(1) A co-decision-making agreement shall not enter into force until it has been registered in accordance with section 22.

(2) An application to register a co-decision-making agreement shall be made not later than 5 weeks from the date the agreement was signed, in such form as shall be specified under section 31A and accompanied by such fee as shall be prescribed by regulations made under section 31 and, subject to section 17(6), shall be signed by both the appointer and the co-decision-maker (in this section referred to as "the applicants").

(3) The applicants shall, at the same time as making an application to register a co-decision-making agreement under this section, jointly give notice, in such form as shall be specified under section 31A, of the application and give a copy of the co-decision-making agreement to the following persons:

(a) the spouse or civil partner (if any) of the appointer;

(b) the cohabitant (if any) of the appointer;

(c) any children of the appointer who have attained the age of 18 years;