Register a marriage venue application guidance

• Marriage Act 1949
• Marriage Act 1994 (amended)
• Civil Partnerships Act 2004
• The Marriages and Civil Partnerships (Approved Premises) Regulations 2005
• The Marriages and Civil Partnerships (Approved Premises) (Amendment) Regulations 2011
• Equalities Act 2010

The requirements for obtaining approval as outlined in the above regulations.

The premises and place to be approved must fulfil the following standard requirements as in Schedule 1 of the Regulations:

1. Having regard to their primary use, situation, construction and state of repair, the premises must, in the opinion of the authority, be a seemly and dignified venue for the proceedings
2. The premises must be regularly available to the public for use for:
   • (a) the solemnisation of marriages; or
   • (b) the formation of civil partnerships
3. The premises must have the benefit of such fire precautions as may reasonably be required by the authority, having consulted with the Fire and Rescue Authority and such other reasonable provision for the health and safety of persons employed in or visiting the premises as the Authority considers appropriate
4. The premises must not be:
   • (a) religious premises as defined by s6 (2) of the Civil Partnerships Act 2004 Act;
   • (b) a register office, but this paragraph does not apply to premises in which a register office is situated, provided that the room which is subject to approval is not the same room as the room which is the register office
5. The room or rooms in which proceedings are to take place, if approval is granted must be identifiable by description as a distinct part of the premises

In considering the suitability of premises as a venue, the authority will have due regard to the following guidance from the Registrar General:

1. The law relating to “approved premises” is intended to allow proceedings to take place regularly in hotels, stately homes, civic halls, and similar premises without compromising the solemnity of the occasion.
2. Premises are defined in the Regulations as a permanently immovable structure comprising at least a room, or any boat or other vessel which is permanently moored. Premises not within the meaning of this definition, such as the open air, a tent, marquee or any other temporary structure and most forms of transport, will not be eligible for approval.
3. The premises must be a seemly and dignified venue for the proceedings, which must take place in an identifiable and distinct part of those premises. The primary use of a building would render it unsuitable if that use would demean any proceedings or bring them into disrepute.
4. The premises must not be any part of a register office on the plan submitted by the authority and approved by the Registrar General under the Registration Service Act 1953. Any rooms in the same premises as the register office that aren’t on this plan, such as a council chamber in the same town hall, can be approved, but a room in a register office cannot be approved. However, an authority can set its fee for attending a marriage or civil partnership on approved premises at the same level as the prescribed fee for a marriage or civil partnership in a register office.
5. The requirement that the premises must be regularly available for use by the public will preclude a private house from being approved.
6. The Approval Holder must also comply with the standard conditions attached to any approval issued.