A permission to officiate (PTO), also known as a licence to officiate, is a concessionary ministry licence granted by an

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

. It is most commonly issued to a retired

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

, or

lay reader In Anglicanism, a licensed lay minister (LLM) or lay reader (in some jurisdictions simply reader) is a person authorised by a bishop to lead certain services of worship (or parts of the service), to preach and to carry out pastoral and teaching f ...

over the age of 70 years. It allows the person to continue to perform the duties of their calling within the

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...

(or part thereof, as may be specified in the license) for a limited period of time. A cleric who was ordained priest or deacon by an overseas bishop needs to have permission to officiate from the archbishop of the province in which he or she intends to officiate before applying to the diocesan bishop for a diocesan licence or permission to officiate. A permission to officiate is usually only removed for egregious wrongdoing, such as breaking the law, although Jeremy Pemberton had his removed for marrying another man in a legal ceremony, but in contravention of the Church's

canon law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...

(which defines

marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

as between one man and one woman only).

References

Canon law of the Anglican Communion {{anglican-stub