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Calderdale Register Office

Marriage - Registering a building for worship

This excludes churches or chapels of the Church of England, unless it shares a church building with another religious denomination.

The person who acts as 'minister', 'proprietor' or 'Trustee' at the place of worship has to complete form 76 (Form for certifying a place of meeting for religious worship under the Places of Worship Registration Act 1855). Completed Form 76 should be sent to the registration office with a sketch of the floor plan identifying which rooms will be used for worship, an average weekly timetable of how the building will be used, and a cheque or postal order made payable to CMBC for the statutory fee of £28.00.

Place of marriage

If the congregation decide they wish the place of worship to become registered for marriages, they need to complete form 78 (certificate and application for the registration of a place of religious worship for the solemnization of marriages under sec. 41 of the Marriage Act 1949).

Form 78 requires the signatures of 20 householders who confirm that the building is their usual place of worship and that they desire it to be registered for the solemnization for marriages. A statutory fee of £120 is payable in the form of a cheque or postal order made payable to CMBC.

When the completed forms are received at the Register Office, the information is sent to the General Register Office (GRO) for authorisation. Once the GRO certify a building for worship and marriage, the Register Office is required to advertise the fact in the local newspaper.

If the place of worship is disused, or another denomination takes over the place of worship, form 77 (Notice of disuse) needs to be completed. The process outlined above for registering a place of worship would have to be done again. Re-registration is not required if the building is demolished and rebuilt on the same site.

To obtain the necessary forms, or for further advice please contact Calderdale Register Office.

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