License your religious venue

How to register a religious venue for the solemnisation of marriage or to declare a religious venue is for worship only. You can also submit notice for the disuse of a certified place of meeting for religious worship.

 Updating religious venues

Use the form below to certify the building as a place for religious worship only:

Applying for a building to be recorded for religious worship only 

  • The Places of Worship Registration Act 1855 enables a place of meeting for religious worship to be recorded by the Registrar General. However, a congregation is still able to worship in a building which has not been recorded. 
  • A church or chapel of the Church of England does not need to apply to be recorded for religious worship. If they share their building with one or more non-conformist denominations, the sharing agreement will need to be submitted with the application made by the non-conformists. 
  • The application form 'Certifying a Place of Meeting for Religious Worship' (Form 76) must be completed in duplicate (not photocopied) by any person who is able to represent the congregation, e.g. the occupier / proprietor / trustee / minister.

 The applicant will be asked to supply the following information: 

  1. The name by which the place of worship is known.
  2. The address of the building.
  3. Whether the application refers to a whole building or to a room / rooms within a building.
  4. A floor plan of the building / room(s).

​Apply for a building which is already recorded as a place of religious worship to be registered as a place for the solemnisation of marriages between a man and a woman:

If you wish to apply for the building to be registered for the solemnisation of marriages of same sex couples, you will also need to complete Form 78A (PDF 92KB) and provide a copy of the relevant governing authority's consent. 

If you wish to certify the building as a place of religious worship and apply for it to be registered for the solemnisation of marriages between a man and a woman at the same time, you will need to complete two separate applications - Forms 76 and 78.

If you wish to apply for the building to be registered for the solemnisation of marriages of same sex couples, you will also need to complete Form 78A and provide a copy of the relevant governing authority's consent.

Authorised person certificate of appointment documents:

Complete form 77 to inform the General Register Office when a congregation stop worshipping in the registered building.