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Civil marriage and civil partnership ceremonies must take place at venues that have been approved by us for that purpose. Approval is valid for three years. Applications must be sent to us for premises situated in the Bury area.

To apply for a licence to hold civil ceremonies, you must:

  • provide a plan of the premises which must be clear and legible in all material respects; and such other information we may require to determine if the premises meet the eligibility criteria
  • advertise their application in a local newspaper. We will make a copy of the application available to the public for inspection at Bury Licensing office. We then will arrange for the premises to be inspected
  • pay the licence application fee of £995
  • ensure the application is made by the proprietor or trustee of the premises.

Applications for licenses must be advertised in a local newspaper with a period of three weeks for objections. An example notice is given later on this page.

When applying, we'll ask you to provide details of yourself and your venue. You must provide a plan of the building showing the inside room or rooms where the ceremonies will be held and if applicable the boundaries of the grounds where outdoor ceremonies can be held.

If your application is granted, we will send you a copy of the approval and the standard conditions to be attached. We may also attach further conditions as we consider reasonable to ensure the facilities provided at the premises are suitable.

If you are unsuccessful, we will tell you why and how to request a review if the approval has been refused.

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

Tacit consent

This means 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.