Lodging the NOIM with one signature
Usually, both parties to the marriage sign the Notice of Intended Marriage (NOIM) (and have their signatures witnessed by an authorised witness) before lodging it with an authorised celebrant. However that’s not always possible, for example if one party is interstate or overseas. Luckily, the Marriage Act 1961 makes it possible for the NOIM to be lodged with just one party’s signature! Let’s take a look at how this works.
The legislation
Section 42(3) of the Marriage Act 1961 says the following:
However, if the signature of a party to an intended marriage cannot conveniently be obtained at the time when it is desired to give notice under this section, a notice duly signed by the other party and otherwise complying with the provisions of this section shall, if it is signed by the first‑mentioned party in the presence of an authorised celebrant before the marriage is solemnised, be deemed to have been a sufficient notice.
Let’s break that down a bit.
Firstly, if one of the parties can’t sign the NOIM when the couple wants to lodge it, the celebrant can accept it as long as the other party has signed it.
Secondly, the first person still needs to sign the NOIM in the presence of the authorised celebrant before the marriage can take place. Nowhere does it say the first person needs to sign outside the notice period of a month before the marriage, that’s not a thing. They can literally sign it in the minutes before the ceremony takes place!
The word “conveniently”
Honestly, that word “conviently” in there is a bit troublesome. What does “convenient” mean? Some couples have told me they work different shifts, so when one is available the other isn’t. They deem that to mean that one signature cannot conveniently be obtained. The example provided in the Guidelines on the Marriage Act 1961 for Authorised Celebrants is that one party is overseas. The Guidelines go on to say:
The celebrant must be satisfied that the party who has not signed the NOIM has a genuine reason for not being able to do so at the time, is fully aware of the marriage, and that their documents are in order.
So what does “genuine reason” mean? We don’t have any guidance on that. We have to make our own decisions. However the Guidelines also reminds us to be wary about a request to accept a NOIM with just one signature in case it’s an attempt to have a surprise wedding, which is illegal.
Just to be on the safe side…
Taking all that about “convenient” and “genuine reason” into account, although it is not required by law, when I accept a NOIM with only one signature on it, I always email the other person to make sure they’re aware of the marriage and happy to give notice. So in effect, the person who has signed the NOIM is giving notice of their intended marriage through the NOIM, while the person who has not signed is giving notice through the email they send me.
I also ask the person who has signed the NOIM to bring scans/photos of their partner’s identity documents on their phone to our meeting, so I can see that they’re in order.
With all of this, I feel pretty comfortable that I’m meeting my requirements under the legislation.
Before the ceremony
Before the marriage ceremony can go ahead, the person who had not already signed the NOIM needs to sign it. I do this at the same time we’re signing the Declaration of No Legal Impediment to Marriage. I remind them about the email they sent me saying they were aware of the marriage and happy to give notice, and note that this is the formal documentation of that. And that’s it! It’s signed, I witness, everyone is happy, and we go on with the wedding 🙂
More information
Click here for a full overview of the legal requirements of marriage in Australia.
Read all the posts in my series about marriage legalities here.
Find all the posts in my series about Australian wedding ceremonies here.