The Statutory Office

A statutory office ceremony is a simple administrative process in order for you to be legally married or to form a civil partnership.  It is a basic procedure that takes place in our office with yourselves and two witnesses.

The statutory ceremony office is for the couple and two witnesses only, due to the licensing restrictions. There is no room for any other guests in the office or standing in the doorway.  This also includes any babies or children.

If this is too restrictive for you, please take a look at The Magnolia Room which holds up to 8 guests. This pretty little room is still intimate but allows you more flexibility to invite other guests.

It is important that you are on time, otherwise you will need to re-book your ceremony or civil partnership (new fees will need to be paid). The registrars will have other appointments that day to consider which also need to run to time. Therefore, you and your 2 witnesses should allow extra time to travel into the City and find appropriate parking.

We are unable to offer parking at the Register Office, However, there is one disabled bay inside the Register Office gates and one just outside on the street. If they are both taken, you will need to find alternative parking.

You need two witnesses to sign the marriage paperwork and they can be friends or family members. Although there is no legal upper or lower age limit, they need to understand the nature of marriage and understand English. If you have used a translator during your ceremony they must sign as one of the witnesses.

The statutory office is designed for couples who just want to sign the paperwork, therefore there is no facility for music. Your ceremony will be simple and straight forward and we cannot add any readings to your ceremony.

The statutory office facility fits in with the register office working diary. This means that your booking is likely to be at a quieter time of the week, perhaps first thing in the morning. Please contact us for availability.

There is no photography or videography allowed in the statutory office, but you are welcome to take any photos you would like outside in our lovely courtyard.

Your certificate is your way of proving that you are married or now in a civil partnership. The ceremony fee you pay includes two certificates, which may be sent to you in the post at a later date. You can always order additional certificates afterwards and these are done online.

The statutory office is designed to be straightforward and simple. If this is not quite what you had in mind, try the Magnolia Room (8 guests), Golden Jubilee Room (55 guests) or Westgate Hall (74 guests). Choosing one of these venues is more likely to give you a more popular time slot. It also means that you can have music and readings to add a little bit more celebration into the occasion.

And don’t worry ….. a larger venue can still be as intimate as you choose it to be. There are no rules about how many people you can invite. As long as there are 2 credible witnesses there, you can keep the guest list as small as you wish!

Bookings made for ceremonies to take place in the Statutory Register Office Room will incur full payment at the time of booking. The full fee taken will include the booking fee, the notice fee (if notice is being given in Southampton), any associated referral or document fees, and the ceremony fee. These fees are subject to our cancellation policy and refund conditions stated for notice of marriage/civil partnership. The ceremony fee includes two marriage or civil partnership certificates.