Terms and conditions

Fees: All payments are made in full online within 24 hours of your booking.

If you have any problems making an online payment, please email us immediately, quoting your booking reference number, at grspayments@gloucestershire.gov.uk so that we can resolve issues and avoid cancellation.

Booking Administration Fee (Non Refundable): Please be advised, a non-refundable booking administration fee, of £60 is to be paid to secure your ceremony date and time. To avoid cancellation, the booking fee must be paid online within 24 hours of booking your ceremony. Your ceremony will be cancelled if payment is not received within this time. This fee is paid in addition to the ceremony fee.

Ceremony Fees: The ceremony fee, which includes one legal certificate, must be paid via your customer account at least 2 calendar months before the date of your ceremony. In the case of bookings made within 2 months of the proposed date, full payment is required at the time of booking. Please make the full payment on your customer account within 24 hours of booking your ceremony. Part payments are not accepted and may lead to your booking being cancelled.

Please see our ceremony fees and charges.

Our fees are reviewed annually but may be subject to change at other times. If your ceremony is taking place after 1st April new fees will apply. Please check our website or email ceremony@gloucestershire.gov.uk to find out the cost of your ceremony. The fee will be updated on your account (difference becomes payable).

Amendments to Ceremonies: Amendments to your ceremony can be made subject to availability and must be agreed prior to making payment. A non-refundable amendment fee will be charged for any changes to your booking, such as:-

date, time, venue
ceremony booking type - changing your ceremony from an enhanced ceremony to a statutory ceremony (or vice versa) or changing from a legal marriage or civil partnership to a non statutory ceremony (or vice versa)

The amendment fee is £55; or £75 if the request is made 2 weeks or less before the ceremony date.

Payment must be made within 24 hours of amending your ceremony to avoid cancellation. Changes are binding at point of arrangement and no further amendments can be made until payment has been received.

Cancellation: You are required to cancel your ceremony in writing, either to Gloucestershire Registration Service, St George’s Road, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, GL50 3EW, or via email to ceremony@gloucestershire.gov.uk. Please ensure you make your cancellation request from the email address you provided for your booking. The ceremony fee can only be refunded to the person who made the original payment.

If you cancel 2 calendar months or more before the date of the ceremony the full ceremony fee will be refunded to the cardholder.

If you cancel between 2 calendar months – 2 weeks before the date of the ceremony, 50% of the ceremony fee will be refunded to the cardholder, e.g. if £550 ceremony fee paid- we will refund you £275.

There is no refund if you cancel 2 weeks or less before the date of the ceremony.

We are unable to postpone a ceremony and you will either need to cancel or make an amendment to the booking by paying the appropriate amendment fee at the time you request the change.

You may wish to consider taking out an appropriate insurance policy in case your ceremony is cancelled or postponed due to unforeseen circumstances.

Risk Assessments: If you are booking a non-licenced venue or outside space for a non-legal ceremony, a risk assessment will be required. The fee for which is payable through your customer account within 24 hours. The risk assessment will be carried out approx. 6 months prior to the ceremony, or earlier for a short notice booking. If the ceremony is cancelled and the assessment has not been carried out, the fee will be refunded. If the risk assessment has been carried out and the ceremony is cancelled, no refund will be issued.

Notice of Marriage/Civil Partnership:

BEFORE you begin the booking process for your notice appointment, please enter your postcode into the registration office finder and check the address of your local registration service to ensure you attend the correct office. If you have any difficulty making an appointment, you should contact us immediately.

Gloucestershire Registration Service requires you to make an appointment with your local registration service to give notice of marriage or civil partnership within eleven months of the date of your ceremony unless we have agreed another timescale with you.

It is your responsibility to notify us if you are unable to give notice within the time span specified above. We reserve the right to cancel your ceremony booking if you do not arrange to give notice of marriage or civil partnership within the requested time.

A statutory fee of £42 per person is payable online at the time of booking to secure your appointment. Please be advised that your appointment will be cancelled if payment is not received within 24 hours of booking.
If you do not attend your appointment or are more than 10 minutes late your appointment will be cancelled and no refund will be issued. You will be required to re-book your appointment and will be charged a re-booking fee of £42 per person which will be payable online at the time of booking. Please be advised that your appointment will be cancelled if payment is not received within 24 hours of booking.
If you do not meet the residency requirements or do not bring all the required, original, valid, documentation we will not be able to complete your notice and no refund will be issued. A further appointment will have to be booked and paid for. You will be charged a re-booking fee of £42 per person which will be payable online at the time of booking. Please be advised that your appointment will be cancelled if payment is not received within 24 hours of booking.
If one, or both, of the parties does not have, or only has limited, English language skills then you will need to bring a translator to your appointment. A translator can be a family member or friend but cannot be the partner in the marriage or civil partnership. If you and the registrar cannot understand each other, the appointment will have to be cancelled and no refund will be issued. A further appointment will need to be booked and you will be charged a re-booking fee of £42 per person. Please be advised that your appointment will be cancelled if payment is not received within 24 hours of booking.

If you have any queries, please email ceremony@gloucestershire.gov.uk.

Please note: If you have changed your venue since giving notice you will need to give notice again and a fee of £42 per person will be payable for each new notice given. This is a legal requirement.

Unless both parties are British or Irish citizens or have the relevant immigration status, there is a further requirement for both parties to bring a passport size colour photograph and a method of making an additional payment of £30 which is the fee for your proposed marriage or civil partnership to be referred to the Home Office.

Please be aware that registration officials are required to refer to the Home Office all proposed marriages and civil partnerships where either or both of the parties are not British or Irish citizens, or do not have the relevant immigration status. This also applies to EU, EEA and Swiss nationals without settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, or who have not applied to the EU Settlement Scheme before 30 June 2021. This may result in the legal notice period between giving notice and getting married or forming a civil partnership, being extended from 28 days to 70 days. For more information, please go to: https://www.gov.uk/marriages-civil-partnerships/foreign-national.

Private Citizenship Ceremonies:

Ceremony Fees: The ceremony fee must be paid in full within 24 hours. It is paid via the link we send at the time of booking. Part payments are not accepted and may lead to your booking being cancelled.

Fees are reviewed annually but may be subject to change at other times. If your ceremony is taking place after 1st April new fees will apply and the website will be updated accordingly.

Amendments to Ceremonies: If any amendments to your private ceremony are required, they are subject to date availability and a fee of £55.00 will be payable via the link we send at the time of amendment. This must be paid within 24 hours of receiving the link.

Cancellation: You are required to cancel your ceremony in writing, either to Gloucestershire Registration Service, St George’s Road, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, GL50 3EW, or via email to grscitizenship@gloucestershire.gov.uk. Please ensure you make your cancellation request from the email address you provided for your booking. The ceremony fee can only be refunded to the person who made the original payment.

If you cancel 2 calendar months or more before the date of the ceremony the full ceremony fee will be refunded to the cardholder.

If you cancel between 2 calendar months – 2 weeks before the date of the ceremony, 50% of the ceremony fee will be refunded to the cardholder, e.g. if £160 ceremony fee paid- we will refund you £80.

There is no refund if you cancel 2 weeks or less before the date of the ceremony.

We are unable to postpone a ceremony and you will either need to cancel or make an amendment to the booking by paying the appropriate amendment fee at the time you request the change.

Losses due to events outside the control of the Gloucestershire Registration Service:

Gloucestershire Registration Service is not responsible for delays, cancellations or amendments to the date and/or time of your scheduled ceremony that are outside our control. If the performance of our obligations in respect of your ceremony is affected by an event outside our control (to include, without limitation, severe weather or flooding that substantially disrupts transportation routes) then we will contact you as soon as possible to let you know and we will take steps to minimise the effect of any such delay, cancellation or amendment. Provided we do this and have taken reasonable precautions to avoid the effects of such event we will not be liable for delays, cancellation or amendments caused by the event but if there is a risk of substantial delays, cancellations or amendments caused by the event you may contact us to end the contract and receive a refund for the difference between the cost of any services you have paid us for but not received and any actual expenditure incurred by us in respect of our obligations in respect of your ceremony prior to us receiving your request for a refund. Gloucestershire Registration Service, Gloucestershire County Council, recommends that you consider taking out Ceremony insurance to cover losses or expenses incurred in the case of such events.