To hold a civil ceremony or wedding at premises in England or Wales, the premises must be approved by the local authority.
You must be the proprietor or a trustee of the premises to apply for permission to hold civil ceremonies or weddings.
The venue must be:
Copies of relevant legislation can be found on the legislation.gov.uk website.
A fee of £1000.00 will be payable for both a new grant and a renewal application and conditions may be attached.
The application must be in writing (including by electronic means) and include:
Your application and plan will be under consultation for 28 days and will be made available to the public for inspection. We will place a notice of the application on our website as part of a public consultation process.
To be granted your application must be in the correct format and your premises deemed suitable.
However your application may still be refused if it is felt that there are too many approved premises in the area for the registrars to attend.
The Registrar General may issue guidance to local authorities to assist them in making their decision.
It is our aim to complete the application process within 30 working days (subject to a satisfactory consultation within this period).
If your application is successful your licence will run for five years from when it is granted.
To apply for an Approval of Premises For Civil Marriage and Civil Partnerships please complete the appropriate form below.
Application Form | Apply online | |
Application For Grant/Renewal Of Approval Of Premises for Civil Marriage And Civil Partnerships | View | View |
To view guidance documents please select the appropriate link below:
Civil Marriage and Civil Partnership Policy
Additional Information Relating To Approval Of Premises
Tacit consent means that if we have not dealt with applications within the target period then the application can be deemed to have been granted/approved.
Please note that tacit consent does not apply in respect of this application. It is in the public interest that the authority must process your application before it can be granted. If you have not heard from us within a reasonable period, please contact us. You can do this online if you applied through the UK Welcomes service or contact us.
Please contact your Local Authority in the first instance. You have the right to seek a review of the local authority's refusal to grant your application. You have the right to seek a review of the local authority's imposition of conditions, refusal to renew or revocation of approval. You must deliver your request for review to the proper officer of the local authority, accompanied by any requested fee.
We would always advise that in the event of a complaint the first contact is made with the trader by you, preferably in the form of a letter (with proof of delivery). If that has not worked, if you are located in the UK, visit our Consumer pages or Gov.uk for advice. From outside of the UK contact the UK European Consumer Centre.
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