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STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS
2026 No. 193
ECCLESIASTICAL LAW, ENGLAND
The National Ministry Register Regulations 2026
Made - - - - 25th February 2026
Laid before Parliament 5th March 2026
Coming into force in accordance with regulation 1(2)
and (3)
The Archbishops’ Council makes these Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by section 2
of the Church of England (Miscellaneous Provisions) Measure 2020(1) and in accordance with
paragraph 12A of Schedule 1 to the National Institutions Measure 1998(2) and section 11(6) and (7)
of the Church of England (Miscellaneous Provisions) Measure 2018(3).
Citation, commencement and interpretation
1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the National Ministry Register Regulations 2026.
(2) This regulation and regulation 8 come into force on the day after the day on which these
Regulations are laid before Parliament.
(3) Regulations 2 to 7 come into force on 30th January 2027.
(4) In these Regulations, “working day” means a day which is not a Saturday or Sunday,
Christmas Day, Good Friday or a bank holiday in England under the Banking and Financial Dealings
Act 1971(4).
(5) A requirement in these Regulations to provide information (however it is expressed) is to be
read as a requirement to do so in writing.
Lay ministers
2. In these Regulations, “lay minister” means—
(a) a person authorised to exercise the office of deaconess under Canon D3,
(b) a person authorised to exercise the office of reader under Canon E6 (and commonly known
as a “licensed lay minister”),
(1) 2020 No. 1.
(2) 1998 No. 1. Paragraph 12A of Schedule 1 was inserted by section 11(4) of the Church of England (Miscellaneous Provisions)
Measure 2018 (No. 7).
(3) 2018 No. 7.
(4) 1971 c. 80.Document Generated: 2026-03-05
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(c) a person authorised to serve as a lay worker under Canon E8, or
(d) a lay person specified in a bishop’s mission order as the leader, or one of the leaders, of a
mission initiative under Part 7 of the Mission and Pastoral Measure 2011(5).
Registration information
3. In these Regulations, the “registration information”, in relation to a lay minister, is—
(a) the lay minister’s full name,
(b) the form of authority to exercise ministry which the lay minister has,
(c) the area or place to which the authority relates, and
(d) if the authority is subject to a limitation of time, the date on which the authority comes to
an end or details of the contingency on the occurrence of which it comes to an end.
Registration officer
4.—(1) In these Regulations, the “registration officer” for a lay minister is the bishop of the
diocese in which the lay minister is authorised to exercise ministry.
(2) Where there is a vacancy in the see of the diocesan bishop concerned or the diocesan bishop
is unable to exercise functions as registration officer, and the functions of registration officer have
not already been delegated, the registration officer for a lay minister is—
(a) the senior suffragan bishop of the diocese, or
(b) if there is no suffragan bishop, the senior archdeacon of the diocese.
(3) For the purposes of paragraph (2), seniority is determined for an office according to the length
of service in that office in the diocese concerned.
Requirements to provide information: existing or new authority
5.—(1) The registration officer for a lay minister must, within five working days of the
commencement of these Regulations, provide the Archbishops’ Council with the registration
information about that lay minister.
(2) Where a person becomes a lay minister, the registration officer for the lay minister must,
within five working days of the person becoming a lay minister, provide the Archbishops’ Council
with the registration information about the lay minister.
(3) Where the authority of a lay minister to exercise ministry is renewed, the registration officer
for the lay minister must, within five working days of the authority being renewed, inform the
Archbishops’ Council of the renewal.
(4) Where the authority of a lay minister to exercise ministry is varied with the result that the
registration information about the lay minister is varied, the registration officer for the lay minister
must, within five working days of the variation taking effect, inform the Archbishops’ Council of
the variation to the registration information.
Requirements to provide information: termination or suspension of authority
6.—(1) Where the authority of a lay minister to exercise ministry is terminated, or ceases for
a limited period, in circumstances of a kind mentioned in paragraph (2), the registration officer
for the lay minister must, within 24 hours of the termination or cessation taking effect, inform the
Archbishops’ Council of the termination or cessation but not of the circumstances.
(5) 2011 No. 3.
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(2) The circumstances referred to in paragraph (1) are circumstances where—
(a) the lay minister’s licence to exercise ministry under Canon D3, E6 or E8 is revoked in
accordance with that Canon;
(b) the lay minister’s written permission to exercise ministry temporarily under Canon D3,
E6 or E8 is withdrawn in accordance with that Canon;
(c) the lay minister is removed from office under the capability procedures (within
the meaning of the Ecclesiastical Offices (Terms of Service) Measure 2009(6));
(d) the lay minister ceases to be the leader or one of the leaders of the mission initiative
concerned;
(e) the lay minister has voluntarily withdrawn from ministry.
(3) Where the authority of a lay minister to exercise ministry is terminated, or ceases for a limited
period, in circumstances of a kind other than those mentioned in paragraph (2), the registration officer
for the lay minister must, within three working days of the termination or cessation taking effect,
inform the Archbishops’ Council of the termination or cessation and of the circumstances.
(4) Where a lay minister is suspended from exercising ministry, or a lay minister’s suspension
from doing so is terminated, the registration officer for the lay minister must, within 24 hours of the
suspension, or the termination of the suspension, taking effect, inform the Archbishops’ Council of
the suspension or termination but not of the circumstances.
(5) Where the revocation of a lay minister’s licence to exercise ministry under Canon D3, E6 or
E8 is varied under that Canon, the registration officer for the lay minister must, within 24 hours of the
variation taking effect, inform the Archbishops’ Council of the variation but not of the circumstances.
(6) The reference in paragraph (2)(c) to the capability procedures is, in so far as the provisions
for the capability procedures that are made in regulations under section 2(2)(d) of the Ecclesiastical
Offices (Terms of Service) Measure 2009 do not have effect in the Channel Islands or either of them,
to be read as including a reference to the equivalent provisions which do have effect there.
(7) The references in paragraph (6) to the Channel Islands or either of them have the same
meaning as references to the Bailiwicks or either of them have in the Channel Islands Measure
2020(7).
(8) In its application to the Isle of Man, this regulation has effect as if the reference in
paragraph (2)(c) to the Ecclesiastical Offices (Terms of Service) Measure 2009 were a reference to
that Measure as it has effect in that island.
Publication etc of registration information
7. The Archbishops’ Council must publish and make available free of charge (in each case,
whether in electronic form or otherwise) the registration information in relation to each lay minister.
Minor amendments to the National Ministry Register (Clergy) Regulations 2020
8.—(1) The National Ministry Register (Clergy) Regulations 2020 are amended as follows.
(2) In regulation 4 (requirements to provide information: existing or new authority), in
paragraph (1), for “receiving a request from the Archbishops’ Council to do so” substitute “the
relevant commencement date”.
(3) In that regulation, after paragraph (4), insert—
(6) 2009 No. 1.
(7) 2020 No. 2.
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“(5) The requirement imposed on the registration officer under paragraph (2) does not arise in
the case of an authority to exercise ministry which is due to come to an end no more than 14 days
after it begins.”
(4) In that regulation, after paragraph (5) (inserted by paragraph (3) of this regulation) insert—
“(6) In paragraph (1), “the relevant commencement date” means the date on which this paragraph
comes into force.”
(5) In regulation 5 (requirements to provide information: termination or suspension of authority),
after paragraph (5) insert—
“(6) In its application to the Isle of Man, this regulation has effect as if each reference in
paragraph (2) to a Measure which extends to the Isle of Man were a reference to that Measure as
it has effect in that island.”
These Regulations were approved by the General Synod on 13th February 2026.
A.S. McGregor
Registrar of the General Synod
Signed on behalf of the Archbishops' Council by two officers of the Council authorised by the
Council for that purpose.
David White
25th February 2026 Officer of the Archbishops' Council
Simon Gallagher
25th February 2026 Officer of the Archbishops' Council
4Document Generated: 2026-03-05
Status: This is the original version (as it was originally made). This
item of legislation is currently only available in its original format.
EXPLANATORY NOTE
(This note is not part of the Regulations)
These Regulations are made under section 2 of the Church of England (Miscellaneous Provisions)
Measure 2020, which requires the Archbishops’ Council to compile and maintain a national register
of those who exercise ministry. These Regulations are concerned mainly with laity.
Regulation 1 provides that regulation 8 comes into force on the day after that on which the
Regulations are laid before Parliament and that regulations 2 to 7 come into force on 30th January
2027.
Regulation 2 gives the meaning of “lay minister” for the purposes of these Regulations.
Regulation 3 sets out the information which is required about a lay minister for the purposes of the
national register.
Regulation 4 determines who, in the case of each lay minister, is to provide the Archbishops’ Council
with the required information about that lay minister.
Regulation 5 imposes requirements for providing the Archbishops’ Council with the required
information about lay ministers already exercising ministry and those subsequently authorised to
do so.
Regulation 6 imposes requirements for informing the Archbishops’ Council where a lay minister’s
exercise of ministry is terminated or suspended.
Regulation 7 requires the Archbishops’ Council to publish and make available the registration
information in relation to each lay minister.
Regulation 8 makes minor amendments to the National Ministry Register (Clergy) Regulations
2020. Paragraphs (2) and (4) provide for the duty to provide registration information for existing
or new authorities to apply from the commencement of these Regulations (rather than the
commencement of the 2020 Regulations). Paragraph (3) provides an exception to the duty to provide
registration information where the authority is due to last for 14 days or under. Paragraph (5) makes
modifications for the Isle of Man.
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