Who can be an approved venue?
An approved venue for the purpose of marriage and civil partnership must be a permanent immovable structure comprising of at least one room. Licensed venues, or 'approved venues', can include hotels, stately homes, civic halls and other similar premises. The owner or trustee of the premises must make the application.
Please include all potential rooms in your application. If you wish to add rooms to the licence later this will require a new licence and you’ll need to pay the full licence fee.
As a result of The Marriages and Civil Partnerships (Approved Premises) (Amendment) Regulations 2022, ceremonies can now take place fully outdoors or under a partially covered structure or marquee, if they’re in the boundaries of an approved venue.
Licensing pack for approved venues
Appendix I - Duties of the responsible person
All applications must meet the requirements as set out in Schedule 1 of The Marriages and Civil Partnerships (Approved Venues) Regulations 2005. These requirements might be amended from time to time on the instructions of the Registrar General.
Religious ceremonies
Civil marriages can’t be conducted anywhere with current or recent religious connections. So you can’t get a grant of approval for a chapel in a stately home.
Civil partnerships can be conducted on religious premises approved for this purpose. Any application for a grant of approval needs the consent of the faith group’s governing body.