just US
congratulations, you'vetaken the first steptowards your I do
just US
congratulations, you'vetaken the first steptowards your I do
what next? (this is the serious stuff...)
There are a couple more things you will need to do, and a few more things you may wish to do, to prepare for your wedding day.
Most importantly you must complete the Notice of Intended Marriage (NOIM).
Once that’s out of the way all the boring stuff is done and you can just relax, show up on your wedding day and say “I do”…
You may also wish to plan some of the other details, like photography. We can help with that too.
But first, on with the important legal things we have to do – deadlines, rules etc…. get a cup of tea and your serious face on for a moment….
the Notice of Intended Marriage (NOIM) form
This form is a legal requirement for anyone who wishes to be married in Australia.
Please follow these steps closely.
- Enter your details into the Notice of Intended Marriage form – this is called “the NOIM”. You can save the form at any time and come back to it if you need to. If you need help completing the form please watch / listen to this video tutorial to talk you through it.
- Print the form – (in high resolution).
- Take it to an authorised witness and sign it in front of that witness. The witness must sign it too. An authorised witness is someone who has one of the qualifications listed on the form, below the instructions, and if you are in Australia these are essentially a Justice of the Peace, Doctor, Lawyer or Police Officer.
It can’t be just anyone. And please note that it can not be a Commissioner for Declarations (even though the form says it can. Birth Deaths and Marriages will not accept this).
It can not be: a nurse, vet, dentist, physiotherapist, chiropractor, pharmacist. It does not have to be the people who are the witnesses at your ceremony.
If your fiancé is not in Australia at the moment, or it is otherwise not possible for you both to sign the NOIM in front of a witness, it is ok to submit it with just one party having already signed it- please let us know why only one person has signed. If the reason is valid the other party can sign it on the day of the ceremony with your celebrant as the witness. - Scan pages 3-5 the completed form and save the file with NOIM_YOUR NAMES as the file name. Upload the file to your JMW Dashboard. The NOIM must be uploaded correctly at least one full month before your ceremony date. This is a strict legal requirement – no exceptions. Please ensure it is a high quality SCAN of pages 3-5 only. If you need a visa letter for migration or residency purposes please email us and we can arrange this. If you need more time you can reschedule your ceremony appointment up to one month prior. After this time a reschedule fee of $200 applies.
- Keep the original NOIM for your records. If you are getting married in WA or SA please bring the original on the day.
other documents to get ready
In order to get married you will need the documents set out here: Just Married – Documents required
You don’t need them now. And you don’t need to upload them with your NOIM.
But you will need to upload them or text them to your celebrant at least two business days before your ceremony, at the latest.
Please get them ready now, so you can find or replace them in time if necessary.
Without these documents your ceremony can not proceed.
Additionally, please be sure you both read over this info issued by the Australian government, so you are 100% ready to say I Do.