Don’t officiate marriages if you are not gazetted – Registrar-General’s Department to clergy

The clergy has been instructed to formally register themselves and their places of worship through a process known as “gazetting” before they are allowed to officiate ordinance marriages.

The Head of Marriages and Chief State Attorney at the Registrar-General’s Department, Oladele Kwaku Aribike, has clarified that according to the Marriages Act 1884-1985 (CAP. 127), churches must undergo gazetting to be eligible for hosting ordinance marriages. Similarly, ministers must also go through the gazetting process to be authorized to officiate marriages.

In an interview with the Ghana News Agency, he clarified that this legal requirement specifically pertains to ordinance marriages.

When a church is gazetted, it signifies that the church is officially sanctioned to conduct marriage ceremonies. Likewise, when a minister is gazetted, it indicates that the minister is licensed by the State to officiate marriages.

Aribike underscored that if an ordinance marriage is conducted by a minister who is not gazetted, or if it occurs in a church that has not undergone the gazetting process, the State does not recognize the marriage, rendering it null and void.

“You can officiate the marriage in a big auditorium, but once that auditorium has not been licenced, the marriage is not recognised under the Law,” he said.

He emphasized that it is considered a criminal offense, more precisely a misdemeanor, for a minister to officiate an ordinance marriage without undergoing the gazetting process.

In the past, individuals committing such an offense could face imprisonment for a period of up to three years, as noted by Aribike. However, he pointed out that the prison sentence has since been replaced, and the violation now results in a monetary fine.

David Nartey Addetah, a Marriage Registrar at the Registrar-General’s Department, offered advice to prospective spouses. He urged them to ensure that the church they intend to use for their marriage ceremony has undergone the gazetting process, and likewise, the minister officiating their marriage should also be gazetted.