Register Office terms and conditions

By attending our services, you are accepting the following terms and conditions at the discretion of the Head of Service.

Jump to terms and conditions for:

1. Ceremonies
2. The Garden Suite
3. Appointments
4. Copy Certificate Requests
5. Private Citizenship Ceremonies
6. Privacy notice

Ceremonies

A ceremony booking in Tower Hamlets (excluding citizenship ceremonies) is accepted on the following terms and conditions:

A ceremony booking in Tower Hamlets (excluding citizenship ceremonies) is accepted on the following terms and conditions:

• No legal blockage to the marriage or civil partnership exists and legal preliminaries like giving notice of intention, are completed within the current statutory time limits.
• Where necessary, foreign divorce or dissolution papers are accepted by the Registrar General before the ceremony.
• Where necessary, Home Office permission is granted before the ceremony is booked. If a ceremony is booked and permission is refused, you will not receive a refund.
• You pay your ceremony fees in full at least 12 weeks before the ceremony. All other fees are payable on demand.
• 'Register Office' ceremony fees are non-refundable as they are charged as a booking fee.
• Two suitable witnesses who speak and understand fluent English are provided by the couple where necessary.

Ceremony Booking Fees

To hold a provisional ceremony booking, you must pay a non-refundable deposit. Check our table of fees for prices. This will go towards the full payment for your ceremony.

If you are booking a ceremony that is less than 12 weeks away, you must make the full payment for the ceremony to hold the date.

If you have booked a ‘Register Office’ ceremony, this is charged as a booking fee and is not refundable. Your booking fee becomes a ceremony fee after completing your ceremony.

Amendment fees

You can request to change the date, time or venue of your ceremony after your booking has been accepted subject to the following conditions:

• you pay the amendments fees in the following table and our fees page.
• there must be six weeks between the date that you notify us and the date that you have originally booked for your ceremony.
• If your new date, time or location is more expensive, you will need to pay the difference.
• If your new ceremony date is less than six weeks away, you will be asked to pay the full cost of the new ceremony. No refund given for your previous ceremony date.
• All details that are changed at the same time are only subject to one amendment fee.
• you may need to give new notices because these are specific to your venue and only valid for one year.
• the amendment fee is not refundable.
• we will only accept an amendment to a booking from either person entering a marriage or civil partnership.
• 'Register Office' ceremonies are charged as a non-refundable booking fee. If you wish to change your ‘Register Office’ ceremony, you will be required to pay a new fee.

Refunds and cancellations

You can claim a full refund if you cancel within 24 hours of booking your appointment (this includes ceremonies booked for the next working day).

To cancel a provisional or confirmed ceremony booking, you must give at least 6 weeks' notice. If you give less notice, no refund will be authorised. We keep the non-refundable deposit on any eligible refunds.

Once you change or reschedule a ceremony you cannot refund at a later date.

Table of amendment and cancellation conditions

The following applies to all ceremonies in St Georges Town Hall or approved venues in Tower Hamlets.

‘Register Office’ ceremonies are booking fees which are always retained- no refunds are offered.

If you amend a ceremony to a different date, you will not be entitled to a refund at a later date should you wish to cancel.

Arriving late for your ceremony

The Registration Service will charge a late fee if the ceremony is delayed by the time set in the following table.

If your ceremony is cancelled, you need to rebook the ceremony and pay the full fees again. This is covered in our terms and conditions. If the ceremony starts late, it may be cut short to avoid delaying other couples’ ceremonies.

Late fees are to be paid before your ceremony starts. If that is not possible, then you must pay the next working day. We cannot register a ceremony and issue certificate until full payment for our services has been received.

Approved venues

The registrars attending approved venue ceremonies have other ceremonies to attend throughout the day, so cannot delay the pre-agreed start time of the ceremony.

If it is necessary for the registration team to leave the venue and attend their next ceremony, they will make every effort to return and conduct your ceremony subject to a late fee.

If possible, and requested, a registrar may also reduce the length of the ceremony to just the legal words. If this is not possible and the registration team needs to return to conduct your ceremony on another day, you would be liable to pay all additional fees incurred. This may include giving new notices.

Ceremonies held outside the standard hours of 10am to 10pm will incur a Sunday or Bank Holiday fee. You must also cover the cost of vehicles for registrars if public transport is not available.

Interpreters

In some appointments it may be necessary to bring an interpreter. Please ensure you let our office know beforehand if you will be bringing an interpreter. We cannot provide interpreters for you. If you fail to bring an interpreter where required, you may be asked to pay a new appointment booking fee.

Liability

We will not accept liability for:

• any delay or loss caused by the late arrival or non-arrival of you or any of your guests or services.
• And delay or financial loss due to the late arrival of any interpreters required to attend your ceremony.
• any financial loss caused by a request from you or your representatives to delay the ceremony. Any decision to delay the ceremony is entirely at the discretion of the Tower Hamlets Registration Service
• any loss or compensation where a ceremony is stopped from going ahead due to there being a legal impediment or such. This could be owing to an offence committed under the Marriage or Civil Partnership Acts or relevant Immigration Acts
• any ceremony that must be cancelled due to events that are outside our control.
• the failure of any music or other system provided by you, the venue or a third party.
• failure, neglect, non-compliance, or omissions caused by any venue that is not St Georges Town Hall or ‘The Register Office’, or for any agreement between you and the venue for the use or provision of any services. Approval of the venue is granted only in connection with the provision of ceremonies.

 The Garden Suite

• Bookings for the Garden Suite can only be made if there is a relevant booking on the same day for a marriage, civil partnership, or citizenship ceremony in Tower Hamlets Register Office at St Georges Town Hall.
• Bookings are subject to availability and operating restrictions of Tower Hamlets Register Office.
• Basic cleaning is included.
• The final guest must have left the room before the end time of the booking or a late exit fee will be charged.
• A morning and afternoon session can be booked by the service user and 2 fees charged as applicable.
• Access is via the external door for all functions.
• Only those 'setting up' the space have access to the garden suite before a ceremony.
• Access to the toilet facilities are from within the Garden Suite only.
• Audio is not to exceed suitable levels for the terms of licence.
• Food and drink provided by the couple must be consumed in the room and not taken from the Garden Suite or the Garden Suite Terrace.
• Access to St Georges Gardens is available to the public. The balcony can be used by the service users only.
• Biodegradable confetti must be used outside only.
• There can be no use of naked flames- this includes candles.
• Pets are allowed but a disclaimer form must be signed and we must be notified in advance.
• Anti-social behaviour, including but not limited to intoxication, will result in the relevant people being removed and potentially the immediate termination of the event with no refund given.
• We ask the volume of alcohol consumed is limited and that spirits are not drunk on our premises.
• It is the responsibility of the hirer to ensure guests are drinking moderately to make sure other users of the building are not disturbed.
• All users must be respectful of the surrounding environment with no excessive use of alcohol and noise.

 Fees

• All fees to be paid in advance in one instalment.
• Any cancellation within 2 weeks of the booking will not be eligible for a refund.
• Any cancellation over 2 weeks before the booking will be eligible for a full refund.
• Reschedules are included in the amendment fee charged for the ceremony (as long as 2 weeks’ notice is given as above).

Cleaning and Damage

• Excess cleaning will be invoiced to the service user and an admin fee payable
• Any damage will be invoiced to the service user and an admin fee payable.
• Anything that is removed from the Garden Suite which belongs to the London Borough of Tower Hamlets will be invoiced and admin fee payable.

Times of Hire

• The Garden Suite can be hired for the timeslots as follows:

• There is no possibility to have these times changed.

Appointments

The terms and conditions are relevant for birth, death, stillbirth, and notice of intention appointments.
It is your responsibility to make sure that you are ready for your appointment and that you have read all correspondence from Tower Hamlets Register Office.

Tower Hamlets Register Office team are not responsible for checking immigration applications. We cannot offer you any advice about the immigration application processes.

Interpreters

In some appointments it may be necessary to bring an interpreter. Please ensure you let our office know beforehand if you will be bringing an interpreter. We cannot provide interpreters for you. If you fail to bring an interpreter where required, you may be asked to pay a new appointment booking fee.

Fees

Appointments are confirmed via email upon receipt of payment where required. We are a cashless office and only accept online or card payments. You must have permission of the cardholder before making a card transaction.

Births and deaths

It is free to register a birth or a death. You will be charged for each certificate you wish to buy which we request at time of making an appointment.

No certificates of registration are free. Each certificate is subject to a fee set by the government. If you do not attend your appointment and no certificate is issued, but you have prepaid for a certificate, you can have this fee refunded.

In the case of a still birth or a newborn death – one certificate of death or still-birth is issued free of charge at the discretion of the Head of Service.

Notice of intention

Appointment booking fees are taken at the time of booking your notice of intention appointment for each party.

If you or your partner are subject to immigration control, there will be an extra charge per person taken at the time of the booking.

You need to pay for any fees in relation to a divorce document by the Registrar General or the Superintendent Registrar.

You pay a booking fee before your notice appointment. If your notice successful, we utilise your appointment booking fee to pay the statutory notice fees. If your notice cannot go ahead, we keep the booking fee in line with our terms and conditions.

Refunds, cancellations and reschedules

You can only cancel or reschedule your appointment in writing or via email.

Cancellations and reschedule requests are processed Monday to Friday. We do not process them weekends or on public holidays.

Where an appointment booking fee has been paid, you can:

• claim a full refund if you cancel within 24 hours of booking your appointment (this includes appointments booked for the next working day)
• claim a refund of 50 per cent of the original fee on a cancellation, or reschedule free of charge, if you let us know within two working days of your booking that you will not be able to make the original appointment.

Refunds will not be given if you:

• request to cancel or reschedule an appointment giving less than two working days’ notice before your appointment.
• are late or do not attend your appointment.
• your appointment is terminated by Tower Hamlets Register Office.
• are advised by the UKVI or any other agency that your application has been unsuccessful.

Tower Hamlets Register Office will terminate your appointment, and you will be charged a new fee for a new appointment, if they are not satisfied that you have:

• read, understood, and met the UKVI or other legal requirements.
• supplied correct and original documents at your appointment

Copies of Certificates

Payment for certificates must be made at the time of request according to the fees set out on our fees page.

Refunds

Refunds will not be issued if your certificate is lost or damaged in the post or if the details do not match what you expect.

We will take a £2 administrative search fee, per application, on all applications where we cannot find the required entry. The remaining fee is refunded.

Certificates are held for collection for a maximum of six months and then destroyed to comply with GDPR. No refund or exchange will be provided for an uncollected certificate.

Private Citizenship Ceremonies

You must arrive on time for your private ceremony. If you and your guests are more than 10 minutes late, we may have to reduce or reschedule your ceremony.

The fee is for each adult citizen. Therefore a family must pay a fee for each new adult citizen that is being naturalised.

Privacy notice

We use your data to send reminders, information and satisfaction survey related directly to your appointment, ceremony or copy certificate request.

Find out how the information we collect about you is used and your rights in relation to that information on our legal notices page under GDPR privacy notice - Registrars service (births, death and marriages)