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Births and Deaths Registration Act 1874
Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Births and Deaths Registration Act 1874 (37 & 38 Vict. c. 88) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that consolidated enactments relating to the registration of births and deaths in England and Wales and at sea.
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| Act of Parliament | |
| |
| Long title | An Act to amend the Law relating to the Registration of Births and Deaths in England, and to consolidate the Law respecting the Registration of Births and Deaths at Sea. |
|---|---|
| Citation | 37 & 38 Vict. c. 88 |
| Territorial extent | England and Wales[b] |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 7 August 1874 |
| Commencement | 1 January 1875[c] |
| Other legislation | |
| Amends | See § Repealed enactments |
| Amended by |
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Status: Amended | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
| Revised text of statute as amended | |
| Text of the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1874 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk. | |
The act closed loopholes within the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1836 (6 & 7 Will. 4. c. 86) and provided that it was the responsibility of parents to register births.[1]
As of 2026[update] parts of the act remains in force in England and Wales, although the majority of the act was repealed by the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1953 (1 & 2 Eliz. 2. c. 20) and the Registration Service Act 1953 (1 & 2 Eliz. 2. c. 23).
Provisions
Repealed enactments
Section 54 of the act repealed 7 enactments, listed in the fifth schedule to the act.[2]
| Citation | Short title | Description | Extent of repeal |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 & 7 Will. 4. c. 86 | Births and Deaths Registration Act 1836 | An Act for registering births, deaths, and marriages in England. | Sections one, four, twelve, and sixteen, section eighteen from “as herein-” after provided at a reasonable price “to the end of the section, sections nineteen to twenty-eight, section thirty-six, section thirty-nine from ” ac-“cording to the pro-” visions of" to the end of the section, so much of sections forty - one, forty-two, and forty-four as relates to registrars or registers of births and deaths, sections forty-five and fifty, and schedules (E.), (P.), and (G) |
| 7 Will. 4. & 1 Vict. c. 22 | Births and Deaths Registration Act 1837 | An Act to explain and amend two Acts passed in the last session of Parliament, for-marriages, and for registering births, deaths, and marriages in England. | Sections two, four, six, thirteen, sixteen, twenty-one, twenty-five, and thirty-one. |
| 17 & 18 Vict. c. 80 | Registration of Births, Deaths, and Marriages (Scotland) Act 1854 | An Act to provide for the better registration of births, deaths, and marriages in Scotland. | Sections thirty and forty-three. |
| 17 & 18 Vict. c. 104 | Merchant Shipping Act 1854 | The Merchant Shipping Act, 1854. | Sections two hundred and seventy-three and two hundred and eighty-two, so far as they relate to the entry of any birth or death. |
| 18 & 19 Vict. c. 119. | Passengers Act 1855 | Passengers Act, 1855 | Section sixteen from “and ” the said master shall “note in writing ” down to “An Act for registering ”births, deaths, and marriages in England,“and section one hundred from ” such emigration or customs officer " to the end of the section. |
| 21 & 22 Vict. c. 25. | Births and Deaths Registration Act 1858 | An Act to amend the Act concerning non-parochial registers, and the Acts for marriages, and for registering births, deaths, and marriages in England, and concerning vaccination. | The whole Act, except sections one to four. |
| 26 & 27 Vict. c 11 | Registration of Births and Deaths (Ireland) Act 1863 | An Act for the registration of births and deaths in Ireland. | Sections thirty-nine and forty. |
Subsequent developments
Sections 21, 24-27 and 31-33 of the act were repealed by section 23(2) of, and schedule 2 to, Registration Service Act 1953 (1 & 2 Eliz. 2. c. 37), which came into force on 1 October 1953.[3]