Statutory Instruments
2003 No. 1932
ECCLESIASTICAL LAW, ENGLAND
The Parochial Fees Order 2003
Made (Sealed by the Archbishops' Council)
24th July 2003
Laid before the General Synod in draft
11th July 2003
Laid before Parliament
6th August 2003
Coming into force
1st January 2004
The Archbishops' Council, in exercise of powers conferred by sections 1 and 2 of the Ecclesiastical Fees Measure 1986( 1 ), which powers were transferred to it by The National Institutions of the Church of England (Transfer of Functions) Order 1998( 2 ), hereby makes the following Order, a draft of which has been approved by the General Synod in accordance with section 2(1) of the said Measure :
1. The Table of Parochial Fees set forth in Part I of the Schedule to this Order is hereby established and contains particulars of the parochial fees which, subject to the provisions of section 3 of the said Measure, are to be payable to the persons therein named in relation to the respective matters therein specified.
2. Part II of the said Schedule shall apply in relation to the said parochial fees.
3. In the Schedule to this Order, unless the context otherwise requires—
“burial” includes deposit in a vault and the interment or deposit of cremated remains;
“Chancellor” means the judge of the consistory or commissary court of the bishop or archbishop of the diocese;
“incumbent” means the incumbent of any benefice as defined by the Interpretation Measure 1925( 3 );
“churchyard” includes the curtilage of a church and a burial ground of a church whether or not immediately adjoining such church;
“cemetery” means a burial ground maintained by a burial authority;
“monument” includes a headstone, cross, kerb, border, vase, chain, railing, tablet, plaque, marker, flatstone, tombstone or monument or tomb of any other kind.
4. The Parochial Fees 2002( 4 ) is hereby revoked.
5. This Order may be cited as the Parochial Fees Order 2003 and shall come into operation on the first day of January 2004.
The draft of this Order was approved by the General Synod of the Church of England on the 14th day of July 2003
David Williams
Clerk to the Synod
THE COMMON SEAL of the Archbishops' Council was hereunto affixed this 24th day of July 2003
William Fittall
Secretary General
SCHEDULE
Part I Table of Parochial Fees
| Col 1 | Col 2 | Col 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fee payable to incumbent | Fee payable to Parochial Church Council | Total Fees Payable | |
| £.p | £.p | £.p | |
| BAPTISMS | |||
| Certificate issued at time of baptism | 9.00 | – | 9.00 |
| Short certificate of baptism given under Section 2 Baptismal Registers Measure 1961( 5 ) | 6.00 | – | 6.00 |
| MARRIAGES | |||
| Publication of banns of marriage | 12.00 | 6.00 | 18.00 |
| Certificate of banns issued at time of publication | 9.00 | – | 9.00 |
| Marriage service | 87.00 | 93.00 | 180.00 |
| FUNERALS AND BURIALS | |||
| A. Service in church | |||
| Funeral service in church | 45.00 | 36.00 | 81.00 |
| Burial in churchyard following on from service in church | – | 145.00 | 145.00 |
| Burial in cemetery or cremation following on from service in church | – | – | Nil |
| Burial of body in churchyard on separate occasion | 30.00 | 145.00 | 175.00 |
| Burial of cremated remains in churchyard on separate occasion | 30.00 | 43.00 | 73.00 |
| Burial in cemetery on separate occasion | 30.00 | – | 30.00 |
| B. No Service in Church | |||
| Service in crematorium or cemetery | 81.00 | – | 81.00 |
| Burial of body in churchyard | 30.00 | 145.00 | 175.00 |
| Burial of cremated remains in churchyard | 30.00 | 43.00 | 73.00 |
| C. Certificate issued at time of burial | 9.00 | – | 9.00 |
| MONUMENTS IN CHURCHYARDS | |||
| Permitted in accordance with rules, regulations or directions made by the chancellor including those relating to a particular churchyard or part of a churchyard (but excluding a monument authorised by a particular faculty):– | |||
| Small cross of wood (*) | 6.00 | 10.00 | 16.00 |
| Small vase not exceeding 305mm × 203mm × 203mm (aprox. 12” × 8” × 8”)(*) | 30.00 | 36.00 | 66.00 |
| Tablet plaque or other marker commemorating a person whose remains have been cremated(*) | 30.00 | 36.00 | 66.00 |
| Any other monument(*) | 42.00 | 82.00 | 124.00 |
| Additional inscription on existing monument | 30.00 | – | 30.00 |
| SEARCHES IN CHURCH REGISTERS ETC. | |||
| Searching registers of marriages for period before 1st July 1837 | |||
| (for up to one hour) | 9.00 | 6.00 | 15.00 |
| (for each subsequent hour or part of an hour) | 6.00 | 6.00 | 12.00 |
| Searching registers of baptisms or burials (including provision of one copy of any entry therein) | |||
| (for up to one hour) | 9.00 | 6.00 | 15.00 |
| (for each subsequent hour or part of an hour) | 6.00 | 6.00 | 12.00 |
| Each additional copy of an entry in a register of baptisms or burials | 9.00 | 6.00 | 15.00 |
| Inspection of instrument of apportionment or agreement for exchange of land for tithes deposited under Tithe Act 1836( 6 ) | 6.00 | – | 6.00 |
| Furnishing copies of above (for every 72 words) | 6.00 | – | 6.00 |
Part II
Burial on a separate occasion
1. In relation to the fee for a burial in a churchyard, “on a separate occasion” means on any occasion other than following on from a service in church, for example, the interment of cremated remains.
Burial of infant
2. No fee is payable in respect of the burial of a still-born infant, or for the funeral or burial of an infant dying with the period of one year after birth.
Funeral service
3. If a full funeral service is held at the graveside, the incumbent’s fee is increased to that payable where the service is held in church.
Burial of cremated remains in churches or closed churchyards
4. Where cremated remains are buried in or under a church or in a closed churchyard, the fees payable to the incumbent and the Parochial Church Council are:
(i) where burial is authorised by a general faculty, the same as those laid down in Part I of this Schedule for burial in a churchyard;
(ii) where burial is authorised by a particular faculty, such sums as may be determined by the Chancellor, who shall specify the person or persons entitled to receive them.
Monuments in churchyards
5. The fees marked (*) include fees for the original inscription.
Where a monument in a churchyard is erected or an additional inscription on a monument is made under the authority of a particular faculty , the fees payable to the incumbent and the Parochial Church Council or either of them shall be such sums as may be determined by the Chancellor who shall specify the person or persons entitled to receive them.
The incumbent’s fee for an additional inscription on a small cross of wood shall not exceed the current fee payable to the incumbent for the erection of such a monument.
Monuments in churches
6. Where a faculty is granted for the erection of a monument in a church or any additional inscription thereon, the fees payable to the incumbent and the Parochial Church Council or either of them shall be determined by the Chancellor who shall specify the person or persons entitled to receive them.
The incumbent’s fees
7. Unless the incumbent has signed a Deed of Assignment in favour of the Diocesan Board of Finance, he/she may direct either generally or in particular cases that all or part of any fee which would otherwise be payable to him/her shall be payable to the minister performing the service or duty.
Reservation of grave space: vaults
8. Payment of any of the fees prescribed by the Table in Part I of this Schedule does not confer any right to construct a new vault or an exclusive right to a grave or vault. Where a faculty is granted conferring rights for a period specified in the faculty, the fees payable to the incumbent and the Parochial Church Council or either of them shall be determined by the Chancellor who shall specify the person or persons entitled to receive them.
Searches in Church Registers, etc
9. The search fee relates to a “particular search” where the approximate date of the baptism, marriage or burial is known. The fee for a more general search of a church register is negotiable with the incumbent and the Parochial Church Council.
Services in crematoria and unconsecrated cemeteries
10. The Church of England (Miscellaneous Provisions) Measure 1992( 7 ) contains a provision which has the effect of requiring a minister of a parish, if requested, to perform a funeral service for defined parishioners in any appropriate crematorium or unconsecrated cemetery. The fees prescribed by the Table in Part I of this Schedule for such services (which are identical to the fees for services held in consecrated cemeteries) are mandatory except where a local authority or other crematorium authority has fixed charges for these services in which case the authority’s charges will apply.