Frequently Asked Questions

The Notice of Inten­tion to Marry (NOIM) –  is the initial Document enabling a couple to get married.  It is signed and then wit­nessed by your cel­e­brant or a Commissioner of Declarations, at any time between 18 months and 1 calendar month before the wedding.

The Dec­la­ra­tion of no legal Impediment to Marry – is a statement declaring there is nothing to pre­vent the Mar­riage. And that both par­ties are will­ingly enter­ing into the mar­riage.   This is to be signed and witnessed as close to the Mar­riage Cer­e­mony as pos­si­ble.

It is just about impos­si­ble not to be able to get a Birth Cer­tifi­cate if you were born in Aus­tralia.

They can be obtained through BDM in the state you were born.  If don’t have a BC, then a Passport is allowable.  If neither are available then a Statu­tory Dec­la­ra­tion can be submitted and is to be wit­nessed by a Notary Pub­lic.

A list is on the Statu­tory Dec­la­ra­tion stat­ing who can wit­ness the doc­u­ment. It is an offence to falsely declare this.  The Statu­tory Dec­la­ra­tion will be retained by the Cel­e­brant and submitted to the BDM with the Marriage documentation after the Wedding.

The notice must be signed by each of the par­ties in the pres­ence of, and wit­nessed by an autho­rised Cel­e­brant or a Com­mis­sioner for Dec­la­ra­tions under the Statu­tory Dec­la­ra­tions Act 1959, a Jus­tice of the Peace, a Bar­ris­ter, Solic­i­tor, a legally qual­i­fied Med­ical Prac­ti­tioner or a mem­ber of the Police Force. You can post or scan and email the signed NOIM to the cho­sen Cel­e­brant, to arrive at least one  month before the mar­riage cer­e­mony date.

The original is to be given to the Celebrant prior the Ceremony. The couple’s birth cer­tifi­cates, divorce cer­tifi­cate, death cer­tifi­cate of pre­vi­ous spouse are to be sighted by the Cel­e­brant prior to the wed­ding to check the details are cor­rect, it is per­mis­si­ble to send copies with the NOIM and present the orig­i­nals at the next meeting or prior to the Ceremony.

The doc­u­ments are required to be trans­lated by an accred­ited trans­la­tor with NAATI. The trans­la­tor will need to pro­duce a statu­tory dec­la­ra­tion prov­ing their qual­i­fi­ca­tions to read and speak the cho­sen lan­guage. This will be lodged with all other offi­cial doc­u­men­ta­tion after the wed­ding.

There are two official Mar­riage Cer­tifi­cates that are to be signed at the Marriage Ceremony – One is to be retained by the Celebrant and the other is to be lodged with the NOIM and Declaration to the Depart­ment Of Birth Deaths and Mar­riages by the Cel­e­brant along with any other doc­u­men­ta­tion required, this is to be done within 14 days of the Wed­ding Ceremony.

3 Forms are signed on the day. The couple, the 2 wit­nesses (both 18 years or over) and the cel­e­brant sign the Pre­sen­ta­tion Cer­tifi­cate (Form 15) which is to be given to the Couple.

The official Marriage Certificates are also to be signed and witnessed.  One is to be lodged with the Declaration and NOIM and one is retained by the Celebrant.

At the time of lodgement there is no need for identification but your Original Birth Certificate,  Extract  is to be presented to the Celebrant plus photo ID. If you are unable to supply an Original Birth Certificate a Passport in English is accepted.

If any of the Documents are not in English they are to be translated by a NAATI approved translator.  In case of being previously married  the original Certificate, Decree Nisi or Death Certificate of the last Marriage are to be presented to the Celebrant.

Not offi­cially, although some banks will accept it. The offi­cial Mar­riage Cer­tifi­cate should be applied for at Birth Deaths and Mar­riages Depart­ment in the state the Cer­e­mony occurred and should be avail­able, approx­i­mately a month after the wed­ding.

If both of the cou­ple live over­seas, the NOIM is to be com­pleted and then signed in the pres­ence of an Aus­tralian Diplo­matic Offi­cer, an Aus­tralian Con­sular Offi­cer, an employee of the Com­monwealth autho­rised under para­graph 3© of the Con­sular Fees Act 1055, an employee of the Aus­tralian Trade Com­mis­sion autho­rised under para­graph 3 (d) of the Con­sular Fees Act 1955, or a notary pub­lic. The NOIM and ID documentation can be scanned and emailed to the Celebrant when it will be deemed lodged.  The NOIM is then to be mailed to the Cel­e­brant prefer­ably by reg­is­tered post. I would suggest that you get two NOIMs signed and post one and keep one to give to your Celebrant on arrival. The original NOIM and orig­i­nal ID docs will still need to be received by the Cel­e­brant before the Cer­e­mony takes place.

If one of the cou­ple is liv­ing in Aus­tralia the NOIM can  be com­pleted and signed by that person in the pres­ence of the Cel­e­brant and providing the NOIM is signed and witnessed by the other person prior to the Ceremony, it will be deemed legal and lodged.  The orig­i­nal doc­u­men­ta­tion, as men­tioned ear­lier, is to be pre­sented prior to the Ceremony.

The NOIM is then con­sid­ered lodged and stays with the cel­e­brant until after the wed­ding and is then sent within 14 days to the Birth Deaths and Mar­riages in the State the wed­ding took place.

A woman is per­mit­ted to use her birth name or pre­vi­ous mar­ried name pro­vid­ing they can be ver­i­fied. Keep in mind that if you choose not to use the name you are cur­rently known as eg Birth over pre­vi­ous Mar­ried name, then chang­ing your name on legal doc­u­ments and bank records even your elec­tric­ity account, will require a paper trail.

If you are using a name today that has not been offi­cially changed, a change of name cer­tifi­cate from the Reg­istry of Births, Deaths and Mar­riages is required.

After the Cer­e­mony the cou­ple will receive a Form 15 which is a Pre­sen­ta­tion Marriage Cer­tifi­cate. They are uniquely num­bered and registered at BDM.