Registration Service terms and conditions

Your booking is subject to the following terms and conditions. Please read these carefully.

These terms and conditions are divided into the following sections:

  1. Ceremonies terms and conditions
  2. Appointments terms and conditions
  3. Rebooking, rescheduling and cancellation policy
  4. General terms and conditions

1. Ceremonies terms and conditions

Your ceremony booking is accepted subject to the terms and conditions set out in this document and on the basis that you agree to the terms and conditions in their entirety.

1.1 A ceremony for the purpose of the booking policy is defined as a:

a. Marriage Ceremony
b. Civil Partnership Ceremony
c. Renewal of Vows
d. Naming Ceremony
e. Commitment Ceremony

1.2 A non-refundable deposit (currently £100 or £46 for the Register Office) must be paid at the time of the booking to secure a date for your ceremony in our diary.

1.3 If the ceremony is in less than 3 months' time full payment must be made at the time of booking.

1.4 The balance of the ceremony fee is payable either at the time of the booking or no less than 3 months prior to the date of the ceremony.

1.5 It is the responsibility of the couple to ensure that they complete the legal preliminaries to the marriage correctly, and within the statutory time limits.

1.6 If at any point it is alleged that a legal impediment to a marriage or civil partnership exists, the Superintendent Registrar has a legal duty to investigate before the ceremony can take place. Lambeth Registration Service cannot be held accountable for any resulting delay, postponement or cancellation of your ceremony and financial loss that may occur.

1.7 If either party has gone through a foreign divorce/dissolution of a previous marriage/civil partnership and decide to book a ceremony against the advice of Lambeth Registration Service before the divorce/dissolution has been approved, no refunds or financial compensation will be given if the marriage cannot take place due to the processing times or decision of the Registrar General.

1.8 Both parties must be available to meet with the Registrars at the ceremony venue no later than 15 minutes before the ceremony start time. In the event of late arrival your ceremony will be subject to rebooking and you will need to pay the full fee for the rescheduled ceremony in addition to full fee for the original ceremony.

1.9 Lambeth Registration Service will not be held responsible for any financial loss, delay, postponement or cancellation caused by the late arrival of the couple or guests. The registrars attending your ceremony have other ceremonies to attend throughout the day and cannot allow the lateness of one ceremony to impact upon another.

1.10 The ceremony must be legally compliant and of a dignified nature. Lambeth Registration Service shall have the final decision on any wording and the content of the ceremony from start to finish.

1.11 Your registrar reserves the right to stop your ceremony from proceeding if:

  • either of the parties to a marriage or civil partnership appear to be acting under duress
  • either of the parties to a marriage or civil partnership appear to be intoxicated and are therefore unable to understand the nature and purport of the ceremony;
  • either of the parties to a marriage or civil partnership appear to lack the mental capacity to understand the nature and purport of the ceremony
  • a lawful objection is made before or during the ceremony

1.12 No food, drink (including alcohol) or animals (with the exception of assistance dogs) are permitted at Lambeth Town Hall, or in ceremony rooms at other licensed venues.

1.13 Any gifts, flowers or general goods delivered to, or left at, the Town Hall in conjunction with your ceremony are not the responsibility of the staff at the Town Hall.

1.14 Lambeth Registration Service will allocate staff to attend your ceremony but is unable to guarantee the attendance of an individual registrar, and reserves the right to substitute other qualified staff in the event of sickness or other unforeseen circumstances on the day.

1.15 You must provide two witnesses who are over the age of 16 and can speak and understand English to witness the marriage/civil partnership. Lambeth Registration Service staff cannot act as witnesses. It is your duty to provide witnesses for your ceremony.

1.16 It is an offence under section 25(1) of the Immigration Act 1971 to enter into a marriage to help facilitate a stay in the United Kingdom. If a ceremony or appointment does not go ahead due to UK Visa and Immigration intervention, no refund shall be payable or financial compensation given for any losses incurred.

1.18 Each April, in line with council budget monitoring periods, the fees of all services are subject to review. You will be required to pay the correct fee due at the time of your event regardless of when the booking was made.

1.19 If the ceremony cannot take place due to the occurrence of any event described in the above terms and conditions you will be subject to the cancellation and amendment fees set out below.

2. Appointments terms and conditions

Your appointment booking is accepted subject to terms and conditions set out in this document and on the basis that you agree to the terms and conditions in their entirety.

2.1 All Customers who have appointments with Lambeth Registration Service must arrive at the agreed time of their appointment.

2.2 Customers who arrive late for their appointments will not be seen and are subject to the rescheduling and rebooking policy below.

2.3 Customers agree to provide all original documents required (as per the guidance on our website) at the time of their appointment. Customers arriving without the correct documents will not be seen and are subject to the rescheduling and rebooking policy below. Photocopies/scanned copies, electronic copies and documents not printed by the issuer of the document will not be accepted. If using a bank statement printed within the bank branch, it must be stamped by the branch.

2.4 Use of the EU Settlement Checking Service does not guarantee the approval of an application by the Home Office. Once an application has been received by the Home Office we are unable to offer any updates on its status.

2.5 Customers with foreign divorces agree to provide the documentation required by the General Register Office in order to assess if their divorce is valid in England and Wales.

2.6 Lambeth Registration Service will not be held accountable for processing times of outside bodies e.g. UK Visa and Immigration, the General Register Office, the Home Office.

3. Rebooking, rescheduling and cancellation policy

Booking fees and deposits

3.1 A non-refundable deposit for ceremonies, or booking fee for appointments, is payable at the time of booking for all services.

3.2 If you attend the appointment/ceremony, the fees paid in advance will be used towards payment for the service.

If you are unable to attend your appointment or ceremony you should refer to the rescheduling and cancellation details listed below.

Rescheduling appointments

3.3 All appointments may be rescheduled once (subject to availability) provided you give 48 hours or more notice. Any further changes will result in the full fee being charged.

3.4 If the alternative date incurs a higher fee, the difference must be paid at the time of rescheduling.

3.5 If the alternative date incurs a lower fee than your previous date no refund will be given.

3.6 If you give less than 48 hours’ notice you will have to rebook the appointment and pay the booking fee again.

3.7 Appointments can be rescheduled in writing either by letter (the 48 hours will be measured from receipt of your message), or by emailing registeroffice@lambeth.gov.uk, or by personal attendance at Lambeth Register Office.

Ceremonies

3.8 All ceremonies can be rescheduled to a different day, time and/or room within your chosen licensed venue (subject to availability). An administration fee of £35 will be payable each time a change is made.

3.9 If the change is made less than 6 weeks (42 days) before the original booking, the booking is subject to our cancellation policy. A fresh booking would need to be made and paid for in full.

3.10 If the alternative date or room incurs a higher fee, the difference must be paid at the time of rescheduling. If your alternative date or room has a lower fee the difference will be refunded providing this is at least 6 weeks (42 days) before the original ceremony date.

3.11 Once you change or reschedule a ceremony you lose your rights to a refund at a later date.

3.12 Ceremonies may be rescheduled in writing either by letter or by email or by personal attendance at Lambeth Register Office.

3.13 Except for the Olive Morris Suite or Register Office, the price of the registrar to solemnise the ceremony is completely independent of the fee to hire the venue.

3.14 If your ceremony is not paid in full at least six weeks (42 days) before your ceremony date, we reserve the right to cancel your booking, and the terms of the cancellation policy will apply.

Cancellations

(1) Appointments

3.15 Booking fees are non-refundable in all circumstances.

(2) Ceremonies

3.16 Deposits are non-refundable in all circumstances.

3.17 The full ceremony fee, less the deposit paid (currently £100 or £46 for the Register Office), is refundable provided you give us 42 days or more notice of your intention to cancel.

3.18 Failure to attend your ceremony will be considered a cancellation without sufficient notice, and as such no fees will be refunded.

3.19 Ceremonies must be cancelled in writing by letter or by email only. You will need to include the full details of the ceremony booking (the date, time, venue and your full names) and the method of payment. It would also be helpful if you were able to supply the date of payment and/or the authorisation code number, which can be found on the payment receipt.

3.20 Cancellation requests should be sent to: The Superintendent Registrar, Lambeth Register Office, PO Box 764, Winchester, SO23 5EA or emailed to: registeroffice@lambeth.gov.uk.

4. General terms and conditions

4.1 In the event of an emergency, disaster or extreme weather conditions Lambeth Registration Service will use its reasonable endeavours to ensure your ceremony/appointment takes place on your chosen day and at the allotted time. However, Lambeth Registration Service cannot be held responsible and is not liable for any ceremony/appointment which has to be cancelled as a result of such events, which are outside our control.

4.2 Customers for appointments or ceremonies, and their guests, may not occupy the rooms at the Town Hall earlier than the time agreed, and must vacate the room and/or the premises not later than the time agreed.

4.3 For fire safety the maximum capacity of all our rooms may not be exceeded. If the number of guests exceeds the capacity of the room some guests will be excluded.

4.4 A cleaning fee of £120 will be incurred if any part of the Town Hall is left in an unacceptable condition due to you or your guests. This includes throwing of confetti/rice. Confetti/rice is not allowed at ceremonies taking place in Lambeth Town Hall. This includes out in the courtyard, on or around the steps to the Town Hall, and in the adjacent areas.

4.5 Ceremonies can only take place in venues that have been licensed for this purpose. Lambeth Registration Service is not responsible for any failure on the part of licensed venues to provide additional services not covered by this licence.

We strongly recommend that all of our customers take out their own independent insurance against the possibility of cancellation or the postponement of any part of their celebrations.

Expressions defined:

Appointments are: Notices of Marriage, Notices of Civil Partnership, European Union Settlement Checking Service and Private Citizenship Ceremonies.

Ceremonies are: Marriages, Civil Partnership Ceremonies, Renewal of Vows or Naming Ceremonies, conversion of Civil Partnership to Marriage

Licensed venue: a place that is lawfully authorised for the solemnisation of marriages within the London Borough of Lambeth as detailed on the Official List of Approved Premises as held by the General Register Office for England and Wales.

Lambeth Registration Service – May 2020