So, you are getting married? Congratulations! Wondering what are the next steps to make sure you can make it down the aisle? Well, aside for colours, themes and venues there is some legal paperwork that needs to be taken care of to ensure your ceremony is recognised by Births, Deaths & Marriages in your state. As a civil celebrant practising in Queensland and New South Wales, I can help you with all of this, but before we chat here is an overview of what is required (as of Feb 2025) for the legal paperwork to get married in Australia.
Notice of Intended Marriage (NOIM)
The first and most important legal document is the Notice of Intended Marriage or NOIM.
The form can either be completed with your celebrant or by downloading the forms from the Attorney General’s Department Website and having it witnessed by an authorised witness.
If you are in Australia and completing the forms yourself, you can have your NOIM witnessed by one of the following authorised witnesses:
an authorised Marriage Celebrant
a justice of the peace
a Commissioner for Declarations under the Statutory Declarations Act 1959
a barrister or solicitor
a legally qualified medical practitioner
a member of the Australian Federal Police or the police force of a State or Territory.
Conveniently, if you are in Australia you can complete your NOIM with witnessed signatures remotely with your celebrant. I use Google Meet, Zoom or Teams to do this with my couples.
If you're overseas and unable to be in Australia before the NOIM is due, you will need one of the following authorities to witness:
an Australian Diplomatic Officer
an Australian Consular Officer
a Notary public
an employee of the Commonwealth authorised under paragraph 3(c) of the Consular Fees Act 1955
an employee of the Australian Trade Commission authorised under paragraph 3(d) of the Consular Fees Act 1955.
Please note, if you are filling the forms without your celebrant, it is best to fill it out BLOCK letters using BLACK pen or by using the dynamic PDF version to ensure everything is legible.
The NOIM must be completed, signed, witnessed and lodged with your celebrant at least one calendar month and no earlier than 18 months prior to your wedding day.
There are several things required for this form to be completed correctly.
Details of the Couple: full name, address, place of birth, conjugal status
Details of the Parents: full name and name at birth, place of birth
Identification You Need to Present to Your Celebrant:
Proof of date and place of birth, usually your original birth certificate
Photo identification such as a driver's licence
OR your original current or expired (but not cancelled) passport
Note your Signatory Witness will want to see your photo id, preferably with your full legal name, and date of birth.
And if you’ve been married before, Your Celebrant will need to see:
Your original divorce paper or certificate from the court
OR a death certificate if you are a widow or widower
How do you 'lodge' it? Simple, the lodgement of your NOIM is when you send the completed form to your celebrant. If you choose to work with me, we can do this piece of paperwork together at our first official meeting so all you need to organise is your pieces of identification.
TIP 1: Your NOIM can be lodged with just one witnessed signature of the parties getting married (good to know if your schedules don't allow for you to meet with your celebrant or signatory witness together). If you need to lodge your NOIM with just one witnessed signature, your celebrant must arrange to witness the second signature before the ceremony. I usually do this during the rehearsal or before the ceremony prior to signing the second piece of legal paperwork with you which is the Declaration of No Impediment or DNI.
TIP 2: For couples overseas, unable to safely access an Australian consular service or a local Notary Public for an in-person meeting to have your signatures witnessed recent changes to the remote witnessing provision of the Australian Marriage Act enable you to engage the services of a Notary Public in any country outside Australia where international notorisation is permitted - this includes accessing online notorisation services such as US Virtual Notary.
2. Declaration of No Legal Impediment (DNI)
This form will be completed with your celebrant either at your rehearsal or just before your ceremony. You will each have to meet with the celebrant separately to sign in the presence of your celebrant, who will also sign the document as the witness. This form is required to be completed before the ceremony can proceed. Before you sign the form, they will ask you some questions to ensure you understand the implications of marriage and that you are freely consenting to get married. Once you have both freely confirmed your consent to marry and signed the form it is onto the ceremony!
3. Legal Certificates of Marriage
These are the documents you sign during the ceremony. There are two Legal Certificates of Marriage (your celebrant keeps these), and one commemorative certificate (the pretty one you get to keep).
Your celebrant will bring the ceremony paperwork on the day. You will do the signing of these three Certificates at the end of the ceremony, with your two nominated witnesses. This is usually a good photo opportunity for your guests and photographer.
Note: your two witnesses can be anyone as long as they are over the age of 18, can read and understand English and are willing to sign legal documents.
What happens next?
Good question. If I am your celebrant, once we have finished your ceremony and the legal paperwork is signed, I’ll register your marriage through the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages (BDM). This is all done electronically by me - nothing for you to worry about and you’re 100% MARRIED - legally you are married after you say the legal vows in front of your witnesses and celebrant!
Note, if you are thinking of changing your name, or if you need proof of marriage for visa, immigration and financial purposes – you have a couple of choices. You can pre-order your official marriage certificate through me when we complete your NOIM. I simply fill in a couple of boxes on the online portal and once the paperwork is registered by the BDM they will send you an invoice (circa $60 AUD). The certificate is then sent via registered post to your home address. Alternatively, you can apply online via the BDM in the state where your marriage was registered, each state has their own department. Ordering online is simple, and once paid the certificate is sent via registered post or you can opt to pick it up in person from the BDM office.
The most important thing to remember is that your NOIM must be with your celebrant at least one calendar month prior to your chosen ceremony date. Everything else will be taken care of by your celebrant so you can focus on choosing your cake, photographer, venue, colour theme......happy planning.
*Photo by Sarah Couturier (compressed for web use)
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