Approval of premises as venues for Civil Marriages

This approval permits the solemnisation of civil marriages and the formation of civil partnerships to take place on sites approved for by Trafford Council.

Eligibility criteria

  • The application must be made by the owner or director of the premises.
  • The premises must be an appropriate venue for the proceedings.
  • The premises must be regularly available to the public for use for the solemnisation of marriages; or the formation of civil partnerships.
  • The premises must have the designated fire preventions, having consulted the Fire Authority, and such other reasonable health and safety of people employed in or visiting the premises as we consider appropriate.
  • The premises must not be a religious premises or a register office.
  • The room or rooms in which the ceremony will take place must be identifiable by description as a distinct part of the premises.

Relevant regulation

How will my application be evaluated?

Applications must be sent to Trafford Council for premises situated in the Trafford area.

Applications must be on the given form and accompanied by:

  • The stated fee.
  • A plan of the premises which must be clear and legible.
  • Other information we may ask for to decide if the premises meet the criteria above.

Applicants will be required to advertise their application in a local newspaper and we will make a copy of the application available for the public to inspect at our Licensing office.

As soon as possible we will arrange for the premises to be inspected.

We must grant the application if no objections have been received. However, a hearing must be held if any objections are made in respect of the application.

On granting the approval we will send you the approval and the standard conditions to be attached. We may also attach further conditions as we consider necessary to ensure the facilities provided at the premises are suitable.

Advertising the application

Applications for licences must be advertised in one of the following local newspapers:

How much does it cost?

There is an application fee which must be paid at the time an application is made. Full details are available on our fees and charges page.

Will tacit consent apply?

Yes. This means that you will be able to act as though your application is granted if you have not heard from us at the end of 28 days. Where objections have been received to the application, we must determine the application within 56 days. Please contact us if we notify you that objections have been made.

Where tacit consent is applicable, it will only apply for licences / registrations that are submitted electronically or the business can show proof of delivery from a post office or recognised courier.

How to apply

Please complete an online application for a licence to use premises for civil marriage and civil partnership.

What if the application is refused?

Please contact us in the first instance.

You may request a review if the approval has been refused, or additional conditions have been imposed other than the standard conditions.

You may request a review by writing to us.

We will immediately arrange for a review of the decision by the appropriate sub-committee. We will give notice in writing of our decision on review, stating our reasons for that decision and the date from which it takes effect.

Consumer complaints

We would always advise that in the event of a complaint the first contact is made to the service provider by you - preferably in the form of a letter (with proof of delivery). If that has not worked, if you are located in the UK, Advice Guide will give you advice. From outside the UK contact the UK European Consumer Centre.

What if the approval is revoked?

We may revoke an approval at any time, if we are satisfied that you have failed to comply with the conditions attached to it; or the use or structure of the premises has changed.

Before we revoke the approval we will write to you stating the reasons why we propose to revoke the approval and invite you to make a written representation within 14 days, which we will take into account before making a final decision.

We are under a duty to protect the public funds we give, and with this we may use the information you have provided to us for the prevention and detection of fraud. We may also share this information with other bodies responsible for sorting public funds for these purposes. For further information on data matching to prevent and detect fraud and corruption see the Council's Level 2 National Fraud Initiative Privacy Notice. For further information you can also refer to Trafford Council’s own Privacy Notices.