Births, marriages, deaths and nationality Marriages and civil partnerships venue approval

Apply for approval - non-religious buildings

Venues wishing to be used for marriages & civil partnerships must be approved by the local authority in the area they are situated.

An application for an approval must be made by the proprietor or trustee of the premises. When the application is made on behalf of a limited company or partnership, a separate statement of the names and addresses of all the directors / partners must be provided.

The venue must be a permanently immovable structure comprising at least a room, or any boat or other vessel which is permanently moored.

Before an approval can be granted the venue must fulfil the requirements set out in the relevant legislation. Full details of these are provided in the guidance notes that accompany the application form.

Following recent legislation changes it is now possible for religious buildings to be approved as venues for civil partnership ceremonies. The application process is slightly different for religious buildings. 

Once an application has been approved, the holder must notify us any change of circumstances including: 
  • layout of the premises;
  • use of the premises;
  • name or full postal address of the premises;
  • description of the room or rooms in which the proceedings are to take place;
  • name or address of the holder of the approval; and
  • name, address or qualification of the responsible person.

Approval of additional rooms is treated as a new application. 

As part of the approval process, all applications have to be advertised. The public notice can be placed in a local weekly publication or on our website.

 
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