Everything you should know about marriage licenses in Australia

One of my couples for a Tasmanian wedding recently emailed about how they would go about getting their marriage license.

Her's everything you need to know about getting a marriage license in any and all states of Australia: you don't.

There is no such thing, no such system, no such paperwork, in Australia. It's an American (and other countries) system that doesn't apply to Australia.

To get legally married in Tasmania or Australia you must:

• not be married
• not be marrying a parent, grandparent, child, grandchild, brother or sister
• be at least 18 years old, unless a court has approved a marriage where 1 person is 16-18 years old understand what marriage means and freely agree to marry
• use specific words during the ceremony, I'll get to those in a moment
• give a notice of intended marriage form to an authorised marriage celebrant like myself at least 1 month and no more than 18 months before your wedding
• be married by an authorised marriage celebrant.

And the good news is that you don't have to be:

• an Australian citizen
• a permanent resident of Australia.

So the closest thing we have to a marriage license, aka a "before you get married" form is a Notice of Intended Marriage form.

I can't talk for every celebrant, but I take it upon myself to help you with the form because if we do it right the first time then life is a lot easier.

💍 Josh Withers is an Australian wedding celebrant based in Hobart who travels the world every week creating meaningful, fun, and honest marriage ceremonies for adventurous couples just like you.

📱 Follow Josh on Instagram, Threads, Facebook, Mastodon, Micro.Blog, or in a Qantas airport lounge somewhere.