Between the dress fittings and the seating plan, there’s a small amount of paperwork that turns your wedding into a legal marriage. It’s simpler than it sounds, and most of it happens well before the day.

Here’s how it works in New Zealand, from the first form to the certificate in your letterbox.

Give notice and get your marriage licence

Every legal marriage in Aotearoa starts with a marriage licence, which confirms it’s legal for the two of you to marry. To get one, one of you gives notice of your intended marriage to a Registrar. Only one of you needs to fill it in, but you’ll need details for you both.

You can apply online through Births, Deaths and Marriages, whether you’re in New Zealand or overseas. If you’d rather use the paper notice of intended marriage form, one of you takes it to a Registrar of Marriages in person and signs the declaration in front of them. That signing isn’t your wedding ceremony, just a promise that the details are true and you’re legally free to marry.

The licence costs $158 (as at October 2026, according to govt.nz). Your celebrant’s fee is separate, and each celebrant sets their own.

Choose your venue before you apply. The licence names the place you’ll marry, and you can only marry at a place listed on it. If there’s any chance of a wet-weather move, govt.nz suggests adding a back-up venue to your application, because the law allows up to two places on a licence.

The three-day wait and the three-month window

The Marriage Act 1955 says a Registrar can’t issue your licence until the third day after notice is given, except in limited cases. Govt.nz advises arranging it at least three working days before you marry, so give yourselves breathing room.

Once it’s issued, the licence is valid for three months. If your date sits further out than that, hold off applying until you’re inside the window.

For a personalised ceremony, you’ll receive the licence plus two copies of a form called the Copy of Particulars of Marriage, which holds both your details. Pass all three to your celebrant before the wedding.

You can also have the licence sent straight to your celebrant by email or courier. Your celebrant can’t marry you until they have it.

On the day, and the paperwork afterwards

A registered marriage celebrant marries you. If you’d prefer something simple, a registry ceremony is also led by a celebrant, with standard vows and a set $175 fee. Govt.nz says you, your celebrant and your witnesses all need to be physically present in the same place, so a video-call wedding won’t count.

You’ll need at least two witnesses. They don’t need to have known you for any set time, and children of any age can be witnesses, as long as they understand what’s happening.

Govt.nz says each witness must be able to identify you both and be satisfied you both consent. If your witnesses don’t speak your language, you’ll need an interpreter, who signs a declaration before the ceremony.

The rest of the ceremony is yours to shape. For the vows, the Marriage Act asks that you each say to the other “I AB, take you CD, to be my legal wife or husband”, or words to similar effect.

Straight after the ceremony, your celebrant fills in both copies of the particulars form. You both sign, along with your celebrant and two witnesses, and your celebrant gives one copy to you. The Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Relationships Registration Act 2021 gives the celebrant 10 days to send the other copy to the Registrar-General, who then registers your marriage.

The copy you take home isn’t your marriage certificate, though govt.nz says some places will accept it as evidence of your marriage. For the official version, order a marriage certificate online. It costs $35 (as at October 2026), standard post within New Zealand is free, and most people receive theirs within two weeks.

If anything about your situation feels unusual, your celebrant or Births, Deaths and Marriages can talk you through it. Otherwise, apply in good time, bring your two witnesses, and let the forms look after themselves while you enjoy the day.