Civil partnerships in the United Kingdom, granted under the Civil Partnership Act 2004, allow couples to obtain essentially the same rights and responsibilities as marriage. Initially the Act permitted only same-sex couples to form civil partnerships. This was altered to include opposite-sex couples in 2019. Though from March 2014 full same-sex marriage was legalised in England, Scotland and Wales, civil partnership remains available. Designed to be very much equivalent to marriage for same sex couples, a civil partnership carries both rights and responsibilities, in very broad terms, attracting the same legal and tax protections/advantages/disadvantages as a traditional marriage. This article explains further.