Complying With Legal Requirements
Lodging Your Notice
Before you marry, you need to complete a Notice of Intended Marriage. You may lodge your Notice with me as your chosen marriage celebrant.
Having lodged your Notice, your marriage can then be solemnised after one calendar month and within 18 months of that date.
- Only complete page 3 of the Notice.
- Write neatly in block letters using a black pen. Alternatively, you may type in all your information on the form and then print it out.
- This document will be sent to the registry of Births, Deaths and Marriage in Queensland (BDM).
- The names, birthplace and information about your parents must be exactly the same as on your birth certificates.
- If you have never been married before, choose ‘NEVER VALIDLY MARRIED’
- Please avoid abbreviations.
- Do not complete page 4 or sign the notice. This must be done in my presence (either in person or via FaceTime), or in the presence of one of the persons listed on page 4. You will need to have your Notice witnessed by one of the listed persons if you are sending your Notice by mail or electronically.
More Information: Lodging Your Notice
I ask that a booking fee be paid prior to or at the time of lodging your Notice. This fee is non-refundable and secures your booking for the day and time you desire.
Please allow up to an hour for our first meeting so that we can get to know each other, discuss services and fees, attend to matters as required by the Attorney-General’s Department and begin discussing details of your ceremony.
Proof of Identity
Before you marry, I need to establish your identity and evidence of date and place of birth. This is best done through photo ID by way of a driver’s licence or passport. Citizenship papers may also help. I must also sight your original birth certificates or extracts.
While a birth certificate is preferred, a passport can be accepted as proof of birth. Where a person born overseas has neither a birth certificate nor a passport issued by a government of an overseas country, a statutory declaration will be acceptable.
It is not essential but ideal to have these documents available when you lodge your Notice.
Previous Marriage
If either of you have been married before, I will need to sight original evidence of how that marriage ended, i.e. evidence of that person’s divorce or death of that person’s spouse, before you can marry.
Marriage Certificate Copy Application
On the day of your wedding, I will present you with a marriage certificate, which is conclusive evidence of your marriage. However, this certificate does not provide conclusive evidence of your identity.
In some situations, you may be asked to produce a register copy of your marriage certificate obtained from the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages in the State or Territory in which you were married. As part of the online registration process, I am able to submit your application for you.
