Registered celebrant status (the ‘permanent’ register)

Some ministers hold registered celebrant status, granted for a renewable three-year period. Ministers with registered status no longer need to apply to NRS for each ceremony, which cuts down on administration and gives more flexibility if a colleague is unwell or otherwise unable to hold a ceremony they are committed to.

Box: NRS will only consider nominations for registered status from ministers who have previously been authorised on a number of occasions over the course of at least two years as a celebrant on a temporary basis. OneSpirit’s own position is that registered status is appropriate where a minister’s practice has settled into a regular pattern, typically an average of ten or more legal ceremonies a year, sustained over at least two years under temporary authorisation. A chaplaincy or similar role in which authorisation is needed at short notice may also justify registered status at a lower volume.

Registered status is reserved for the small number of ministers whose practice genuinely calls for it; it is not a goal towards which ministers ordinarily progress. For most OneSpirit ministers, temporary authorisation is the right route, both for a first ceremony and for ongoing practice. Registered status is open only to ministers resident in Scotland.

Individual ministers should not approach NRS directly to request registered status. If you think your practice has reached the point where registered status is appropriate, talk to the nominators.

Where OneSpirit nominates a minister for registered status, the nominators submit the nomination across all four categories as one, so a minister with registered status is authorised for mixed-sex marriage, same-sex marriage, mixed-sex civil partnership and same-sex civil partnership for the duration of the three-year registration. Re-nomination every three years is a fresh assessment, not a formality.

Ministers with registered status carry wider responsibilities to OneSpirit’s work in Scotland: making themselves available, where reasonably possible, as emergency cover for ceremonies at risk; supporting newer ministers, particularly by being shadowed; and holding a particular responsibility for current legal knowledge. A minister who steps down from registered status loses standing authorisation across all four categories, and would need to apply afresh for temporary authorisation for any later ceremony. Registered status is looked at each March as part of the annual review of all ministers on the registers (see Requirements for authorisation).