Steps to getting married in Victoria
The steps to getting legally married with us:
- Decide your date and book us.
- Sign your
Notice of Intended Marriage with us over a Zoom call.
One month later
(Legally Required timeframe)
In certain circumstances a 'shortening of time' can be applied for.
- We come to you.
- Sign your Declaration of No Legal Impediment before your ceremony.
- We perform a quick easy Ceremony and sign your Marriage Certificate.
YOU ARE MARRIED! IT'S THAT EASY!!!
To get married in Australia:
- Both of you need to be at least 18 years old.
(There are some special circumstances where someone between 16-18 can marry, this requires court approval)
- You can not be married to someone else. ( but you can start the process while waiting for a divorce to be finalised)
- You cannot already be married to your partner.
- Each person must understand what marriage means, freely consent to the legal marriage.
- You can not marry your brother, sister, parent, grandparent, child or grandchild. This includes adopted parents/sibling/children.
- You need to be able to able to prove your identity.
- You do NOT need to be an Australian citizen.
- Arranged Marriages are ok, as long as both parties (the couple) are fully consenting to the married. And are doing so with NO pressure from others.
- To be married by one of our celebrants, you both need to either speak English or a legal translator can be arranged.
(this is because the legal paperwork is in English and we perform the ceremony in English, there are many celebrants that can perform ceremonies in other languages)
- Marriage Equality is legal in Australia, meaning people of any gender identification can get married to each other. The Mobile Melbourne Marriage Registry - Get Married Victoria and it's parent company Wedding Sounds Pty Ltd are allies of the LGBQI+ community, and proudly perform marriage ceremonies for all gender relationship types.
- People of all religious beliefs or non beliefs are welcome to be married by us.
**THESE ARE THE BASIC CONDITIONS:
We will discuss your individual circumstances when we meet.
THE LEGAL STEPS TO GETTING MARRIED
We take care of ALL the paperwork for you...
1. Step one - Notice of Intended Marriage
The NOIM is a legal document that every couple who want to be married under Australian law must complete.
‘NOIM’ is short for ‘Notice of Intended Marriage’.
It must be received by your celebrant at least one calendar month before your marriage ceremony and is valid for up to 18 months. (more information on time frames here)
We create this document for you, ensuring all details are correct, and the form is correctly and legally completed. The information we need can be found here.
You will need some ID to create this document, usually 2 of the 3: (more information here)
* Drivers Licence,
* Birth Certificate
* Passport
There are other options if you don't have 2 of these, which we can discuss.
If you have been married before, we require proof of how it ended, either Divorce or Death.
We then have a zoom meeting with you to meet the legal requirement on witnessing and receiving the NoIM.
If you or you partner are not currently in Australia, there is still a way to complete your NoIM. (Find out more)
2. Declaration of No Legal Impediment
The 'declaration of no legal impediment to marriage' is the second legal document that needs to be completed in order to meet the requirements to have your marriage legally solemnised. It must be signed separately by the couple and be witnessed by your celebrant before your ceremony begins.
Just like all your other documents, we will create this document for you...
3. Step Three - The Offical Marriage Certificate
The 'Official Certificate of Marriage is Signed during your Marriage Ceremony. It is created using the information provided on your Notice of Intended Marriage.
You will need to have 2 witnesses present. The only legal requirements for these witnesses is that they are over the age of 18 & speak/understand English (as this is the language the ceremony is delivered in).
This document is submitted to the state office of Births, Deaths and Marriages by your celebrant.
Your Marriage Ceremony
We come to the location, most commonly your own home or one of our Partner Venues. And perform a simple legal ceremony, during which we sign your legal marriage certificates.
You are also welcome to include your own personal vows. You can choose between 3 standard ceremony scripts if you like.
You will be presented with a Commemorative Certificate (legally known as a form 15) at the end of your ceremony. While this is an official government document, it has very little legal power for things like changing your name or for VISA purposes.
You are legally married at the end of the ceremony.
The Information we need to complete your NoIM & Marriage Paperwork
- Your Marriage Title – It is up to each of you to decide how you want to describe yourselves. You can either describe yourself as a ‘bride,’ a ‘groom’ or a ‘partner.’
- Your surname or Family Name. (some cultures do not have a surname, please let us know if this is the case)
- All your given names: your first name, followed by all middle names. The names you put on your NOIM must reflect your full name in your ID. A shortened version of your name is not acceptable.
- Gender Identification. You are free to decide how you want to describe your gender. Male, Female or Non-binary (which includes “unspecified” or ‘ indeterminate” and people who do not exclusively identify as either female or male).
- Occupation. Your occupation is what you do, not where you work. eg. If you work in Politics don’t write ‘politics,’ write ‘Politician.’
- Your current place of residence at the time of signing the NOIM.
- Conjugal Status. means whether you’ve been legally married before. You should not include information about relationships other than married relationships. If your status is ‘divorce pending’ that’s fine but the divorce must take affect before your marriage can be solomised.
- Birth Place, put the city or town + the state or territory & country you were born in.
- Date of birth.
- Are you related to your partner?
- Parents Full Names & Country of Birth: Current full name & their full names at their time of birth, including any middle names. Remember, your mother’s surname when she was born may be different to the surname she has now. If you do not know the name of one of your parents that is ok. If you do not have a relationship with them, but still know their name, it MUST still be included on the documents.
- The Rest of the document is complete by your celebrant after sighting your ID Documents
Documentation we require.
Normally 2 of the 3 - Birth Certificate, Passport or Drivers License.
And your evidence of your previous marriages end if you have been married before.
- Evidence of your date & place of birth. You could show your birth certificate, an official extract from a birth register, or an Australian or overseas passport. Passports that have expired with in the last 3 years are still acceptable. But you cannot use a cancelled passport. If you can’t find your birth certificate and you’re Australian you can easily get another one from the office of Births Deaths and Marriages in your birth state.
- Evidence of divorce or death. If you are divorced or your previous spouse died, you need to show evidence of the divorce or death of that spouse before you can marry. If you’ve been married and divorced more than once – you only need to show the divorce certificate of your most recent divorce. In Australia, you can easily get hold of your divorce order online from the family court.
- Photographic ID. Before your marriage can take place we must also be satisfied that you are the 2 people named in the NOIM. Photographic evidence of identity, such as your passport, drivers license, proof of age card or an official identity card will enable us to meet this requirement.
When and how a NoIM must be 'lodged'
The NOIM must be lodged no sooner than 18 months and no later than 1 month before your intended wedding day, unless a prescribed authority has agreed to a ‘shortening of time‘.
To be considered ‘lodged’, the NOIM must be signed, witnessed and in the hands of your marriage celebrant.
What do I mean by 1 month? for example you wish to get married on 4th August 2025, the NOIM needs to be completed and given or emailed to your Celebrant no later than 4th July 2025. This condition can be meet during our Zoom Signing Session.
If only one of you is able to sign the NOIM can still be lodged with 1 signature. The other party can sign with us anytime before the ceremony, but NOT on the day itself.
For couples coming from overseas to get married in Australia – you can get married straight off the plane as long as you’ve correctly lodged your NOIM with us.
Who can witness you signing your NOIM outside of Australia?
If you or your partner are outside of Australia at the time of signing your NOIM, we cannot legally be your witness to signing your NoIM.
These are the people who can witness your signature if you are overseas;
- An Australian consulate officer
- An Australian diplomatic officer
- A notary public
- An employee of the Commonwealth authorised and a paragraph 3C of the Consular Fees Act 1955
- An employee of the Australian Trade Commission authorised under paragraph, 3-D of the Consular fees Act 1955
Under What Circumstances Can You Apply For A Shortening Of Time?
There are specific circumstances under which a shortening of time may be requested to waive the 1-month minimum requirement for lodging your NOIM.
This approval can only be granted by a ‘prescribed authority’ – not your celebrant. A ‘prescribed authority’ in this context means a local court or registrar.
The situations under which you might seek a shortening of time are:
- Employment-related or other travel commitments. eg. if one of you has just got a job overseas that starts in less than a month and in order for you to go together you need to be married.
- Pre-paid Wedding or celebration arrangements. This is when you’re in a situation where you’ve booked everything for your wedding day, and have proof of that (eg. payment made to your venue), but you didn’t know that you needed to complete a NOIM one month before your wedding ceremony.
- Medical Reasons. This is where one of you or a very close family member of yours is dying and therefore will not be alive for the wedding if it takes place a month or more away.
- Legal proceedings. eg. One of you is going to prison within the next month and you’d like to get married before that.
- An error in giving notice. eg. If the Celebrant has made a mistake, eg. they’ve lost your notice or they haven’t given you the right advice.
How To Apply For A Shortening Of Time
Complete the NOIM and sign it in front of your or prescribed witness.
Obtain a letter from your Marriage Celebrant. This letter confirms that your celebrant is willing to conduct your ceremony on a specific, mentioned date – assuming that the shortening is granted. The letter should include both your names in full and the celebrant’s phone number incase the authorities wish to contact them.
Make an appointment with a prescribed authority. Eg. BDM (Births Deaths & Marriages) or your local court.
When you meet them, give them the following documents:
- Photo ID of both of you.
- As much supporting evidence as possible that your application is supported by an eligible reason. Your application may be delayed if you don’t do this.
- Your payment. It currently costs $55 to apply for a shortening.