Venue licences for marriages and civil partnerships

A venue license allows you to promote your venue for legally recognised weddings and Civil Partnerships, which are conducted by Suffolk Registration Service.

As part of our licensing agreement we 

• assign a dedicated ceremony manager and venue licensing manager to assist you with your application and the Register Service ceremonies at your venue.
• provide highly trained ceremony teams consisting of a celebrant and a registrar to conduct personalised weddings at your venue. Our teams work to the highest professional standards and there's a clear feedback process that you can follow.
• showcase your venue on our website.
• publish your venue details in our bespoke biannual wedding magazine 'A Suffolk Ceremony'.  

What makes a suitable venue? 

We have a diverse portfolio of licensed venues; from 'traditional' wedding venues such as country houses, barns or hotels, to more unusual or even quirky venues such as community halls or tipis.

Wedding venues don't have to be able to accommodate large guest numbers or to provide catering and wedding planning.

The minimum guest number required in order to apply for a license is only six people.

General requirements for a suitable venue:

• It must offer a seemly and dignified area(s) for ceremonies to be held
• It must be regularly available
• It must consist of at least one named indoor room for ceremonies to be held and a further private room that can be used for the pre-ceremony interviews
• Outdoor areas and linked outdoor areas within the boundary of the venue can be included in the licence if desired
• It must allow free and unfettered access to the public, to enable a legal objection to the ceremony to be lodged

Buildings that are used as a place of worship or recognised as having a recent or continuing connection with religion are not usually eligible for licensing for civil ceremonies.

What else will be needed?

• An up-to-date Fire Safety Risk Assessment
• A seating plan to show the number of seats and their positions within each room or outside area must be included with your application
• Confirmation of planning consent
• A copy of your premises Licence (if held) 
• One or more named responsible person(s), who are required to be in attendance for each ceremony and for one hour beforehand
• A scale plan of the premises showing the room(s) and any outdoor areas in which it is intended that marriages/partnership registrations will take place
• Appropriate arrangements for the health and safety of people in attendance, Accessibility, and adequate public liability insurance
• Confirmation of the arrangements for parking or access for the registrars
• Suitable toilet facilities
• A separate risk assessment will be required for each outdoor area where it is proposed that ceremonies will be held

What is the cost of a Licence? 

The application fee is £2,000. This is not refundable in the event your application is unsuccessful. If granted, the licence is valid for 3 years. It is not possible to grant a licence for a one-off occasion.

We recommend that new applicants arrange an informal visit from one of our senior Ceremony managers before committing to a formal application. We will be able to make an initial assessment of your venue and provide advice and guidance. 

We can offer no guarantees that any application will be successful.

How long does the application process take?

We suggest you allow a minimum of 3 months. 

How to Apply

Please email the Venue Licensing Officer Gail Ollason at Gail.Ollason@suffolk.gov.uk who will send you an application form, our full terms and conditions and can answer any questions you may have.

What happens after I have submitted my application?

We will place a formal Public Notice in a local newspaper or on our website and consult with:

• The local planning authority
• The county ceremony management team who will arrange for a formal inspection of your venue
• Suffolk Fire & Rescue Service

Religious buildings

Find out about religious buildings wanting to obtain a license for marriage at GOV.UK.

Religious buildings can obtain a license for civil partnerships by contacting the Venue Licensing Officer, Gail Ollason on 01473 264 380 (open Tuesday to Thursday) or by email to Gail.Ollason@suffolk.gov.uk