Should the registering officer be prevented through illness or absence from home or any other cause from issuing or signing the Quaker marriage forms (see 16.25), the registering officer (or failing this the clerk of the area meeting) shall be at liberty to appoint any suitable Friend to act in these respects. It must be emphasised that this should not become a normal manner of proceeding.

If, in England and Wales, the registering officer should be prevented from being present at the solemnisation of the marriage, care shall be taken that the schedule be duly signed by the couple and witnesses. The registering officer, having been satisfied of the regularity of the proceedings, shall afterwards complete the schedule. No one else, not even a deputy or assistant registering officer, may complete the schedule.