Newcastle registration service terms and conditions

Legal information when making or cancelling a booking

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 £40 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

We do not require a deposit for Register Officer ceremonies.

Ceremonies held in The Leazes Room and at approved premises require a deposit of:

  • £80

Deposits are non refundable unless indicated otherwise in these term and conditions.

If you pay your final ceremony fee in full more than 16 weeks before the date of your ceremony we will:

  • credit the full amount against your final balance

If you pay your final ceremony fee in full less than 16 weeks before the date of your ceremony we will:

  • 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

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. You agree that this will constitute a variation of the terms of the contract accordingly.

Newcastle City Council venues

We offer two ceremony venues in the Civic Centre:

The Register Office is for ceremonies attended by up to:

  • 4 people

The Leazes Room is for ceremonies attended by up to:

  • 50 people

The maximum numbers are the total number of people who will be allowed into the ceremony room, including:

  • both partners
  • witnesses
  • guests
  • any other attendees such as photographers

If you have more than the maximum number then 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 £40

Cancellation of bookings

If we cancel your booking

We reserve 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
  • ceremony fees are not paid within the timescales shown above and you do not respond to overdue fee reminders

If we cancel your ceremony because of non-payment of fees any monies paid to date will be non-refundable.

We do not expect to have to alter or cancel your ceremony and will use reasonable efforts to ensure this does not occur. 

However, sometimes a situation will arise where the ceremony will need to be cancelled due to events beyond our reasonable control. 

If we are required to cancel your ceremony due to an event outside of our reasonable control we will make reasonable attempts to offer an alternative date.

If this is not possible our liability to you will be limited to the amounts already paid by you at the time of cancellation.

If you cancel your booking

If you cancel your ceremony booking after full payment has been made, to be eligible for a full refund of the ceremony fee, you must give us:

  • 16 weeks’ notice

For all other cancellations, a percentage of the ceremony fee paid will be retained by us to cover service costs incurred.

Cancellation is subject to the following:

  • cancellation up to two weeks after booking – full refund of any monies paid
  • more than 16 weeks’ notice of cancellation – full refund minus your booking fee and deposit.
  • cancellation between 16 weeks and 8 weeks before the ceremony – full refund minus your booking fee and deposit
  • cancellation between 8 weeks and 14 days before the ceremony –booking fee and deposit to be deducted and 25% of the remaining fee will be retained by Newcastle City Council: and
  • cancellation less than 14 days before the ceremony –booking fee and deposit to be deducted 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 us 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.

We will also not accept liability for any loss or compensation where a ceremony or registration is stopped from going ahead because:

  • it would be void if it went ahead
  • an offence under the Marriage or Civil Partnership Acts would be committed
  • it would be against the public interest
  • 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.

Privacy notice

Newcastle City Council is a registered as a 'data controller' under the Data Protection Act 1998 as we collect and process your personal information.

There are a number of legal reasons why we need to collect and use your personal information.

Generally, we collect and use personal information where we need to get in touch or provide you with a service.

As the data controller, we promise that any personal data we collect, and hold is:

  • processed fairly and lawfully.
  • used only for the purposes we tell you about when you give it to us.
  • accurate, relevant, and not excessive.
  • kept securely and not kept any longer than necessary.
  • not shared with anyone else unless you have given your consent, or we are allowed to do so by law

For more information about how we handle your personal data see: