MARRIAGE LICENCE:

You can apply for your marriage licence online (regardless of whether you are based in NZ or overseas).

I highly recommend you apply online (see below).

You can apply up to 3 months before the date of your ceremony.  A marriage licence costs NZ$150.

For a step by step guide (provided by the NZ Government) to getting married or entering a civil union click here.

RECOMMENDED – APPLY ONLINE (READ NOTES BELOW BEFORE YOU START):

If you apply online you DO NOT need to go into the Courthouse to sign a declaration – once completed online the process is finished and they will send your licence to you by email.  

Only one of you needs to complete the application, but you need information about your parents (full names, including middle names/your mother’s maiden name if different from her married name) and information about your partner (full name, date and place of birth).  If you have been married before and now divorced or widowed the date of dissolution or passing is helpful.

If you’re from outside NZ you can still do an online application.

When entering the name of your celebrant from Drop-down box choose: Fiona Wills, Independent, Cambrians

If you are divorced you do need to enter what date was the dissolution (divorce) order sealed.  If you were divorced in NZ and don’t know the date, call the Ministry of Justice on 0800 268 787

When it asks who will get the licence (Yourself or Celebrant)?  Choose ‘Me’ (Yourself) option so that you receive it.

You will have the option to receive it by email or courier.  Choose the email option and when you receive it please forward the email to me as your celebrant.  I will then print it out and have it ready on the day.

I highly recommend  that when applying for your marriage LICENCE you also choose the option of receiving a marriage CERTIFICATE – sent to you after your marriage has been processed.  It is similar to a birth certificate and may be useful in the future.

If you are from overseas and your country is a member of the 1961 Hague Convention Treaty and you need to prove your marriage is legal for your immigration paperwork etc then you may consider getting an additional ‘Apostille’ attached to your marriage certificate.  ‘Apostilles’ (also known as ‘Documentation Authorisation’) simply authenticates the public document in question (in this case your marriage CERTIFICATE) so that it is formally recognised as a legal document by countries that are members of the Treaty.  If you do want an ‘Apostille’ just let me know and I will lead you through the process separately.

To start your application click here.

 APPLYING FOR YOUR LICENCE USING A PAPER FORM

PAPER VERSION FOR NZERS: You can pick up an application from your local courthouse, or download the form, fill it in online, print it off and take it into your local courthouse. Note if you complete the form manually you will need to sign the declaration in front of the Registrar at the Courthouse when you drop it off and then go back and pick it up 3 working days later (which isn’t applicable if you do online).

PAPER VERSION FOR THOSE OVERSEAS: Download the form, fill it in online, print it off and it will need to signed in front of a Commonwealth representative before you post it to the Registry Office closest to where you are getting married, along with an international bank draft. You then pick up your licence on arrival in NZ (none of which is applicable if you do it online).