Lodging the Notice of Intended
Marriage By Trudy McGee
I’ve talked before about the
legal requirements about getting married in Australia but I want to clear up a
common misconception about the first piece of paperwork we as Celebrants
complete: the Notice of Intended
Marriage (NOIM).
When I talk about “lodging”
the NOIM, I mean lodging it with me as your “Authorised” Celebrant. Through lodging the NOIM with me,
you are giving notice to the Australian Government (through me as the
Government’s “Authorized” representative) that you intend to get married in at
least one month and one day, and no
more than 18 months from the date of lodgement – “lodgement” with the
celebrant, that is.
The words “lodging” or
“lodgement” seem to confuse people: they simply mean giving your
signed NOIM to your celebrant or priest.
I do not send the NOIM to anyone
else (or “lodge” it with anyone else) until AFTER your wedding, at which time I
send it to Births, Deaths and Marriages along with your Declaration of No Legal
Impediment and your Official Certificate of Marriage signed at the ceremony, so
that your marriage can be registered.
The same goes for any other
authorised celebrant (including religious celebrants); none of us send your
NOIM to anyone before the wedding.
So the next time someone tells
you their celebrant (or priest etc) lodged their NOIM before the wedding, you
can tell them how it really works!
