Registering a building as a place of Worship or Marriage

Place of Worship

Under the provision of the Places of Worship Registration Act 1855, a congregation may apply for a building to be certified as a place of worship by applying to the Superintendent Registrar in the district in which the building is situated. This excludes churches or chapels of the Church of England, unless they share a church building with another religious denomination.

The person who acts as 'minister', 'proprietor' or 'Trustee' at the place of worship has to complete two copies of Form 76 - "Certifying a place of meeting for religious worship under the places of worship registration act 1855".  (You can download this form from the link at the bottom of this page). The two copies of the completed Form 76 should sent to the registration office accompanied by 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 the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead (RBWM) covering the statutory fee of £28.00

Place of Marriage

If they wish the place of worship to become a place where marriages can take place, Form 78 - "Certificate and application for the registration of a place of religious worship for the solemnization of marriages under section 41 of the Marriage Act 1949" should be completed.  (You can download this form from the link at the bottom of this page). If possible this application should be made with the original application for a place of worship. However the request can only be actioned after the date of certification of the building as a place of worship.

Form 78 requires signatures of 20 separate householders who are prepared to state 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 by a cheque or postal order made payable to the (RBWM).

After the information is received at the Register Office, it is checked and 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 London Gazette and a local newspaper. A certificate is sent to the applicant, stating that the building is now certified as a place for worship and marriage and a written confirmation of this is also sent.

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 to be given to the register general, pursuant to the places of worship registration act 1855" needs to be completed.  (You can download this form from the link at the bottom of this page).

More information can be found at the GRO website

•   Form 76 - Certifying a Place of Meeting for Religious Worship (172Kb)

•   Form 77 - Disuse of a Certified Place of meeting for Religious Worship (130Kb)

•   Form 78 - Registration of a Place of Worship for the Solemnization of Marriages (187Kb)