Form 15: The On the Day Certificate (and yes, it is a Legal Document!)

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Fun Fact: The Form 15 certificate your celebrant hands you on your wedding day IS a legal document. So cherish it - it's the real deal! And it is the only certificate you will get with your signatures on it.

Read on for everything you need to know about this important document so often mis-described and dismissed as a souvenir (hello, what's that about), keepsake (definitely needs to be kept in a safe place), or commemorative certificate.

How I know for sure that your Form 15 is a legal document

• It says so right on the back!
  "Under Section 45 of the Marriage Act 1961 this certificate is conclusive evidence that your marriage has been solemnised in accordance with that section. It is an important document and you should keep it in a safe place with other official documents. The certificate does not provide conclusive evidence of the identity of either of the parties to your marriage. In some situations you may be asked to produce a registered copy of your marriage certificate obtained from the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages in the State or Territory in which you were married"

• It features the Australian coat of arms – only official government documents can do that.
• Each certificate has its own unique number (hidden by the flower in this photo for security reasons)
• Forms 15 come with a series of security features to protect against forgery - including cross-hatching and being printed with fugitive ink. Which means any attempt to change a certificate will be obvious
• Section 45 of the Marriage Act, 1961 requires all celebrants (and that includes clergy and marriage officers at the Registry Office or Courthouse) to give one Form 15 certificate to the couple on the day. So it's the law, not just a souvenir.
• They are only supplied by one source, CanPrint in Canberra and only authorised celebrants can purchase them from CanPrint in Canberra, which keeps records of every certificate sold.
• Celebrants must also keep a record of each certificate they use.
  

It's a One-Off

Your Form 15 Certificate can NEVER be replaced no matter what happens to it, for the simple reason that it is a record of an event on a particular day. As it says on the front under your celebrant's name -  “I [Celebrant] having authority under the Marriage Act 1961 to solemnise marriages, hereby certify that I have on this day at [place] duly solemnised marriage…”

Other Important Facts about the Form 15 Certificate

• As it says on the back, it doesn't provide conclusive evidence of your identity. What it doesn't explain is that

1. that's because the only information about the each of you on it is your full name. Nothing else to conclusively identify you as the unique person you are. So no date or place of birth for example.
2. It is not a certified certificate - no stamps, no seals
3. It is not a copy of a record held anywhere else

• It is not proof that your marriage has been registered. You'll need an official certificate from Births, Deaths and Marriages for as proof of that.

• Nowhere on it, front or back, will you find the words "Form 15" or any reference to the fact that it is a form. Which makes it a pretty rare document!

• In the unlikely event that your marriage turns out not to be registered because of a glitch in the database, for example, your Form 15 certificate will be the proof that you need that you are married in order for the records at Birth, Deaths, and Marriages to be adjusted.
  

What should you call this certificate?

Form 15 is fine! I get that the reason that there are so many names for it floating around is because nothing on it gives you a clue as to what it is called. Form 15 is the official name. But it is also commonly called the Presentation Certificate (because it is presented to you). So feel free to call it that if you like. Just nix calling it anything that implies it is the sort of souvenir you get for merely showing up. It is, after all, an official confirmation that your legal status changed when you recited your vows a few minutes earlier.

Related Information

• Your Marriage Certificate(s)

Thanks for reading!