Your Marriage Celebrant can provide you with the required Notice of Intended Marriage form, (NOIM) and it is your Celebrant who is the authorised person with whom the original should be lodged. Whilst it is possible to obtain a shortening of time, in extraordinary circumstances, your NOIM must be lodged with your Celebrant at least one month prior to the date of your marriage. It may be lodged up to 18 months prior to your marriage date.
To complete this document, you must provide the originals of the following documents as evidence to your identity and previous marital status:
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Your birth certificates or extracts are the primary source of identification. If you do not have your original birth certificate/extract and were born in Australia, another authorised copy can be obtained from the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages (BDM) in the state in which you were born.
If you were born overseas, it is also possible in most cases to apply for an authorised copy of your birth certificate (or the legal equivalent of your birth certificate) from your country of birth. If your birth certificate (or legal equivalent) is in a language other than English, you also need to provide an authorised translation from NAATI. Furthermore, you should note that some countries may take up to 6 months (e.g. South Africa) to provide the requested documentation. Any other situations should be urgently discussed with your Marriage Celebrant.
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An alternative, if you were born in Australia or overseas and cannot produce a birth certificate then a valid/expired passport is sufficient for identification.
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If you have been divorced, you are to provide the divorce document. If you have misplaced or lost this document, you should be taking urgent action to obtain another from the Family Law Court in the State in which you were divorced.
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If you are a widow or a widower, you are to provide the death certificate of your deceased spouse. Again, if you have misplaced or lost this document, you should be taking urgent action to obtain another from the Births Deaths and Marriages in the State in which the death occurred.
- If applicable, you are to provide a Certificate for a Change of Name. If you have changed your name via another means (i.e. by deed poll), please discuss this situation urgently with your Celebrant.
For any other circumstances, please check with your Celebrant as to what additional documentation may be required.
Following your marriage, your Celebrant will forward the NOIM and all other requisite documents to BDM. Once all legal documentation has been lodged with the appropriate Births, Deaths and Marriages Registry and have applied for a registered Marriage Certificate, this will forwarded to you via post (time variations apply).
