Premises approval for marriage or civil ceremonies - Licences and permissions

Before a civil ceremony can take place at a venue in Herefordshire, the venue must be approved by the Herefordshire Registration Service.

Requirements for approval include:

• The premises must be a permanent and immovable structure (this excludes marquees)
• The premises must be regularly available to the public
• The premises cannot be religious in nature

If you are interested in becoming an approval holder, we can arrange an informal visit to your premises before you apply.

Approval of premises for civil marriage and civil partnership on GOV.UK

The Marriages and Civil Partnerships (Approved Premises) Regulations 2005

Fees from 1 July 2023

Please read the guide to approved premises before making your application.

You can either:

• Apply online or
• Use the printable PDF application form

To pay for your application please complete the online payment form.

You will need to attach the following documents to your application:

• Fire risk assessment
• Planning certificate (if appropriate)
• Three sets of plans of the premises indicating the proposed ceremony room(s) and interview rooms(s)
• Confirmation of public liability insurance

Postal applications with attachments should be sent to:

Registration Service
Herefordshire Register Office
Town Hall
St Owen Street
Hereford
HR1 2PJ

If you are unsure of anything or need any further information please contact us.

As part of the application process, we will inspect your premises. We will also make your application and plan available to the public for inspection. As part of a public consultation process, we will put a public notice of your application in a local newspaper .

To be granted, your application must be in the correct format and your premises deemed suitable. However, we may still refuse your application if it is felt that there are too many approved premises in the area for the registrars to attend.

Conditions will be imposed on your approval. The Registrar General may issue guidance for us to assist us in making our decision.

Please allow up to two months for the application to be processed. This is because we have to display the details in the public notices on our website for 21 days and the fire risk assessment is referred to the Fire Service.

Current applications for premises approval for marriage or civil ceremonies

• Email: ceremonies@herefordshire.gov.uk
• Address: Registration Service, Herefordshire Register Office, Town Hall, St Owen Street, Hereford HR1 2PJ