Everything you need to know about the NOIM

Second only to choosing me as your wedding celebrant 😉, a wedding dress, and getting everyone’s RSVPs for your special day, completing the NOIM, or Notice of Intended Marriage, is one of the most important—and potentially challenging—tasks you need to complete to get married.

Why Is the NOIM Important?

The NOIM is critical because it’s one of the most significant legal requirements in the marriage process. Additionally, you can’t fill one out until you’ve chosen who will officiate your marriage. As your celebrant, it’s actually my legal obligation to ensure this form is correctly completed and lodged. That’s why it’s so important to get it right!

You need to decide whether you’re having a religious or civil ceremony. What kind of celebrant are you looking for? Where can you find one? Is the author of this blog a good celebrant? What even makes a good celebrant?

I recommend hiring a celebrant who aligns with both your and your partner’s characters and personalities so the ceremony will be as reflective of you as possible. However, this post isn’t about choosing a celebrant; it’s about completing the NOIM.

Steps to Complete the NOIM

You can’t complete a NOIM until you have found a celebrant, agreed on their pricing and terms, and locked in a date. Once all the important details are organised, you’ll need several documents to complete your NOIM.

Proof of Date and Place of Birth

You must provide your celebrant with proof of your existence. Documentation that helps prove this includes:

• A passport
• An official birth certificate, or an official extract from an official register showing the date and place of birth of each party (Australian or international)
• A statutory declaration made by the party or a parent of the party stating that, for specified reasons, it is impracticable to obtain such a certificate or extract. The declaration should state, to the best of the declarant’s knowledge, when and where the party was born.

Documents that Do Not Suffice:

• A faxed or photocopied original birth certificate or extract
• A certified copy of an original document
• An Australian citizenship certificate

This proof should be provided at the time the NOIM is completed, but it is acceptable for the celebrant to receive this up until the marriage is solemnised (performed). The celebrant can accept faxed, emailed, or photocopied copies until the originals can be sighted before the marriage is solemnised. And hey, just so you know, as of recent updates, the NOIM can also be completed and lodged digitally. However, I’ll still need to verify your identities with the original documents before the big day.

In short, Australian citizens must provide a birth certificate or passport. If you don’t already have one, you can apply for it at your state’s Births, Deaths, and Marriages office or the courthouse, at your own cost and responsibility.

People not born in Australia, even if they are now citizens, must provide their birth certificate, passport issued by an international government, or a statutory declaration as previously mentioned.

It is an offence for a celebrant to solemnise a marriage before they have sighted original and sufficient proof of place and date of birth. If there’s any doubt or missing paperwork, unfortunately, the wedding can’t legally go ahead until everything is sorted.

Proof of Identification

The Marriage Act requires your marriage celebrant to be satisfied that both parties are who they claim to be. Your celebrant may need to certify your identity, in which case the following forms of identification will suffice:

• A driver’s licence
• A Proof of Age/Photo Card
• A passport
• An Australian citizenship certificate along with another form of photographic evidence

Proof That You Are Not Already Validly Married

If you have been married before, evidence of death, nullity, or dissolution of the previous marriage must be provided to the celebrant.

Unfortunately, Facebook relationship status updates do not apply here, you're in the clear.

Anything Else?

Your marriage celebrant also needs to verify two important, and possibly awkward, things:

• The couple are not related.
• Both parties are over 18, or if not, parental or court consent has been received.

Just to clarify, when I say “related,” I’m not talking about distant cousins twice removed or anything like that. The law specifically prohibits marriages between direct ancestors and descendants (like parent-child or grandparent-grandchild) and between siblings (including adopted siblings). So, it’s important to get this checked off the list.

And speaking of age, if either of you is under 18, you can’t just rely on mum and dad’s approval—you’ll need to get a judge or magistrate to sign off on it too, but only in very exceptional circumstances.

Signing the NOIM

Generally, the NOIM will be signed by both parties being married and witnessed by the celebrant. The Marriage Act does allow for one party to sign before the due date, as long as the second party can sign before the marriage is solemnised. The NOIM must be signed, witnessed, and delivered to a celebrant at least one month before the wedding.

This provision allows for interstate or overseas partners to be married.

Witnessing a NOIM Being Signed

If the couple cannot complete the NOIM in the presence of their celebrant, and if they can't make it onto a video call with the celebrant, it will need to be signed and witnessed by one of the following authorities:

• Your celebrant, or another different authorised celebrant
• A Commissioner for Declarations under the Statutory Declarations Act 1959
• A justice of the peace
• A barrister or solicitor
• A legally qualified medical practitioner
• A member of the Australian Federal Police or the police force of a State or Territory

If the couple are overseas and cannot return to Australia before the due date of the NOIM, it can be completed and witnessed overseas by one of the following authorities:

• An Australian Diplomatic Officer
• An Australian Consular Officer
• A notary public
• An employee of the Commonwealth authorised under paragraph 3(c) of the Consular Fees Act 1955
• An employee of the Australian Trade Commission authorised under paragraph 3(d) of the Consular Fees Act 1955

The Attorney-General’s office strongly advises celebrants against performing surprise weddings. The exemption allowing one party to sign before the one-month deadline can only apply if the celebrant is satisfied it is not a surprise wedding.

Due Date of the Notice of Intended Marriage

The Notice of Intended Marriage must be given to the authorised celebrant within the following timeframe:

• No earlier than 18 months (a year and a half) before the wedding day
• No later than 1 month before the wedding day

There are five circumstances where an exception can be made to the due date:

1. Employment-related or other travel commitments
2. Wedding or celebration arrangements, or religious considerations
3. Medical reasons
4. Legal proceedings
5. Error in giving notice

If you wish to be married with less than one month’s notice, you must be aware that:

• The reason for seeking a shortening of time must fall within one of the five categories described above before the application can be considered.
• The prescribed authority has no discretion to grant a shortening of time outside the circumstances covered by these categories.
• The granting of a shortening of time is not automatic.

Application for this shortening of time must be made to a “Prescribed Authority”. You can search for a prescribed authority close to you on the Attorney-General’s website: Prescribed Authorities.

If, for some reason, the NOIM isn’t correctly completed or you can’t get the necessary documents in time, we might need to submit a new NOIM, and that could delay your wedding. Also, remember that once lodged, the NOIM is valid for 18 months, so you do have a bit of flexibility if the wedding date changes.

Changing Celebrants?

You can transfer your NOIM to a different celebrant by transferring the already completed NOIM. However, the new celebrant may need to satisfy themselves with the proof of date and place of birth and proof of identification.

Download a blank NOIM

Need a blank Notice of Intended Marriage as a PDF or Word Document? Download it from the AGD.

💍 Josh Withers is an Australian wedding celebrant based in Hobart who travels the world every week creating meaningful, fun, and honest marriage ceremonies for adventurous couples just like you.

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