Register a building as a place of worship

You can apply to the Southwark registration service to have a building legally registered for use as a place of worship. You can also apply to have an existing place of worship registered as a venue for religious marriage ceremonies.

Application forms

In both cases you will need to come into the Southwark register office to collect the application forms - two are required for each registration.

Fees

Place of worship only - £28

Religious wedding venue only - £120 (for existing religious buildings)

Both - £148

Please make cheques payable to London Borough of Southwark.

Required information

In both cases you will need to provide a

• Drawing of the building, showing the use of each room (this does NOT need to be an architectural drawing)
• Weekly programme of events

Wedding venue applications will also need a copy of the proposed marriage ceremony showing where our legal declaration of marriage is included as a permanent feature.

Venues can become approved premises for civil marriages but the owner/leaseholder must apply to the licensing unit on 020 7525 2000 for an application pack. 

The licensing unit has an list of approved premises for civil marriages if you're looking for a location.