The short version
For a legal marriage in Australia, the two of you need to:
- be free to marry: both 18 or over, not already married, not closely related, and both freely agreeing
- get your Notice of Intended Marriage to me at least one month and no more than 18 months before the wedding
- show evidence of your date and place of birth, photo ID, and proof that any earlier marriage has ended
- meet me separately, in person, before the day
- sign a declaration, say the legal words, and sign the certificates with two witnesses aged 18 or over
That’s the skeleton. Everything else, from the readings to the music to who walks in first, is up to you.
Who is allowed to marry
You can marry in Australia if you’re both 18 or over, not already married to someone else, and you both understand and freely agree. You can’t marry a parent, grandparent, child, grandchild, brother or sister. A court can approve a marriage where one of you is 16 or 17 and the other is 18 or over, but that’s rare. Citizenship and residency don’t come into it.
Giving notice
Everything starts with a form called the Notice of Intended Marriage. I have to receive it, completed and signed, at least one month and no more than 18 months before the wedding.
The month starts on the day I receive your signed notice, not the day you book or pay a deposit. A notice I receive on 15 December allows a wedding from 15 January. When that date doesn’t exist in the month before, it’s that month’s last day: for a wedding on 30 March, your notice needs to reach me by 28 February, or 29 February in a leap year.
The finder is a guide worked out from the Act. I confirm the exact day when you book.
Posting your notice or emailing a scan counts, as long as the original reaches me before the wedding.
Signing the notice on a video call
Yes, you can. Since 12 June 2024 each of you can sign in person or on a video call, watched by an authorised witness who is where you are: in Australia if you are, overseas if you are.
In Australia that’s a celebrant like me, a Commissioner for Declarations, a justice of the peace, a barrister or solicitor, a doctor or a police officer. Overseas it’s an Australian consular or diplomatic officer, a notary public, or an authorised Commonwealth or Austrade employee, and an Australian celebrant can’t witness someone overseas online.
If one of you can’t sign in time, the other can give the notice, and the first signs later, before the wedding, watched by an authorised celebrant in Australia, in person or on video.
What documents you’ll need
- evidence of your date and place of birth: an official birth certificate or extract, or an Australian or overseas passport
- photo ID, such as a passport, driver licence or proof of age card
- if you’ve been married before, evidence that your divorce has taken effect, or the death certificate
If a birth certificate or passport really isn’t possible, we can talk about a statutory declaration for your date and place of birth. Your photo ID, and proof that an earlier marriage has ended, are needed either way. Scans are fine to meet the notice deadline, and I need to see the originals before the wedding.
Separate meetings, in person
Since June 2024 I have to meet each of you separately, in person, before the wedding. It takes a few minutes each, and I fit it into a catch up we’re already having, the rehearsal, or a coffee in the week before.
The declaration
Before the ceremony, you each sign a Declaration of No Legal Impediment to Marriage in front of me. It states whether you’ve been married before and that, as far as you know, nothing legally stops you marrying.
The words you have to say
Section 46 of the Marriage Act sets out words the celebrant says, or words to that effect. I say them as written:
I am duly authorised by law to solemnise marriages according to law. Before you are joined in marriage in my presence and in the presence of these witnesses, I am to remind you of the solemn and binding nature of the relationship into which you are now about to enter. Marriage, according to law in Australia, is the union of 2 people to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life.
Then you each say the legal vows. The modern form is: “I ask everyone here to witness that I, [name], take you, [name], to be my wedded wife (or husband, or spouse).” An “I do” can’t replace them. Your own vows go alongside, and can be anything you like.
Witnesses
You need two witnesses aged 18 or over. They watch the ceremony and sign the certificates with us, and they can be any friend or family member you choose.
The certificates
Straight after the ceremony, you, your witnesses and I sign three certificates. The one you take home is a keepsake, and most organisations won’t accept it as proof of marriage.
Within 14 days I lodge your paperwork with Births, Deaths and Marriages Victoria. To change your name or prove you’re married, you’ll need the legal marriage certificate: $59.10, plus $10.60 for express post, which is how BDM sends every legal certificate, so $69.70 in all (BDM’s fees from 1 July 2026, as at November 2026). In Victoria I order it when I lodge your paperwork, so tell me before the day if you’d like it. It arrives within 14 days of BDM having everything, plus postage.
With it you can take your spouse’s family name, or both hyphenate, without applying for a change of name.
Less than a month to go
A shorter notice period is possible but not automatic. A prescribed authority, in Victoria BDM or a registrar at a major regional court, can approve it for travel commitments, for work or otherwise; wedding or celebration arrangements; medical reasons; legal proceedings; or an error in giving notice by a celebrant, or by someone you believed was one.
You’ll need your original signed notice and documents, an application with a statutory declaration giving your reasons, evidence, and a signed letter from me saying I’m willing and available. BDM’s assessment fee is $62.00 (as at November 2026), and it isn’t refunded, even if the answer is no.
Where and when you can marry
Any day, any time, anywhere in Australia, as long as I’m there with you and your two witnesses. An Australian celebrant can’t marry you overseas. Some places need a permit first:
- the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne always needs a permit
- City of Melbourne parks need one for 50 or more people, a bookable site or anything built
- Parks Victoria asks for your application at least eight weeks ahead
- most of the Great Ocean Road’s coast, the Twelve Apostles included, needs a permit from the Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority, and confetti isn’t allowed there
- City of Melbourne parks ban confetti and rice, even biodegradable kinds; real petals are fine if they’re cleared away
Official sources
You don’t need to memorise any of this. It’s here so the paperwork never surprises you, and it’s general information, not legal advice.
