Register Office Fees

Registration Services Fees 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2019

(Revised 16 February 2019 to take into account the statutory increase in certificate fees)

Certificates

Terms and conditions of acceptance

Bookings can be made up to two years before the ceremony date.

Civil marriage and civil partnership bookings

Your ceremony booking is accepted subject to the following conditions:

• No legal impediment to the marriage or civil partnership exists and legal preliminaries are completed within statutory time limits;
• Any foreign divorce/dissolution papers are accepted by the Registrar General where applicable;
• Home Office permission is granted where applicable;
• A booking confirmation fee and a deposit is paid (see below).

Re-affirmation of vows and baby naming ceremonies

Your ceremony booking is accepted subject to the following conditions:

• Proof of birth or prior marriage/civil partnership is provided;
• A booking confirmation fee and a deposit is paid (see below).

The ceremony does not give any legal status or rights.

Booking confirmation fees

• A £30 booking fee is payable at the time of booking a ceremony;
• The booking fee is separate to the ceremony fee and is non-refundable.

Deposit

• Although we do not require a deposit for Register Officer ceremonies, a £70 deposit is required for The Leazes Room and approved premises bookings which is non-refundable unless indicated otherwise in these term and conditions.
• The deposit will be credited against your final ceremony fee if your fee is paid in full at least 16 weeks before the date of your ceremony
• If you pay your final ceremony fee in full less than 16 weeks before the date of your ceremony we will only credit 50% of your deposit against your final balance.

If you have booked by telephone and you contact us to cancel your ceremony within 14 days of receiving your booking confirmation, we will refund any fees that you have paid.

Ceremony fees

• Fees for all ceremonies must be paid at least 16 weeks in advance of the ceremony date and it is your responsibility to make sure your fees are paid on time.
• You will not receive a reminder to say that your fees are due
• If bookings are made within 16 weeks of the ceremony date, the fee must be paid in full at the time of booking.

Our fees may increase each year. The fee that you pay is the one that is applicable on the date you pay your final balance.

Newcastle City Council venues

We offer two ceremony venues in the Civic Centre:

Register Office for ceremonies attended by a maximum of 6 people

The Leazes Room for ceremonies attended by a maximum of 70 people

Maximum numbers indicate the total number of people who will be allowed into the ceremony room.  Numbers include both partners, witnesses, guests and other attendees such as photographers.  If maximum numbers are exceeded some members of the party will be excluded from the ceremony.

Changes to bookings

• Any change you make to your ceremony arrangements will incur a non-refundable administration fee of £30.

Cancellation of bookings by Newcastle City Council

Newcastle City Council reserves the right to cancel your ceremony if:

• You do not give your legal notice of intention to marry or form a civil partnership within the statutory time limits;
• If ceremony fees are not paid within the timescales shown above and you do not respond to overdue fee reminders.

If Newcastle City Council cancel your ceremony because of non-payment of fees your deposit will not be refunded.

If you cancel your booking

In the event that you need to cancel your ceremony booking after full payment has been made, you are required to give us 16 weeks notice in order to be eligible for a full refund of the ceremony fee.   For all other cancellations, a percentage of the ceremony fee paid will be retained by Newcastle City Council to cover service costs incurred.  Cancellation is subject to the following:

• more than 16 weeks notice of cancellation – full refund;
• cancellation between 16 weeks and 8 weeks before the ceremony – full refund minus your deposit
• cancellation between 8 weeks and 14 days before the ceremony – your deposit plus 25% of the remaining fee will be retained by Newcastle City Council; and
• cancellation less than 14 days before the ceremony – your deposit and 50% of the remaining fee will be retained by Newcastle City Council: and
• if you fail to attend your ceremony without notifying us, the full fee paid is non-refundable.

If you need to cancel your ceremony you should notify the council in writing.  Fees will only be refunded upon receipt of your written request to cancel.

Lateness

• The time booked for the ceremony is the time the ceremony will commence.  If the ceremony commences late, we reserve the right to seek to amend the ceremony in order to reduce its duration:
• Should the ceremony not be ready to proceed within a maximum of twenty minutes of the scheduled time and Newcastle City Council is not responsible for any such delay, then we reserve the right to cancel or defer the ceremony.
• Where a ceremony is cancelled in such circumstances the fee will not be refunded.

Liability

Newcastle City Council will not accept liability for:

• the failure of music systems provided by any venue, you or a third party;
• any delay or loss caused by your late or non arrival;
• any loss caused by a request from you or your representatives to delay the ceremony;
• any loss or compensation where a ceremony/registration is stopped from proceeding because:

a) it would be void if it went ahead
b) an offence under the Marriage or Civil Partnership Acts would be committed
c) it would be against the public interest; or
d) the ceremony is unable to proceed due to unacceptable conduct or anti-social behaviour by anyone involved in the ceremony or any invited guest.

Any decision to delay the ceremony is at the discretion of the registration staff attending on the day.