Congratulatory messages

Overview

• Congratulatory messages for significant birthdays and wedding anniversaries is a free service for all New Zealand citizens and permanent residents who live in New Zealand.
• Who you get a congratulatory message from depends on the event you’re celebrating.
• If you were born or married overseas, we will ask you to submit supporting documents, if you have them.
• The period you can apply for a congratulatory message is from 3 months before the event to 6 months after the event.
• To receive a congratulatory message for an event being celebrated in January, apply by 7 December at the latest.
• Congratulatory messages are sent by post 10 days before the birthday or wedding anniversary but you can ask for them to be sent earlier. 
• To change or cancel your application, contact the Congratulatory Message Service team.

What you can get a congratulatory message for

All New Zealand citizens and permanent residents can get a congratulatory message for:

• birthdays of 100 years and over
• wedding anniversaries — 50^th, 55^th, 60^th, 65^th, 70^th and over.

Who the messages are from

Who you get a congratulatory message from depends on what you’re celebrating.

When you can apply

You can apply for congratulatory messages:

• no earlier than 3 months before the event
• no later than 6 months after the event.

Information you need to provide

You need the following information:

• date of the birth or wedding
• location of the birth or wedding — whether it was in New Zealand or outside New Zealand (if it was outside New Zealand, we’ll ask you to provide a copy of the birth or marriage certificate, if possible)
• full names of the person or couple, as they appear on their birth or marriage certificate
• preferred names of the person or couple celebrating the event
• current address for the person or couple celebrating the event, including their electorate — the voting area they live in.

Who sees the information in the form

The information you enter in the form will only be shared with the people who are part of providing this service. This includes:

• staff at the Department of Internal Affairs who administer the congratulatory message service
• Her Excellency the Governor-General
• the Minister for Seniors
• members of Parliament
• the mayors of some cities.

Apply for a congratulatory message

You need to apply to get a congratulatory message. The person or couple celebrating the event can apply, or someone can apply for them.

Messages are posted to the person or couple 10 days before their birthday or wedding anniversary. 

Apply online

Fill out and submit the online form.

• Apply for a birthday message
• Apply for a wedding anniversary message

Apply by post

If you prefer to apply by post, contact the Congratulatory Message Service team who can email or post you a PDF of the printed form.

What happens next

The Congratulatory Message Service team checks that your application is complete.

You may be contacted to confirm that all details are correct.

Approved applications are sent for processing and then the congratulatory messages are posted.

When the message will be posted

The congratulatory message will be posted to the person or couple 10 days before their birthday or wedding anniversary, unless you asked for an earlier date.

Changing or cancelling your application

If you need to change or cancel the application, contact the Congratulatory Message Service as soon as possible.

Contact