Civil partnership in Scotland

Civil partnerships have been recognised for same-sex couples in Scotland since 2005 following the enactment of the Civil Partnership Act 2004. The Act gives same-sex couples most (but not all) of the rights and responsibilities of civil marriage.

On 4 February 2014, Scotland became the 17th country to permit marriage between same-sex individuals. Since the Scottish Government had announced a consultation on legalising same-sex marriage in September 2011, the Government's initial view was stated to be in favour of legalisation of both civil and religious same-sex marriage, but allowing religious bodies to opt out of performing same-sex marriages if they so wished. As passed in 2014, the law establishing marriage equality in Scotland did not require religious institutions to hold ceremonies on their premises.