Registering a Place of Worship and Marriage

Registering a place of worship

Under the provision of the Places of Worship Registration Act 1855, a congregation may apply for a certified building of worship by applying to the Superintendent Registrar in the district where the venue is situated. 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 in duplicate Form 76 (form for certifying a place of meeting for religious worship under the places of worship registration act 1855). The completed Form 76 should be sent to the Register 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 'London Borough of Haringey' covering the statutory fee of £28.00.

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Registering a place of marriage

If you wish the place of worship to become a place where marriages can take place, you also need to complete Form 78 (certificate and application for the registration of a place of religious worship for the solemnisation of marriages under sec. 41 of the marriage act 1949). This should be dealt with if possible together with the original application of a place of worship. However, it can only be requested after the date of certification of the building as a place of worship.

Form 78 requires

• signatures of 20 separate householders who say that the building is their usual place of worship and that they desire it to be registered for the solemnisation of marriages, and
• a statutory fee of £120 is payable by cheque or postal order to 'London Borough of Haringey'.

Once the information is received at the Register Office, it is sent to the General Register Office (GRO) for authorisation. Once the GRO certify a building for worship and marriage, the Register Office are required to advertise the new place of worship in the local newspaper. We then write to the applicant confirming the place is now registered for worship and marriage and send a certificate.

If the place of worship is in disuse or another minister/proprietor takes over the place of worship, Form 77 (notice of disuse of a certified place of meeting for religious worship, pursuant to the places of worship registration act 1855.) needs to be completed and given to the Registrar General. The process outlined above for registering a place of worship would have to be completed again. Re-registration is not required if the building is demolished and rebuilt.

The necessary forms can be obtained from the Superintendent Registrar at Haringey, telephone 020 8489 2605. Please contact us for further information on this service.

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