Both bride and groom / both parties to the marriage should bring the following documentation to an initial meeting with the prospective registered Civil Marriage Celebrant.
- IF YOU WERE BORN IN AUSTRALIA, you should bring one (1) of the following:
- your official birth certificate OR
- an official extract of your birth certificate OR
- your Australian passport.
- IF YOU WERE NOT BORN IN AUSTRALIA, you should bring one (1) of the following:
- your birth certificate, OR
- your passport issued by a government of an overseas country, showing the date and place of your birth, OR
- a statutory declaration made by you or your parent (stating that it is impracticable to obtain a birth certificate or official extract — you will need to state those reasons in your statutory declaration — and state when and where you were born, as accurately as you or your parent making the declaration can know).
- Both of you will also need to produce photo ID to show your Marriage Celebrant. The following are acceptable forms of photo ID:
- current drivers licence OR
- your passport OR
- proof of age card OR
- Keypass identity card (available from Australia Post) OR
- other identity cards that include your name and photo.
- ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTATION REQUIRED FOR COUPLES PREVIOUSLY MARRIED.
- If either party was previously married, you must show me the court evidence of the decree, or nullity order, or death certificate of previous spouse.
- ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTATION REQUIRED WHEN ONE OF THE PARTIES IS A MINOR.
- If either party to the marriage is a minor, you must show me an effective court order issued by a Judge or Magistrate, and either a consent form signed by your parent(s)/guardian(s) or a dispensation of consent issued by a Judge or Magistrate.
- ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTATION REQUIRED IF THE NOTICE IS SUBMITTED LATE.
- If you wish to be married sooner than one calendar month away and haven’t yet lodged the Notice of Intended Marriage, you must give me an authority to solemnise the marriage, given by a prescribed authority. (There are very limited reasons for the granting of the “Authority for marriage despite late notice”.)
All documentation must be original, not photocopies.
For the purposes of complying with the timeframes required for giving the NOIM it is sufficient for me to see copies of documents, such as those scanned and sent via email or fax, as long as you provide the originals for me to sight before the marriage is solemnised.
If your proof of birth and proof of identity documents are not in English, you will also need to provide an English translation of them by an accredited translator.
Remember, a Notice of Intended Marriage must be given to your celebrant no earlier than 18 months and no later than one month before your wedding (unless exceptional circumstances apply). The documentation listed above is necessary so that the Notice of Intended Marriage can be filled out and signed.
