What makes it legal?

Planning a wedding

Before the Ceremony

You must:

1. not be married to your current partner or to anyone else
2. not be marrying a parent, grandparent, child, grandchild, brother or sister – including adopted siblings
3. be eighteen years old, unless there are special circumstances where a court has approved a marriage where one party is aged between sixteen and eighteen years old
4. both understand what marriage means and freely consent to the union
5. complete a Notice of Intended Marriage (NOIM) form and lodge it with your celebrant at least one month before the ceremony. The NOIM is valid up to eighteen months after the date of lodgement
6. provide your celebrant with evidence of your date and place of birth and prove that you are who you say you are with photo ID (a passport does all of these things, otherwise a birth certificate + a driver’s licence does the trick)
7. You will also need to prove the ending of any previous marriages for each party showing your original divorce or death certificate.

Notes:

1. An expired passport (up to 2 years) is acceptable as long as it has not been cancelled or damaged.
2. All documents must either be the original or a digital version of the original (scan or photo)

During the Ceremony

1. The ceremony must take place in the physical presence of an Registered Celebrant. All authorised celebrants will have a registration number and are listed on the Attorney General’s website.
   (Please be aware – marriages over the phone or via Facetime, Zoom, Skype, etc.. are NOT legal).
2. You both must sign a Declaration of No Legal Impediment (DONLI) stating that there is no legal reason that you can’t be married. This must be done with your celebrant, before, and as close as possible, to the marriage ceremony.
3. In accordance with the Marriage Act 1961, the celebrant must say the following words:

After the Ceremony

You, your witnesses, and your celebrant will sign three official documents:

1. Official Marriage Certificate (with DONLI printed on the back) – this one is used to register your marriage
2. Official Marriage Certificate – is kept by the celebrant
3. Commemorative Certificate – the fancy one is kept by you

Depending on the state you were married in, your celebrant with either register your marriage online or post your marriage certificates into Births Deaths and Marriages in that state.