Completing
the Notice of Intended Marriage - Common Mistakes
The
Notice
of Intended Marriage is the first legal step to
your marriage. You must complete this and lodge it with
your chosen celebrant at least one full month before
your wedding day, but it can be lodged up to 18 months
(1½ years) before the marriage takes place.
While at first glance the form looks simple enough,
there are some tricky bits, so almost everyone makes a
mistake or two. Not too much of a problem, as
generally I pick them up and we correct them at the time
you lodge the Notice with me, but completing the Notice
correctly saves time, and it also looks much neater!
It is important that all information given on the Notice
is correct and accurately reflects the information about
you recorded in other government records, such as your
birth certificate. While genuine errors can be
corrected, any intentional false information attracts
severe penalities.
Be aware that Registry Offices in Australia may refuse
to register a marriage of a person born in Australia
where the information on the Notice and the Marriage
papers differs from your birth and other records.
Here is some advice to help you avoid making some of the
most common mistakes
General
Advice
- Use Black ink. This is a legal form so Black ink
is expected. You can get away with Dark Blue, but
forget anything fancier. Better still, you can
download and type into the Notice,
and then print it out (back to back, please) ready
to sign
- Use Block Capitals. Handwriting causes reading
errors!
- Correct any mistake by drawing a single line
through it and writing above or next to it. Initial
the mistake in the margin. Do not use White-Out (a
no-no on legal forms)
- Do not sign until you are in front of your
witness, and, if your chosen celebrant is not going
to be witnessing your signatures, make sure the
person you choose is eligible to witness the
document. The only eligible witnesses in
Australia are:
- Authorised celebrant
- A Commissioner for Declarations
- A Justice of the Peace (your local shopping
centre may have this service several days a week)
- A barrister or solicitor
- A legally qualified medical practitioner (that
is, a Medical Doctor or Medical Specialist)
- A member of the Australian Federal Police or
police force of State/Territory
Common
Mistakes on Specific Questions
-
Question 2 - Family Name
This must be as on your birth certificate, unless
you have changed your surname by marriage (and are
still using that name) or by legal name change.
- Question 3 - Given names
List your first name and all your middle names
exactly as listed on your birth certificate. Write
them in full, using the same spelling. Do not add
any names that are not on your birth certificate,
even if you commonly use them, unless you have
legally changed your name. Also don't add any names
that may have been added when you were baptised or
confirmed.
-
Question
5 - Usual occupation
In other words, your job, what you do, not the
area you work in. So, if you are a Gardener, you
should not write Gardening, for example.
-
Question 6 - Usual place of residence
This is your street address where you are
currently living. If you are in Australia, you
need to give the state, but not the country. If
living overseas you need to also give the
country.
-
Question 7 - Conjugal status
If you have never been married before you need to
tick the box for Never Validly Married
If your previous marriage has been annulled in a
court, it is treated as if it never happened, so
you tick Never Validly Married. If you are
still married, but are going through a divorce,
you tick the box Divorce Pending
- Question 8 - Birthplace
Check against your birth certificate. It
gives the exact suburb. So while we are used to
telling people we were born in Brisbane, or Sydney,
or Melbourne, what is on our birth certificates is
generally the suburb in which the hospital is
located - so South Brisbane, Queensland or St
Leonards, New South Wales, or Parkville, Victoria.
If you were born outside Australia you need to
specify the country as well as the exact suburb/town
- Questions 15 and 16 - Parent Country of Birth
Only the country. Be careful in the case of the UK.
That's the political entity, the countries are
England, Scotland, Wales, etc.