| 15 Sep 1961 |
The Registry of Marriages (ROM) was set up to administer the provisions of the Women’s Charter (Cap 353) for the registration and solemnization of civil marriages. Under the Charter, polygamy for non-Muslims was abolished.
Every marriage was registered in the certificate of marriage and entered in the State Marriage Register.
ROM was then housed in Fort Canning (now an empty plot of land facing Park Mall) from 1961 to 1983.
|
| 2 Jun 1967 |
Customary marriages entered into before 2nd June 1967 were recognised as valid
marriages. From 2nd June 1967, marriages solemnized in Singapore are only recognised as valid marriages if they are in accordance with
the Women’s Charter (Cap 353).
|
| 1 Dec 1982 |
New marriage certificates were introduced to replace the age-old marriage
certificates and standardized in size (from A3 to A4) to make it convenient for the newlyweds to store the certificates.
|
| 1 Jun 1983 |
Marriage records dated as far back as 1875. ROM
(together with the Registry of Muslim Marriages) scored a first for being the first department in the then Ministry of Social Affairs
to introduce computerization. The MRS (Marriage Records System) enabled faster transactions and storage of State Marriage Registers
electronically.
|
| 6 Aug 1983 |
ROM relocated to its current site at No. 7, Canning Rise. ROM and the
Registry of Muslim Marriages (ROMM) were housed together in the same building which was officially opened by Dr. Ahmad Mattar,
Acting Minister for Social Affairs.
|
| 15 Sep 1992 |
ROM embarked on computerization. This marked the start where data of
marrying couples were captured electronically.
|
| 16 Sep 1996 |
ROM successfully introduced Automated Information Marriage
Screening (AIMS) – an electronic kiosk where the public no longer had to queue in line to be served at the counters.
Instead, they were able to obtain a copy of the marriage record on the spot upon payment of the prescribed fee.
|
| 15 Jan 1999 |
Instant search on marriage applications were made available
via an Electronic Marriage Automated System (EMAS) machines located at ROM. Previously the public had to look
through lists of papers displayed on notice boards at ROM.
|
| 2000 |
ROM went “cashless” and “cheque-less” to provide customers with an
expedient and fuss-free service transaction.
The exquisite gold/silver aluminium marriage certificate canisters were introduced for newlywed couples to safe-keep their
marriage certificates.
|
| 18 Aug 2000 |
ROM implemented Solemnization e-Booking. Singapore citizens and
Singapore Permanent Residents intending to marry could book a solemnization date of their choice 24/7 via ROM’s website.
No more queueing!
A suite of Internet services such as e-Search on Marriage Application, e-Search on Marriage Records and e-Application
for Duplicate Marriage Certificates were rolled out.
|
| 18 May 2001 |
Mr Abdullah Tarmugi, the then Minister for Community Development
and Sports (MCDS) officiated at the opening ceremony after the completion of an upgrading to the 20-year old registry building.
ROM’s first corporate logo was launched at the opening ceremony. The logo signifies Everlasting Bliss & Love, Stable Foundation,
Trust and Commitment.
|
| 22 Jun 2001 |
On this date, ROM implemented an electronic filing of the notice of marriage
for Singapore citizens. ‘Filing Instructions’ containing everything a marrying couple needed to know and comply with (eg. appointment
for oath taking, who and what documents to bring for solemnization, etc) were easily accessible. The initiative provided citizens with
the convenience of a one-stop service. Prior to this, citizens working/studying/residing overseas have to return to Singapore to apply
for marriage.
|
| 1 Aug 2001 |
The practice of churches holding onto stocks of Certificates of Marriages was
discontinued as part of streamlining efforts to centralise processes at ROM. Couples continued to enjoy getting married outside ROM
while churches found the new arrangement eased them of the administrative duties.
|
| Dec 2001 |
ROM received its first ISO 9001:2000 certification.
|
| 15 May 2003 |
From this date, newlyweds no longer needed to make an extra trip to ROM after
external solemnization to return the original certificate of marriage to ROM. This was achieved through creative partnership with
ROM’s volunteer solemnizers. They were given self-addressed envelopes affixed with stamps so that they could conveniently post the
certificates back to ROM.
|
| 4 Feb 2004 |
The e-Filing of Notices of Marriages introduced in June 2001 for Singapore
citizens was extended to Singapore permanent residents and foreigners. A suite of other e-services was also introduced, namely e-Search
for marriage records,
e-Application for duplicate marriage certificates and e-Change of solemnization details were concurrently rolled out.
This marked the start of full transactional online services, saving couples a trip to ROM.
|
| 1 Apr 2004 |
The gold-coloured marriage certificate folders with marriage vows printed were
introduced to commemorate the day that couples say ‘I do’. This replaced the gold/silver aluminium marriage certificate canisters
launched in early 2000.
|
| Mid 2005 |
ROM successfully leveraged on community partnerships to deliver solemnization services
to the community. They comprised of volunteers who were Justices of the Peace, grassroots leaders, religious leaders and Family Life
Ambassadors/Champions. (Since 2000/2001, volunteer solemnizers were nominated through a system of Nominating Bodies). Couples marrying outside
ROM saved a trip to ROM on their big day, and more importantly, enjoy unlimited benefits such as unrestricted hours (i.e. get married any day
and time, weekends and public holidays included), unrestricted number of guests, combination of customary, religious and/or civil marriage
ceremonies, customised wedding vows and setting.
|
| Jun 2005 |
ROM successfully collaborated with the National Archives of Singapore (NAS) for the
latter to provide marriage record search services to the public for marriages that took place before the enactment of the Women’s Charter on
15 September 1961. These marriage records were returned to ROM by the Chinese and other clan associations and churches after the Women’s
Charter came into force. Prior to this, the public was not aware of where to retrieve such old records.
|
| Oct 2005 |
Couples marrying outside ROM enjoy ease of selecting and securing a solemnizer.
The solemnizer listing was refined from an alphabetical listing to one by postal district so as to facilitate proximity convenience for both
marrying parties and solemnizers. A listing of solemnizers by constituency was also made available to couples to strengthen
grassroots-constituent bonding. The new arrangement resulted in better load distribution for the volunteer solemnizers to serve the marrying
community.
|
| Mid 2007 |
Couples marrying outside ROM and solemnizers enjoy fuss-free return of Certificates
of Marriage to ROM, with the introduction of Sing Post’s Business Reply Service, a Paid Reply Envelope Service. This replaced envelopes with
manually prefixed stamps introduced in the year 2003.
|
| 25 Jun 2009 |
For the first time, newlyweds could go online to give e-Feedback on marriage services
for solemnizations held at ROM or at an external venue. SMS alerts with web address and unique login ID and password were incorporated
to enhance the security features.
|
| 26 Jan 2010 |
The Registry started operating at a temporary office at Ministry of National
Development (MND) Building at Maxwell Road while the existing building at Canning Rise underwent major upgrading works.
|
| 1 May 2010 |
A free online marriage record search service was implemented for Singapore citizens
and permanent residents who have Singpass access. They get to enjoy two free
online searches on the Register of Marriages over a 12-month period.
This saves $35 on their pockets. The free service is especially useful to help a marrying person search for any marriage records(s) of his/her spouse-to-be.
|
| 21 Sep 2010 |
ROM achieved ISO 9001:2008 certification for the 10th consecutive year since its
first certification in 2001.
|
| Jan – Dec 2010 |
In 2010, 74% (15,095) of marriages were solemnized by volunteer solemnizers in the
community. This was a six-fold increase from a decade ago when only 12% (2,319) of marriages were held in the community.
|
| 1 May 2011 |
Following amendments to Women's Charter, the 15-day rule no longer if both parties to the marriage are Singapore Citizen/Singapore Permanent Residence.
|
| 6 Jun 2011 |
ROM’s revamped website was launched. The revamped website features a refreshed look and interesting nuggets of information and statistics.
|
| 14 Jun 2011 |
ROM resumed operations at Canning Rise when major upgrading works to the building was completed.
|
| 1 Sep 2011 |
Following amendments to Women's Charter pertaining to marriage requirements:
- Couples are required to attend marriage preparation programmes before their marriage if either party is below the age of 18 years or if both are below the age of 21 years.
- Divorcees who remarry will be required to make a statutory declaration
on whether they have existing maintenance orders and arrears.
|
