Czech Government Approves Extension of Registered Partnership to All Registry Offices

Couples who want to enter into a registered partnership could do so at any registry office in the future. This is provided for by an amendment to the Registry Act, which the government supported on Wednesday.

Interior Minister Vít Rakušan (STAN) announced this on Twitter. Currently, partnerships can be concluded at 14 selected registry offices. The regulation also provides for the electronification of registries through a single information system, which should start operating in 2027.

“Newly, it will be possible to conclude a registered partnership before any registry office in the Czech Republic,” said Interior Minister Rakušan after the cabinet meeting.

The registered partnership has been possible in the Czech Republic since 2006. Partners can obtain information about the health status of their partner and can also inherit from them as in marriage. However, they do not have common property or entitlement to a widow’s or widower’s pension. Their child also does not have the right to an orphan’s pension. Adoption is also prohibited by law for a registered couple.

E-registry from 2027 The proposal should also introduce the electronification of registries, which Rakušan called another step in the digitization of state administration. “The e-registry itself should enter into operation in January 2027,” Rakušan outlined.

On paper, registry books will remain preserved but will also be in the centralized information system. “The application for a registry document will thus be possible to process at any registry office or representative office,” added the minister.

The amendment to the law also includes other news, including the determination of paternity by a so-called tripartite agreement, i.e., the consenting statement of the mother, her husband who is not the father, and the father of the child. Registering household or diminutive names in the registry book should also be possible.