Parochial Fees for weddings and funerals are set by Archbishops’ Council, usually with revised levels from January each year. For more detailed information, please see the Church of England Parochial Fees online guidance, which includes an informative FAQs section.
Diocesan Policy
A note explaining the payment of fees within the Diocese – please note that there are changes to payments for both divine worship and occasional offices for SSMs and Readers from 1 January 2026 and these are detailed in the policy note onthe link below:
Parochial Fees and Expenses for Ministers
The Church of England has advice on its website regarding the paying of fees (updated January 2015), which includes FAQs.
Guide to the Church of England Parochial Fees
Guidance from the Legal Office on Crematorium Funerals and Parochial Fees (dated January 2015)
Table of Parochial Fees 2026
Table of Parochial Fees 2025
Recording Parochial Fees
The Record of Parochial Fees to be used in the Diocese is available in either .pdf or .xls:
Record of Parochial Fees (pdf)
Record of Parochial Fees (excel)
Payment/Annual Stipends Letter (including details of fees payable by PCCs to visiting clergy)
Parochial Fees are regulated by Ecclesiastical Law. Details of the Fees payable can be found on the Church of England’s website at:
https://www.churchofengland.org/resources/clergy-resources/life-events-parochial-fees-and-guidance
Further information is available in the Annual Stipends Letter .
For visiting clergy a PCC or other church should offer SSMs (retired or otherwise), Readers and retired Stipendiary Clergy (but not other ministers) fees for conducting Services of Divine Worship (other than weddings and funerals). The
fee payable shall be 50% of the current parochial fee payable to the DBF for a funeral in church. For 2025 this is currently £63.50 and from 1 January 2026 it will be £66.00. For each subsequent service on the same day in the same parish or group of parishes the fee shall be 25% of the same parochial fee. The minister should be paid expenses in addition to the fee. Where an occasional office is taken by a member of clergy, the whole of the DBF fee must be paid to the DBF. In the case of retired clergy SSMs (retired and active) and Readers, two-thirds of the fee paid to the DBF for the type of service may be paid to anyone in this group, with the DBF receiving the balance. For Readers, this only applies for funerals. For further details of fees payable for occasional offices please see section 9(b) of the Annual Stipends Letter available on the link above.
