Annex A - Notes on the requirements before an approval can be granted

The requirements for approved premises are established by the Marriage and Civil Partnerships (Approved Premises) Regulations 2005 and Amendment Regulations (referred to in these notes as the Regulations).

It is these that the authority must apply when considering an application for approval. The non-returnable fee for this application is £500 and must be submitted with the application to the Proper Officer for Registration Matters Registration Services, Lancashire Records Office, Bow Lane, Preston, PR1 2RE.

The basic fee is in respect of applications where approval is sought for marriages and civil partnerships to take place.  It should be noted that these fees are for the application for approval and are not returnable in the event of approval being refused. 

The application must be made by the proprietor or trustee of the premises. When made on behalf of a limited company, or other incorporated business there should be a separate statement of the names and addresses of all the directors.

The built premises must fulfil the following standard requirements in the Regulations:

  1. Having regard to their primary use, situation, construction and state of repair, the built premises must, in the opinion of the authority, be a seemly and dignified venue for the proceedings.
  2. Subject to any exemptions in the Equality Act 2010 (see paragraphs 2.21 - 2.25 of this guidance), the built premises must be regularly available to the public for use for the solemnization of marriages and the registration (formation) of civil partnerships.
  3. The built 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 built premises as the authority considers appropriate.
  4. The built premises must not be a register office, but this paragraph does not apply to premises where the built premises are a register office is situated in the built premises 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 the proceedings (marriage or civil partnership) will be held in the built premises, if approval is granted, must be identifiable by description as a distinct part of the built premises.

The premises must also fulfil the authority’s following requirements:

In considering the suitability of built 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, religious premises and similar built premises without compromising the solemnity of the occasion.
  2. Built 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. “Linked outdoor areas” means any areas within the boundary of the land of which the built premises form part and which may be used in common with the built premises. “Premises” as now amended are defined as built premises together with linked outdoor areas. Any premises outside this definition, such as most forms of transport, will not be eligible for approval.
  3. The built premises must be a seemly and dignified venue for the proceedings, which must take place in an identifiable and distinct part of those built 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 built 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, e.g. 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 built premises must be regularly available for use by the public precludes a private house from being approved.