Marriage

Intended marriage in New Zealand

Persons wishing to be married in New Zealand are advised to contact the New Zealand Births, Deaths, and Marriages Office for up to date information on their services and requirements. 

Intended marriage in the Cook Islands
 

Persons wishing to be married in the Cook Islands are advised to contact the New Zealand Births, Deaths, and Marriages Office for up to date information on their services and requirements. 

Intended marriage in Australia
 

Persons wishing to be married in Australia must lodge a Notice of Intended Marriage form with the celebrant or minister who is to perform the ceremony. Unless special permission is given by a prescribed authority, a marriage may not be solemnised within one calendar month after the date of lodgement of the Notice.

People can obtain a form from the link above, the Australian High Commission, the Australian Consulate-General, their Australian marriage celebrant, or the Australian Births, Deaths and Marriages office in the State or Territory where they intend to get married.

Outside Australia, the Notice of Intended Marriage should be completed and witnessed by any New Zealand notary public (listed in the New Zealand Yellow Pages), or an Australian Diplomatic or Consular Officer at the Australian High Commission in Wellington or the Australian Consulate-General in Auckland. Both parties to the intended marriage must be present at the appointment and the Notice cannot be witnessed by mail. View the current fee.

Once the Notice is completed and witnessed, the parties to the intended marriage are responsible for forwarding the Notice to their Marriage Celebrant. Lists of Marriage Celebrants in Australia can be found in the Australian Yellow Pages. As there may be other minor legal requirements which need to be completed, it is suggested that the parties immediately contact their marriage celebrant to discuss their marriage arrangements. 

Documents which must be presented

The following documents must be presented to the New Zealand notary public or Australian Diplomatic/Consular Officer:  

• Each party must produce a birth certificate or passport. If a party's name has changed since the issue of that document, bring evidence of each change, such as a marriage certificate or divorce papers. The original documents will later need to be shown to the marriage celebrant.
• Each party must produce identification showing their current name and signature, such as a drivers licence, community services card, or passport.
• If either party has been previously married, evidence of termination of the previous marriage must be produced. For example, a Death Certificate in the case of a widowed person, or an official copy of a decree absolute of dissolution of marriage in the case of a divorced person.  

All documents presented must be original. Certified copies or photocopies cannot be accepted. If a party has lost the original documents they must contact the issuing authority to have them reissued before bringing the Notice of Intended Marriage to the Australian mission for witnessing.

For further information, please contact the Registry of Births, Deaths, and Marriages in the State or Territory in which you intend to marry.