The Legal Process
The Legal Process
The Legal Process- Before the big day
The legal process is actually easier than it first comes across and of course I will be there to guide you every step of the way.
You must first complete a Notice of Intended Marriage (NOIM). This must be completed and signed in the presence of the people being married and a marriage celebrant, or another prescribed officer like a Police Officer or other. This form must be completed, with birth certificates or passports with you at least one month before the wedding day. An example of the NOIM can be found at the below link.
You must also complete a Declaration of No Legal Impediment to Marriage (DONLIM). This form is you declaring in from of your celebrant that you fall under the following details before your ceremony unless otherwise organised-
Over 18, not married to anyone else and not related to each other.
A copy of the form is at the below link-
The other form you will need to see prior to your ceremony is the Happily Ever Before and After at the following link-
The documents I will need to see in order to lodge your legal documents need to show your place and date of birth and also have a photo of you. You can simply email me a copy before the meeting or bring along with you.
The easiest way to cover all details is with your passport if you have one but if not, the next option is your original Birth Certificate (obtainable from Births Deaths and Marriages in the state where you were born) combined with your photo ID such as driver’s license.
Also, if either of you have been married previously, I will need your Federal Magistrates Court Certificate of Divorce (obtainable from the Family Court in the state where you were divorced).
The Legal Process- On the big day
On the day you will sign 2 different documents. The first will be your Official Certificate of Marriage, or Form 14, which has all the same details as your NOIM and is the one I take with me on the day to register your marriage with Births, Deaths and Marriages.
A copy of the official certificate of marriage can be found at the below link-
Official Certificate of Marriage
The other document you must sign is also called an Official Certificate of Marriage but is Form 15. It is also known as the "Fancy" or "Pretty" one. This is the one you take with you on the day. Each one is numbered and is assigned to couple and you cannot get a copy of this one ever. This is not the one you take with you for name changing purposes, you receive a different one from BDM following the registration of your marriage to do that with. I will also always bring a frame with me to keep this safe and as that you assign a responsible recipient for me to hand this to on the day.
The Legal Process- Following the ceremony
After the big day, I lodge your documents with the Births, Deaths and Marriage office in the state where the marriage was performed. They then process your documents and send you an email and a message asking if you would like a copy of your marriage certificate. This is another marriage certificate and looks similar to a birth certificate, this is the one you take around to change your name as if you loose it, it can be replaced.
The website to apply for this certificate is linked below-
Marriage Certificate Application
Its pretty much as easy as that, 2 documents at the meeting, 2 different documents on the day and then an email asking if you would like the BDM one, pretty easy I say!
I also send out a reminder of this process following the ceremony and attach a name change checklist. I will put the link for the name change checklist below-