Get a marriage licence

You can’t legally marry if you’re:

• already married or in a civil union, unless you’re changing your relationship with the same person
• closely related by birth, marriage or adoption
• under 16.

Full list of people you can’t marry — Marriage Act 1955

You need consent from a Family Court judge before you can marry.

Get consent to marry if you're aged 16 or 17

If you get consent, you'll be given a Court Order. You need to take the Court Order to a Births, Deaths and Marriages office and apply for your licence in person.

Births, Deaths and Marriages offices

Your 2 witnesses must understand what’s happening during the ceremony. They must be able to clearly identify both of you and be satisfied you both consent to the marriage.

They:

• don't need to have known you for any specific length of time and
• can be children of any age, so long as they understand the concept of a marriage.

If you're getting married at a registry office, don't rely on using staff as witnesses as there may not be anyone available.

If the witnesses speak a different language to you, you’ll need an interpreter. The interpreter has to sign a statutory declaration before the ceremony to say they’ll interpret what you say accurately.

Statutory declaration for an interpreter (PDF 65KB)

Statutory declaration for an interpreter — accessible alternative (TXT 5KB)

If you or your partner:

• is divorced, you’ll need a copy of the dissolution order if you have it
• had a spouse or civil union partner who has died. You won’t have to give evidence of their death, but you’ll need to put the date they died on the marriage licence application.

You can get a copy of the dissolution order from the court where the marriage was dissolved.

You can apply for a licence from one registry office and collect it at another, but you need to allow a few extra days for this. Discuss this with the Registrar first.

1. Start the form

Fill in all parts of the form, except the statutory declaration.

Notice of intended marriage form BDM 60 (PDF 271KB)

Notice of intended marriage form BDM 60 — accessible alternative (txt 14KB)

2. Sign the form in front of a Registrar of Marriages

You or your partner needs to take the notice to your local Registrar of Marriages in person so they can witness you signing the declaration.

After you've signed the declaration, you have to wait until you get the licence before getting married. It takes 3 days to get the licence. If you're using a celebrant you might have to wait longer until they get the licence by mail or courier.

You’ll need to declare:

• you’re legally allowed to get married
• you’ve been truthful on your marriage licence form
• you’ve got consent from a Family Court judge if you’re 16 or 17.

Find a registry office

If you live in Auckland, Manukau, Wellington or Christchurch, you can book a time online to go in and sign the form.

Book an appointment online

3. Pay the fee

You can pay when you make your declaration by:

• cash
• credit card
• EFTPOS
• New Zealand money order
• cheque — who you make the cheque payable to depends on which registrar of marriages you’re making your declaration to.

1. Start the form

Fill in all parts of the form, except the statutory declaration

Notice of intended marriage where parties are ordinarily resident outside New Zealand form BDM 58 (PDF 360KB)

Notice of intended marriage where parties are ordinarily resident outside New Zealand form BDM 58 — accessible alternative (txt 15KB)

2. Sign the declaration

If you're from a Commonwealth country

You need to sign the declaration in front of a Commonwealth representative before you post it.

You can do this at a New Zealand high commission, embassy or consular office. Contact the office first to check someone is available to witness your declaration.

Commonwealth member countries

New Zealand representatives overseas

If you're not from a Commonwealth country

3. Pay the fee

Send it to the registry office closest to where you plan to get married. Include an international bank draft in NZ dollars to pay the fee — check the list of registry offices to see who to make it payable to.

Find a registry office

4. When you arrive in NZ

Visit the registry office to pick up your marriage licence and copies of the documents you'll sign on the day.

If you're not from a Commonwealth country, you'll also sign the declaration.

Find a registry office

Once your application is processed, the registry office will keep your licence, and 2 copies of the Copy of Particulars of Marriage — a form with all the details of the people getting married.

You don't need to do anything else until the ceremony.

You'll be sent the licence, and 2 copies of the Copy of Particulars of Marriage — a form with all the details of the people getting married.

Give all 3 of these documents to your celebrant before your wedding.

You can order a marriage certificate from Birth, Deaths and Marriages after your marriage has been registered. A marriage certificate is the official record of your marriage.

You don’t have to do anything special — but some places like banks or government agencies might ask to see a copy of particulars or marriage certificate.

Changing your name after you get married