License your venue

You must have a licence for your venue if you want to hold marriage or civil partnership ceremonies.

Licenses are valid for five years. You can renew no more than 12 months before your current licence runs out.

If you want approval of additional rooms at the venue you need to apply as a new application.

 

Who can apply

There are certain conditions a venue must meet before it can be approved for a licence. 

Your venue must:

• have a specific indoor room(s) for the ceremony
• You can licence an outdoor space. But only if you have an identified indoor room and the outdoor space is within the building's grounds, and a permanent fixture
• meet fire and safety rules

See our policy for approval of premises in Redbridge 

 

Cost of the license

New applications and renewals cost £2,500 for five years.

We cannot provide a refund if your application is unsuccessful.

Before you make the application, you must arrange a meeting to advise and guide you. This meeting is free. To book your meeting contact us.

 

How to apply

You’ll need:

• details of yourself and your venue
• a plan of the floor plans showing the rooms that will be used
• a boundary plan showing which outside areas will be used (if applicable)
• a copy of the fire risk assessment

 

Apply for a licence

 

What happens next

We’ll contact you to arrange an inspection of your venue.

If your venue meets the conditions needed for a licence, we’ll:

• list your application on our licensing website
• publish a notice in a local newspaper

This allows residents to view and comment on the application. We’ll advertise this for 21 days.

You should not take bookings for ceremonies until we have approved your venue.

If no one objects

We’ll approve your license.

If someone does object

We’ll pause the approval process until we look into the concerns. We'll let you know whether we approve or reject your application.

 

After getting approval

You must contact us with any changes in your situation:

• 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 marriage or civil partnership is taking place
• name or address of the holder of the approval
• name, address or qualification of the responsible person