What is a Notice of Intended Marriage?

Photo by Briars Atlas

Paperwork. Urgh.

Surprisingly doing the legalities for your wedding day are actually some of the easiest tasks you will complete.

Let me walk you through the Notice of Intended Marriage, as filling out this simple form is the one thing you have to do in order to lock in your wedding date in any state in Australia.

Step one

Download the Notice of Intended Marriage - here.

(You can fill it out in PDF format on your computer then print and handwrite OR you can download the form and fill it out digitally and get digital signatures from your witnesses)

Step two

Look at the pretty cover and then read page 2. A Notice of Intended Marriage is a legal document, so you need to be sure of what you are signing and that it will not include any false statements.

Step three

Grab a quill, pen, fountain pen, biro, stylus or bic and get writing. Fill out page 3 of the Notice of Intended Marriage with both you and your partners details. Some tricky bits that may trip you up are-

• Items 1 & 2 - Include your full name and make sure it is the same information as your ID documents (you must include your full names including middle names as they appear on your ID)

• Item 5 - Occupation - you can put in your current occupation or if unemployed you can include your last occupation

• Item 8 - Check your birthplace against your ID documents (don’t just write down the suburb your Mum told you)

• Item 7 - Conjugal Status - this has nothing to do with prison visits - your choices are-

  • Never Validly Married (For people who have never been married before)

  • Divorced (For divorced people)

  • Married (for people that are not yet divorced and have not yet started the divorce process)

  • Divorce Pending (For people that have started divorce proceedings but have not yet obtained their Certificate of Divorce

  • Widow (For a person whose last married partner has died)

• Item 11 & !2 - Please write ‘deceased’ if either of your Parent’s have died

• Item 12 - Mother’s Maiden Name - your Mum’s name when she was born

• Item 20 - Divorce Information - for people who have been previously married, ensure you write the correct date for when your divorce was finalised

Step 4

Flip to page 4 and answer the question ‘Are you related to each other?’. In Australia, first cousins may marry, an Uncle may marry his Niece and adopted siblings cannot marry each other. If you are related, please state your relationship.

Step 5

Take the completed form and get it witnessed by one of the following authorities-

• A Justice of the Peace

• A Police Officer

• A GP (Qualified with the medical board of Australia)

• A Barrister/Solicitor

• A Commissioner for Declarations under the Statutory Declarations Act

Please note: You cannot get a Nurse, Pharmacist or Dentist to witness this form.

Step 6

HUZZAH! You have completed the first legal step towards getting married! Now email or text me a copy of the completed form quick sticks to me, along with photos (no need to get copies certified) of your ID documents.

I will then lodge this form with Births, Deaths and Marriages in Victoria, and it will then be held until your wedding day!

That’s it! This is how easy it is to fill out a Notice of Intended Marriage form in Australia. That is the only legal step that you need to do prior to your wedding day (On your wedding day, we fill out another document just prior to the ceremony called the ‘Declaration of No Legal Impediment to Marry’ and your ‘Marriage Certificates’ and then magically you are married!

The Notice of Intended Marriage or NOIM is super easy to fill out and get witnessed and once completed you can focus on other things such as writing the perfect wedding vows, or choosing the most perfect shoes for your wedding day!

Photo by Briars Atlas