All fees are VAT exempt unless otherwise stated.

The fees for certificates listed below are shown for the period April 2013 to March 2014 and for April 2014 to March 2015. Some fees are statutory and set by the Registrar General. Other fees are set by the County Council and are reviewed annually.

Fees for birth, marriage and death certificates

Birth, marriage and death registers are the legal record of events. Registers are kept by the registrar at the relevant local registration office (or church in the case of church marriages) until the register is full, when it is passed to the central repository at the County Register Office in Harrogate for safekeeping. In most cases, copy certificates are issued by the certificate services team.

Please note that one short birth certificate is issued at the time of registration free of charge. This does not show the parents' details and has limited use.

Certificates issued at the time of registration are £4.00 each.

The fee for any certificate ordered online or issued through certificate services from the central repository in Harrogate is £10 per certificate plus an additional £6 (inc. VAT) if you require a priority service and an additional £5 (inc. VAT) per order if you require the certificate to be posted overseas.

Fees for civil partnership certificates

The legal record of civil partnerships is held electronically. The fees for civil partnership certificates are:

• at the time of registration - £4 each
• after the time of registration - £10 each

Obtaining copy certificates

You can obtain a copy certificate through our online service.

Fees for civil marriages and civil partnerships

The fees below apply from April 2013 to March 2014 and April 2014 to March 2015.

Fees are reviewed annually and cover the cost of the registration staff attending your ceremony and include the cost of one certificate. They are payable in advance when notice is given and no later than three months prior to the ceremony. The fee payable is the fee current on the date of the ceremony.

There is a range of fees dependent upon where and when the ceremony is held; for example, whether the ceremony is held in a registration office or an approved venue, during the week or at a weekend. Ceremonies can be held at our registration offices on Saturday afternoons, Sundays and Bank Holidays by special arrangement and separate fees apply. Offices may also be available on 'special days' for example, if Valentine's Day falls on a Sunday.

Please be aware that if you are holding your ceremony in an approved venue, such as a hotel or stately home, there will be further costs charged by that venue.

A statutory notice fee of £35 per person is payable for all marriage and civil partnership ceremonies in addition to the charges listed below. This notice fee is non-refundable. The fees are listed according to the location of the ceremony..

Private citizenship ceremonies

The fee for a private citizenship ceremony is the same as a marriage or civil partnership ceremony for that particular day and time, whether held in a registration office or an approved premise such as a hotel. These fees are outlined below. 

Approved premises

A fee of £25 (inc. VAT) is required for all ceremony bookings in approved venues. This is non-refundable once seven days have elapsed from the time of booking.

The above fees are charged by the registration service for attendance at ceremonies only. Please note that further costs will be charged by the venue

Enhanced ceremonies at the Almsford Suite, Harrogate register office

Enhanced ceremonies at all other registration offices including the Byron Suite, Harrogate

Simple ceremonies at all other registration offices

A fee of £10 (inc. VAT) is required for all ceremony bookings in our offices. This is non-refundable once seven days have elapsed from the time of booking

Ceremonies in the office of the superintendent registrar, Bilton House, Harrogate

Naming and renewal of vows in local authority or approved premises

A fee of £25 (inc. VAT) is required for ceremony bookings. This is non-refundable once seven days have elapsed from the time of booking.

A wedding and naming package is available, with the cost being the appropriate wedding fee plus 50 per cent off the above naming fee.

Paying for your ceremony

You can pay in person at the relevant registration office, or over the telephone, using a debit or credit card. We do also accept cash payments but we no longer accept personal cheques for the payment of ceremony fees.