Wikiprocedure

New Zealand - Apply for becoming a Marriage Celebrant

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ProcedureEdit

  • Complete the Independent Marriage Celebrant Application BDM 453 form and post to Births, Deaths and Marriages.
  • There is no charge for appointment and applications are only accepted from people that reside in New Zealand.

Application Forms

  • Independent Marriage Celebrant Application BDM 453

http://www.dia.govt.nz/Pubforms.nsf/URL/IndependentMarriageCelebrantApplicationBDM453.pdf/$file/IndependentMarriageCelebrantApplicationBDM453.pdf



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Required DocumentsEdit

  • Valid Identity document
  • Proof of residency



Office Locations & ContactsEdit

Contact Centre

Freephone: 0800 22 52 52 (New Zealand only)
Phone: (+64 4) 463 9362
Email: [email protected]
Opening hours: Monday to Thursday 8:00am - 7:00pm, Friday 9:00am - 7:00pm, Saturday 9:00am - 2:00pm

Births, Deaths and Marriages

PO Box 10-526
Wellington 6143
Level 3
109 Featherston Street
Wellington 6011
Freephone: 0800 22 52 52 (New Zealand only)
Phone: (+64 4) 463 9362
Fax: (+64 4) 382 3515 (for certificate and printout orders)
Fax: (+64 4) 382 3613 (for general enquiries)
Email: [email protected]
Opening hours: Monday to Friday 8:30am - 5:00pm, except Wednesday 9:00am - 5:00pm

Auckland

Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages
PO Box 6147
Auckland 1141
Level 6, AA Building
99 Albert Street
Auckland 1010
Freephone: 0800 22 52 52 (New Zealand only)
Phone: (+64 4) 463 9362
Fax: (+64 9) 362 7908
Opening hours: Monday to Friday 8:30am - 5:00pm, except Wednesday 9:00am - 5:00pm

Christchurch Births, Deaths and Marriages Office

Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages
PO Box 25211
Christchurch
100 Orchard Road
Christchurch 8053
Freephone: 0800 22 52 52 (New Zealand only)
Phone: (+64 4) 463 9362
Opening hours: Monday to Friday 8:30am - 5:00pm, except Wednesday 9:00am - 5:00pm

Manukau

Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages
PO Box 76-222
Manukau City 2241
Level 1
20-24 Lambie Drive
Manukau City 2104
Freephone: 0800 22 52 52 (New Zealand only)
Phone: (+64 4) 463 9362
Fax: (+64 9) 262 2404
Opening hours: Monday to Friday 8:30am - 5:00pm, except Wednesday 9:00am - 5:00pm

Wellington

Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages
PO Box 10-526
Wellington 6143
Level 3
109 Featherston Street
Wellington 6011
Freephone: 0800 22 52 52 (New Zealand only)
Phone: (+64 4) 463 9362
Fax: (+64 4) 474 8147
Opening hours: Monday to Friday 8:30am - 5:00pm, except Wednesday 9:00am - 5:00pm

Australia

Births, Deaths and Marriages
Department of Internal Affairs
Level 10
55 Hunter Street
Sydney
GPO Box 365
Sydney
New South Wales 2001
Freephone 1300 559 535 (Australia only) Monday to Friday 8:30am - 5:00pm, except Wednesday 9:30am - 5:00pm
Phone: (+61 2) 9225 2300
Fax: (+61 2) 9223 0223
Public Counter opening hours: Monday to Friday 9:00am - 4:00pm, except Wednesday 9:30am - 4:00pm

United Kingdom

Births, Deaths and Marriages
Department of Internal Affairs
New Zealand House
80 Haymarket
London SW1Y 4TQ
United Kingdom
Phone: (+44 20) 7968 2730
Fax: (+44 20) 7968 2739
Opening hours: Monday to Friday 10:00am - 2:00pm (excluding public holidays)



EligibilityEdit

Appointments of independent Marriage Celebrants are made in accordance with section 11 of the Marriage Act 1955:

  • An applicant must be either a Justice of the Peace or some other person of good character; and
  • The applicant will conscientiously perform the duties of a marriage celebrant under Marriage Act 1955 and the Births, Deaths and Marriages, and Relationships Registration Act 1995; and
  • The Registrar-General must be satisfied that it is in the interests of the public generally, or of a particular community (whether defined by geography, interest, belief, or some other factor) that the person be appointed as a Marriage Celebrant.



FeesEdit

Appointment as a Marriage Celebrant: No fee



ValidityEdit

Explain the time until which the certificate/document is valid.
e.g. Birth Certificate Valid Forever



Documents to UseEdit

Please attach documents which can be used by people who would like to follow this procedure.



Sample DocumentsEdit

Please attach sample completed documents which would help other people who would like to follow this procedure.



Processing TimeEdit

Please explain processing time taken in obtaining the document/certificate.

Related VideosEdit

Videos explaining the procedure or to fill the applications. 
Attach videos using the following tag <&video type='website'>video ID|width|height<&/video&> from external websites. 	
Please remove the '&' inside the tags during implementation.
Website = allocine, blip, dailymotion, facebook, gametrailers, googlevideo, html5, metacafe, myspace, revver, 
sevenload, viddler, vimeo, youku, youtube
width = 560, height = 340, Video ID = Can be obtained from the URL of webpage where the video is displayed.
e.g In the following url 'http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0US7oR_t3M' Video ID is 'Y0US7oR_t3M'.


InstructionsEdit

  • There are two types of marriage celebrants are there
    • Independent Marriage Celebrant
    • Church or organisational Marriage Celebrant

Independent Marriage Celebrant

  • Independent Marriage Celebrants are persons from the community who are appointed by the Registrar-General as Marriage Celebrants and who operate independent of churches and organisations.
  • Only those persons appointed by the Registrar-General as Marriage Celebrants and whose names appear in the List of Marriage Celebrants in the New Zealand Gazette or at www.bdm.govt.nz have the authority to solemnise marriages in New Zealand.
  • Appointments of independent Marriage Celebrants are made in accordance with section 11 of the Marriage Act 1955:
    • An applicant must be either a Justice of the Peace or some other person of good character; and
    • The applicant will conscientiously perform the duties of a marriage celebrant under Marriage Act 1955 and the Births, Deaths and Marriages, and Relationships Registration Act 1995; and
    • The Registrar-General must be satisfied that it is in the interests of the public generally, or of a particular community (whether defined by geography, interest, belief, or some other factor) that the person be appointed as a Marriage Celebrant.
  • The Registrar-General will also take into consideration any potential conflicts of interest and apparent bias that may arise if a person is appointed, and consider whether those issues can be managed appropriately.
  • Holding other positions of responsibility (such as being a Justice of the Peace), or completing a Certificate in Celebrant Studies does not automatically entitle you to be appointed as a marriage celebrant.
  • To apply to be a Marriage Celebrant, complete the Independent Marriage Celebrant Application BDM 453 form and post to Births, Deaths and Marriages. There is no charge for appointment and applications are only accepted from people that reside in New Zealand.
  • Applicants are usually advised of the outcome of their application in writing within 2 weeks, although some applications may take longer. In some cases, applicants may be asked to provide additional information and/or may be referred to their local Registrar of Marriages for a formal interview.
  • The names and residential addresses of all independent Marriage Celebrants are published in the New Zealand Gazette.
  • A marriage celebrant approved under the Marriage Act 1955 is not authorised to solemnise a civil union, and similarly, a Civil Union Celebrant approved under the Civil Union Act 2004 is not authorised to solemnise a marriage. However, a person may be authorised to act a as a celebrant under both Acts.
  • For further information on the role of a Marriage Celebrant in New Zealand view or print out Marriage Celebrant: A guide to the role of Marriage Celebrant in New Zealand.

Church or organisational Marriage Celebrant

  • Church or organisational Marriage Celebrants are:
    • Ministers of religious bodies (as specified in Schedule 1 of the Marriage Act 1955) each of these religious bodies nominates its ministers, and the ministers names are published in the New Zealand Gazette.
    • Organisational celebrants approval is granted to certain organisations that have as one of their principal objects the upholding or promotion of religious beliefs or philosophical or humanitarian convictions; these organisations then nominate their designated celebrants and the names are published in the New Zealand Gazette.
  • To have a persons name added to the list of Marriage Celebrants for churches and approved organisations differs depending on the particular church or organisation.
  • If your church or approved organisation is not in the list, check that your organisation is not affiliated with one of the other listed churches or organisations.
  • Applicants are usually advised of the outcome of their application in writing within 2 weeks, although some applications may take longer.
  • The instructions to have your name added to the list of Marriage Celebrants is beside the name of your church or approved organisation in the List of churches and approved organisations.
  • The names and churches/organisations of Marriage Celebrants are published in the New Zealand Gazette.
  • A marriage celebrant approved under the Marriage Act 1955 is not authorised to solemnise a civil union, and similarly, a Civil Union Celebrant approved under the Civil Union Act 2004 is not authorised to solemnise a marriage. However, a person may be authorised to act a as a celebrant under both Acts.
  • For further information on the role of a Marriage Celebrant in New Zealand view or print out Marriage Celebrant: A guide to the role of Marriage Celebrant in New Zealand.



Required InformationEdit

  • Name of Bride and Bridegroom
  • Date and Place of birth of both Bride and Bridegroom
  • Usual occupation, profession or job of both Bride and Bridegroom
  • Usual residential address
  • Fathers and Mothers Name
  • Mailing address
  • Residence address
  • Daytime phone number
  • Email address



Need for the DocumentEdit

Only those persons appointed by the Registrar-General as Marriage Celebrants and whose names appear in the List of Marriage Celebrants in the New Zealand Gazette have authority to solemnise marriages in New Zealand.


Information which might helpEdit

Enter other informations which might help.


Other uses of the Document/CertificateEdit

Please explain what are other uses of obtaining this document/certificate.
e.g. Birth Certificate can be used as proof of identity.

External LinksEdit

Place some external links which might help.

OthersEdit

More information which might help people.


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