Giving Notice of your Intention to Marry

 
by Jennifer Cram - Brisbane Marriage Celebrant   © 5 February 2019  |
Notice of Intended MarriageTo be legally married in Australia you are required to give a clear calendar month's notice of your intended marriage. But what does that mean, precisely?

There is so much inaccurate information out there, but it is very simple.

Just remember that there is only one day of any particular number in a month! Only one 15th, only one 24th and so on. And that some months only have 30 days, while others have 31. And then there is February.

Here are the facts in detail:
  1. If you give Notice on a certain date, the first date on which you can be legally married is the same date the following month - as long as there is one. If there isn't, you have to skip to the first day of the following month. So if you give notice on 28 February, you can marry on 28 March. But if you gave notice on 30 January, you can't marry until 1 March, because there is no 30 February.
  2. You have to give Notice on the official form - the Notice of Intended Marriage
  3. You give notice by giving a completed, signed, and witnessed form to your celebrant. (Hint: your celebrant can witness your signatures - but so can a few other people, including a JP or Police Officer - read the tutorial on Signing the NOIM for the details.)
  4. Giving notice is referred to as lodging the Notice - that just means giving the form to your celebrant. (Hint: you can lodge your Notice by scanning and emailing it, but you need to give the original paper form to your celebrant before you can be married)
  5. The Notice of Intended Marriage is valid for 18 months from the date it is lodged (not from the date it is signed, though both things often happen on the same day)
  6. The requirement to give one month's notice is embedded in Section 42 of the Marriage Act, 1961