfully consent to, or
acquiesce in, the solemnisation or
performance of their marriage by
anyone not being a marriage officer or
superintendent registrar,
the marriage of those persons shall be null and void to all
intents and purposes whatsoever.
73. (1) Where either of the parties to a marriage is
under eighteen years of age, not being a widower or a widow,
and is married under this Act without the consent of the
LAWS OF GUYANA
40 Cap. 45:01 Marriage
L.R.O. 1/2012
marriage not
obtained.
[O. 4/1974]

Fees.
[13 of 1985]

Payment of fees
into Treasury.
Power to make
regulations.
[13 of 1985]

person whose consent is by law required, no community of
property*1 between the parties for the benefit or to the
advantage of the party marrying the minor shall take place,
nor shall any property be acquired from the minor by the
other party to the marriage by last will, gift, transfer, or in any
other way whatsoever, nor shall any stipulation made by that
party by any ante-nuptial contract for any benefit from the
property of the minor be valid or of any effect.
(2) The parent or guardian of the minor whose
consent has not been given to that marriage may take
proceedings in the High Court by action for securing the
property; and the court shall have power in the action to
order and direct that all the property of the minor shall be
secured under the direction of the court for the benefit of the
minor or of the issue of the marriage, or of both, in such
manner as the court thinks fit, for the purpose of preventing
the offending party from deriving any interest, or pecuniary
benefit from the marriage.
74. Nothing in this Act shall affect the right of any
marriage officer to receive for any duty performed by him
under this Act the fees heretofore customarily paid to
marriage officers of the same denomination or religion for the
performance of that duty.
75. All fees received by a superintendent registrar
under this Act shall be paid to the Accountant General for the
public use.
76. The Minister may make regulations generally for
the purpose of giving effect to the provisions of this Act and
in particular, but without prejudice to the generality of the
foregoing, for the purpose of—
1 Since 1904, by the Married Person’s Property Act of that year, (c. 45:04), there has been no
community of goods between husband and wife in consequence of marriage in respect of either
movable or immovable property.
LAWS OF GUYANA
Marriage Cap. 45:01 41
L.R.O. 1/2012

Registration of
certain
marriages
contracted
before
commencement
of Act.
[35 of 1957]
c. 98:02
(a) providing for the publication of banns
or notice of marriage between
Amerindians, any banns or notice of
marriage published in accordance
with regulations so made being in all
respects valid:
Provided that nothing in this paragraph shall affect the
right of Amerindians to have their banns or notice of
marriage published in accordance with the general provisions
of this Act; and
(b) securing as far as practicable that,
subject to differences in religious
rituals or ceremony, all marriages in
Guyana shall be placed on the same
basis.
77. (1) Notwithstanding anything contained to the
contrary in this Act or in any other Act, the Registrar General
shall, during a period of twelve months from 20th July, 1957
(the date of commencement of the Marriage (Amendment)
Ordinance, 1957), upon an application being made to him by
persons who have been granted certificates of exemption
from the provisions of the Indian Labour Act, cause an entry
to be made in a marriage register book in accordance with this
Act of the particulars of a marriage contracted between
persons professing the Hindu or Islamic religion, and still
subsisting at the date of the application, and shall upon being
requested by any person, and subject to section 64 cause to be
issued a certified copy of the said entry in accordance with
section 63.
(2) (a) Where a marriage has been contracted
under the Indian Labour Act, and
where subsequent to the marriage
both parties have been granted
certificates of exemption from the said
LAWS OF GUYANA
42 Cap. 45:01 Marriage
L.R.O. 1/2012
Form H.

c. 98:02

[4 of 1972
O. 4/1974
13 of 1985]
s. 12
Act, either party to the marriage may
apply to the Registrar General in
Form H to enter particulars of the said
marriage in a marriage register book.
(b) Such application shall be
accompanied by a certificate of
registration issued under section 143
of the Indian Labour Act.
(c) Upon the receipt of such an
application, the Registrar General
shall cause an entry to be made in a
marriage register book in accordance
with sections 61 and 62, and shall
cause to be issued upon being
requested by any person and subject
to section 64 a certified copy of the
said entry in accordance with section
63.
___________________
FIRST SCHEDULE
FORMS
FORM A
N u
m b
er
Name
Denomi-
nation or
Religion
Date of
appointment
Postal Address Remarks
Originally
given
At present
time


LAWS OF GUYANA
Marriage Cap. 45:01 43
L.R.O. 1/2012
s. 47
(a) The names
and particulars
relating to the
man should be
first entered in
the several
columns, and
then the names
and particulars
of the woman
placed below.
(b) If both
parties are
under age, the
form must be
adapted so as
to meet the
case.
[O. 4/1974]
FORM B
Form of Notice of Marriage
To the Superintendent Registrar of the district of........................
in the county of.......................................................
I (or We) the undersigned, hereby give you notice that
a marriage is intended to be held within three calendar
months from the date hereof, between me and the other party
herein named and described (or us) that is to say—
Forename
and
surname
Condition,
i.e. widower,
bachelor,
widow or
spinster
Rank or
Profession Age
Dwelling
place
Length of
residence
Marriage
district and
county in
which the
parties
respectively
dwell
(a)

And..................hereby solemnly and sincerely declare that
............... know of no impediment of kindred or alliance or
other lawful hindrance to the said marriage, and
that...........the above-named, have for the space of seven days
immediately preceding the giving of this notice, had usual
place of abode and residence...............................within the
above-mentioned marriage district of........................................
And....................further solemnly and sincerely declare
that of the parties herein named and described (neither is a
minor under the age of eighteen years..............(or in lieu of the
part within the brackets)(b)......not being a widower (or widow)
is (or am) a minor under the age of eighteen years, and that
the consent of........................................whose consent to this
marriage is required by law has been duly given and obtained
thereto).
And..............make the foregoing declarations
LAWS OF GUYANA
44 Cap. 45:01 Marriage
L.R.O. 1/2012

s. 50
conscientiously believing the same to be true, pursuant to the
provisions of the Marriage Act, well knowing that every
person who knowingly or wilfully makes any false
declaration, or who signs any false notice for the purpose of
procuring any marriage under the provisions of the said Act,
shall suffer the penalties of perjury. In witness whereof
....................have hereunto set and subscribed......................
hand............... this...................day of........................20....
(Signed)....................................
Declared before me this..................day of.....................20.....
(Signed)....................................
FORM C
Form of Superintendent Registrar’s Certificate
I, Superintendent Registrar of the marriage district
of.............................. in the county of.............................do hereby
certify that on the.....................day of.............................20.......,
the following notice was duly entered in the marriage notice
book of the said district (here copy notice omitting the
declarations at foot thereof).
The issue of this certificate has not been objected to by
any person (or has been objected to but the objection has been
overruled).
This certificate will be void unless the marriage is
solemnized or performed within three calendar months after
the date of the entry of notice, namely, on or before
the.....................day of............................20......
(Signed)...........................................
Superintendent Registrar

LAWS OF GUYANA
Marriage Cap. 45:01 45
L.R.O. 1/2012























F
O R
M D

























s
. 61
O ri
gi n
al R
eg is
te r
2
0. ...
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A R
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o le
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p er
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t. ...
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n t
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m ar
ri ag
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ic t
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n t
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co u
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i n
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eg is
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id en
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es
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en M
ar ri
ed
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m b
er

LAWS OF GUYANA
46 Cap. 45:01 Marriage
L.R.O. 1/2012
























F O
R M
E

























s .
62
D u
pl ic
at e
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t. ...
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t h
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s






i n
t h
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am in
ed w
it h
t h
e o
ri g
in al
r eg
is te
r b
y m
e an
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ec t
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ar

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m ar
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p t.
R eg
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c er
ti fi
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id en
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t th
e
ti m
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ar ri
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k o
r
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n d
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es
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re n
am es
a n
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rn am
es
W h
en M
ar ri
ed
N u
m b
er

LAWS OF GUYANA
Marriage Cap. 45:01 47
L.R.O. 1/2012
























F O
R M
F

























s. 6
5( 5)
F or
m o
f M
ar ri
ag e
R eg
is te
r an
d of
D u
pl ic
at e
O ri
gi n
al M
ar ri
ag e
R eg
is te
r (M
ar ri
ag e
in a
rt ic
u lo
m or
ti s)
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h er
’s F
o re
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e
an d

S u
rn am
e



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it n
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h
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t h
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th at
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ie v
ed
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.












































M ar
ri ag
e d
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an d
re si
d en
ce a
t th
e ti
m e
o f
m ar
ri ag
e

A g
es

R an
k o
r
P ro
fe ss
io n

R an
k
o r
P ro
fe ss
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T h
is m
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ag e
w as



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C o
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it io
n

F o
re n
am es
a n
d
S u
rn am
es

W h
en M
ar ri
ed

N u
m b
er


LAWS OF GUYANA
48 Cap. 45:01 Marriage
L.R.O. 1/2012
s. 65(7)
s. 77(2)
c. 98:02
FORM G
I ..............................................................................................
............................... medical practitioner, having been in
attendance on .................................................. certify that in my
opinion the said ................................................. is in articulo
mortis.
FORM H
Application for Registration of Marriages contracted under the
Indian Labour Act Particulars of Marriage
Date and place of
marriage
Husband’s name,
status and age at the
date of marriage
Wife’s name, status
and age at the date
of marriage

I, ............................................ of .................................................
and I, ............................................ of ...............................................
do solemnly and sincerely declare as follows—
1. (a) The details of the marriage set out
above are true and such marriage was
in accordance with the Indian Labour
Act.
(b) Such marriage is still subsisting at the
date hereunder written.
2. We hereby apply to the Registrar General to enter
the particulars of the abovementioned marriage in a marriage
register in accordance with sections 61 and 62 of the
LAWS OF GUYANA
Marriage Cap. 45:01 49
L.R.O. 1/2012
c. 45:01
c. 98:02
Marriage Act.
3. A certificate of registration issued under section 143
of the Indian Labour Act is attached hereto.
Declared at ................................... this .....................................
Before me,
.................................................................
Registrar General
____________________
SECOND SCHEDULE
CONSENT REQUIRED TO THE MARRIAGE OF AN
INFANT BY LICENCE WITHOUT PUBLICATION OF
BANNS OR NOTICE OF MARRIAGE
I. Where the Infant is Legitimate
Circumstances. Person or Persons whose consent is required.
1. Where both parents
are living:
(a) if parents are
living together;
(b) if parents are
divorce or separated
by order of any court
or by agreement;
(c) if one parent has
been deserted by the
other;
Both parents.
The parent to whom the custody of the infant is
committed by order of the Court or by the
agreement, or if the custody of the infant is so
committed to one parent during part of the year
and to the other parent during the rest of the
year, both parents.
The parent who has been deserted.

LAWS OF GUYANA
50 Cap. 45:01 Marriage
L.R.O. 1/2012
(d) if both parents
have been deprived of
custody of infant by
order of any court.
The person to whose custody the infant is
committed by order of the court.
2. Where one parent is
dead:
(a) if there is no other
guardian;
(b) if a guardian has
been appointed by the
deceased parent.
The surviving parent.
The surviving parent and the guardian if acting
jointly, or the surviving parent of the guardian if
the parent or guardian of the infant is the sole
guardian of the infant.
3. Where both parents
are dead.
The testamentary guardian or guardians and if
there are none the guardian or guardians
appointed by the court.
II. Where the Infant is Illegitimate.
Circumstances. Person or Persons whose consent is required.
If the mother of the
infant is alive.
The mother or if she has by order of any court
been deprived of the custody of the infant, the
person to whom the custody of the infant has
been committed by order of the court.
If the mother of the
infant is dead.
The putative father, if the infant is living with
him or is maintained by him; otherwise, the
guardian appointed by the mother.
___________________

LAWS OF GUYANA
Marriage Cap. 45:01 51
L.R.O. 1/2012
SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION
_________________
Reg. 15/5/1917 AMERINDIAN MARRIAGE BANNS
REGULATIONS
made under section 3(1)
Citation.

Legal
publication of
banns.

Application for
registration of
building.
1. These Regulations may be cited as the Amerindian
Marriage Banns Regulations.
2. The publication of banns by any marriage officer on
two successive days shall be deemed to be due and legal
publication: Provided that—
(a) the publication in other respects be
performed in accordance with the
requirements of sections 35, 36, 37, 38
and 39 of the Act; and
(b) the marriage officer publishing the
banns issue a certificate in the form in
the Schedule and in duplicate, duly
filled in, and attach it, original and
duplicate, to the original and
duplicate original marriage registers,
respectively.
3. For the purpose of these Regulations only, any
marriage officer may apply to the Registrar General for the
registration of a building for the publication of banns of
marriage, if the application be approved by the Head of the
Denomination to which he belongs:

LAWS OF GUYANA
52 Cap. 45:01 Marriage
[Subsidiary] Amerindian Marriage Banns Regulations
L.R.O. 1/2012
Registration of
building.

Marriage
district.
Provided that—
(a) the name of the place, and adequate
description of the building and
locality;
(b) the name of the three nearest
Amerindian Settlements, with the
approximate distances thereto; and
(c) a certificate that the building has been
and is intended to be used for the
purpose of public religious worship,
either exclusively or otherwise, be
supplied to the Registrar General.
4. On receipt of an application as above, duly certified
and approved, the Registrar General shall register such
building in the manner prescribed in section 22(2), but no fee
shall be due and payable in respect of the registration.
5. A marriage district, for the purposes of these
Regulations only, shall be such area as is comprised within a
journey of seven days from the registered building, due
regard being paid to the modes of travel habitually used by
Amerindians.
___________________
(CHAPTER 45:01)
SCHEDULE
I, the undersigned Marriage Officer, do hereby certify,
that after due inquiry, I am satisfied that
(1) .......................................... of.........................................
and .............................................. of...................................................
LAWS OF GUYANA
Marriage Cap. 45:01 53
[Subsidiary] Amerindian Marriage Banns Regulations
L.R.O. 1/2012
...................................................... the parties to the marriage
recorded in the attached Marriage Register, are Amerindians
of Guyana;
(2) They are both of full age to undertake the
responsibilities of marriage; and
(3) To the best of my knowledge and belief, there is no
impediment to the marriage.
This.....................day of...............................20.....
(Signed)...................................……….
Marriage Officer
____________________