The article considers the implications for family policy of the proposed new changes to the registration of births, marriages and deaths, contained in the British government White Paper Civil Registration: Vital Change (2002). It asks whether, and to what extent, the changes proposed are ‘facilitative’ or ‘persuasive’. It is argued that, whilst the changes are in part designed to facilitate more diverse patterns of partnering and parenting now evident in the population there are limitations, for example in respect of same sex partnerships. There are also clearly ‘persuasive’ elements. These are consistent with changes in family policy which focus more on the individuals than on the nuclear family as the focus of policy, which are tolerant of different forms of partnering, but which place supporting parenthood as the highest priority. Changes in civil registration are seen as an essential condition for implementing other types of changes in the family policy arena.