In order to hold a marriage or civil partnership ceremony, you must have a licence. If the premises fall within our district, this will be issued by us.
Before you apply for a licence, you need to be aware of the following criteria:
The premises:
- Must be in good repair and suitable for wedding and civil partnership ceremonies
- Readily identifiable. This will exclude any temporary structure, for instance, a tent or a marquee
- Must be regularly available for the ceremonies
- Fire, health and safety regulations must be in place, including access for the disabled
- Must not have been any recent or continuing connection with any religion or religious ceremony
- The public must have, or have had, easy access during the ceremony should they wish to witness or make an objection. This would very likely make a private house inappropriate
- Detailed plans of the premises indicating the areas that will be involved will be required
- A responsible person needs to be appointed as a representative of the premises for civil ceremonies
The room/s:
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Each room must be clearly identifiable, for instance, 'The Ceremony Room'
- Adequate space is required for the couple and route they will take, a ceremony table and a reasonable amount of guests. Only two rows of guests are allowed to stand.
- No food or drink may be sold or consumed for one hour prior to and during the ceremony
- The room must not be used for any other purpose during the ceremony
- An additional room will need to be made available to interview the couple in private before the ceremony
To see the full criteria please contact us. We are happy to discuss any queries you have before you apply. If you decide to go ahead, you will need to obtain an application form from us.
Cost involved
A licence and/or a renewal licence costs £1,664.00 for this current financial year and is valid for three years. All costs are reviewed 1 April each year. The fee is non-returnable and must accompany the application form.
What happens next?
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Once we have received your application form, an appointment is made for our Superintendent Registrar and our 'disabled access' officer to inspect the premises and discuss the application with you. If the premises do not meet the criteria, they will discuss the areas of concern to try and resolve the problem. If this is not possible, only then will the application be rejected.
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On the assumption your application goes ahead, a notice will then appear in the Public Notices section of a local newspaper circulating in your area. This will give details of the application, a place where the plans can be inspected and notification that the public have 21 days in which to object to the application.
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If your premises meet all the criteria and no objections have been received, a licence will be issued. Details will be included in the 'approved premises' list provided by the General Registrar Office. They will also be included in any of our listings, including the Register Office ones. Licence details must also be displayed on the premises in a public area.
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If objections are received they will be carefully considered if they are found to be inappropriate, provided the premises meet the criteria, a licence will be issued. If the objections are considered to be valid, they will be discussed with you and if it is not possible to resolve these objections, the application will be rejected.
- You can appeal against a rejection by writing to: The Proper Officer for Registration, Wokingham Borough Council, Shute End, Wokingham, Berkshire, RG40 1GY.
During the licence period
