Become a marriage celebrant

What it means to be a marriage celebrant

To legally marry people in Australia, you must be an authorised marriage celebrant.

There are 3 different types of authorised marriage celebrants in Australia:

• ministers of religion of a recognised denomination (RD), who are nominated by their RD and registered with the state and territory registries of births, deaths and marriages
• state and territory officers from a registry of births, death and marriages or a court
• Commonwealth-registered (civil and religious) marriage celebrants.

You need to decide what type of celebrant you want to be. You cannot apply to be registered or authorised as more than one type of celebrant at the same time. 

Marriage has important social, cultural and legal consequences for the couple getting married.

As a marriage celebrant, you'll play an important role in your community. It is a very rewarding role, but it is not easy.

You will be personally responsible for meeting very important legal requirements.

If you do not meet your legal obligations as an authorised celebrant you may face disciplinary action. In the most serious cases, a celebrant may also face criminal charges.

Commonwealth-registered marriage celebrants

A Commonwealth-registered marriage celebrant is a celebrant who we register and regulate. 

There are over 10,000 Commonwealth-registered marriage celebrants in Australia. Some perform many marriages each year, while others only perform a few or none.

There’s a lot you should consider before applying to be a marriage celebrant. 

As the regulatory body for Commonwealth-registered marriage celebrants, we will monitor your performance and compliance. Where a celebrant does not meet their legal requirements, the Registrar of Marriage Celebrants will consider disciplinary action.

You are expected to provide legally correct marriage services and maintain high professional standards.

This means you must follow the rules in the:

• Marriage Act 1961
• Marriage Regulations 2017 (including the Code of Practice).

We publish guidelines for marriage celebrants. These guidelines may help you understand your responsibilities.

Rules about personal beliefs

You cannot discriminate against marrying couples based on:

• race
• religion
• sex
• gender.

Only religious marriage celebrants can choose to perform marriages in line with their religious beliefs.

To identify as a religious marriage celebrant, you must be a minister of religion. They are authorised to marry people in line with the rites or customs of a religious organisation or body.

The registration application form asks you to indicate if you want to be identified as a religious marriage celebrant.

Compulsory professional development

All Commonwealth-registered marriage celebrants must complete compulsory professional development (PD) by 31 December every year.

We develop and deliver these compulsory PD activities. We will let you know by email when your PD activities are ready for you to complete. 

A disciplinary measure may be imposed if you do not complete compulsory PD, unless you are granted an exemption.

We will tell you about your PD obligations if you are registered.

Apply to be a marriage celebrant

Registration is not automatic or guaranteed. 

We will carefully consider your application. This means we may need to request more information or talk to you and your referees. 

Section 39C of the Marriage Act 1961 sets out everything we need to consider to decide if you are entitled to be registered. 

To apply for registration as a marriage celebrant, you must:

• be aged 18 years or over
• have specified qualifications and/or skills
• be a ‘fit and proper person’.

We look at a range of factors to help us decide if you are a ‘fit and proper person’. This includes:

• whether you have sufficient knowledge of marriage law
• your commitment to advising couples about available relationship support services
• whether you are of good standing in the community
• whether you have been convicted of an offence that could have resulted in imprisonment for one year or more (see Criminal history for more information)
• whether your registration may result in a conflict of interest or benefit to another business you own, control or carry out
• any other matter the Registrar considers relevant.

You must have the necessary qualifications. This means you must have one of the following:

• a Certificate IV in Celebrancy from a registered training organisation
• a qualification in celebrancy, awarded by a university specified in the Marriage (Celebrancy Qualifications or Skills) Determination 2018
• celebrancy skills: see below for further information.

To apply based on celebrancy skills you must be able to demonstrate all of the following:

• you are fluent in an Australian Indigenous language
• you have the ability to plan a marriage ceremony and work with clients and other members of the Indigenous community, if appropriate
• you have the ability to conduct a marriage ceremony and to complete and deal with the required documentation as required by law
• you have the ability to communicate effectively.

If you have applied by mistake without the necessary qualifications, please contact us directly for further advice using the details below. 

You do not need to be an Australian citizen to apply to be a Commonwealth-registered marriage celebrant.

The Marriage (Celebrancy Qualifications or Skills) Determination 2018 has information about the required qualifications and skills.

Section 39 of the Marriage Regulations 2017 has information about celebrancy skills. You can also email us for further information.

Application fee

You must pay a one-off, non-refundable application fee when you apply to be a Commonwealth-registered marriage celebrant. The application fee is currently $400, unless you qualify and apply for a limited exemption.

The application fee does not include the registration charge for the first financial year of registration. Your first year's celebrant registration charge is due if your application is accepted. If you do not pay your registration charge when it is due, you will be deregistered.

Exemptions from the application fee

You may be exempt from the application fee if:

• you live in a remote or very remote area
• there is not more than 1 marriage celebrant who has the same residential postcode as you.

You must pay a $30 non-refundable fee to apply for this exemption. You can apply for an exemption via the application portal. 

Applications for exemption must be submitted and finalised before submission of your application to become a Commonwealth-registered marriage celebrant.

If your exemption is granted:

• you will not need to pay the $400 registration application fee, and
• if you are registered, you will not need to pay the registration charge for the first financial year.

Download the guidelines for seeking an exemption from the registration application fee: 

• Guidelines for seeking an exemption from the registration application fee – updated June 2020

Completing your application

When you have received your Certificate IV in Celebrancy, complete the online application form. 

You will have 90 days to submit your application from the date the account is created. After 90 days, your application will expire and you will need to set up a new account and start again.

Until you are a Commonwealth-registered marriage celebrant, you cannot:

• accept a notice of intended marriage
• solemnise marriage ceremonies
• advertise your services as an authorised marriage celebrant.

During the application process you will need to provide:

• your qualification (or supporting evidence of your celebrancy skills)
• a letter of authorisation from your independent religious organisation or body if you are a minister of religion
• advice about whether you have previously been, or are currently, registered or authorised as a marriage celebrant
• advice about whether you are already a marriage celebrant in Australia.

In the application, you will need to attach:

• a completed consent form for a Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check (police check)
• identity documents as stated in pages 2-3 of the consent form for a police check
• a photo of yourself holding a photo identity document as stated on page 2 of the consent form for a police check
• an up-to-date copy of your Curriculum Vitae (CV)
• 2 completed referee reports with contact details.

Difficulties may arise if an application is submitted with inconsistent identity documents. This includes names, addresses and other personal information. 

We should be able to reach you at all times while we review your application in case we need more information.

How we assess applications

We assess all applications in the order in which we receive them. We cannot fast-track any particular application.

We have up to 6 months to assess your application from when we receive a completed application with payment. 

Due to the volume of enquiries and applications we receive, it is not possible to provide progress updates about your application. 

We will let you know about our decision in writing.

If your application is unsuccessful, we will tell you why. You can ask for a review from the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART).

You can apply to the ART if we do not make a decision about your application in 6 months (section 39J of the Marriage Act 1961). Please contact us if you have any questions.

Conflict of interest and benefit to business

You must tell us:

• if there is a possible conflict of interest between your role as a marriage celebrant and your business or other interests
• if your registration as a marriage celebrant is likely to result in you receiving a benefit from another business you own, control or carry out
• how you propose to manage any conflict or benefit to business.

Even if the potential conflict of interest or benefit to business is listed as generally acceptable in the guidelines, you must tell us about it.

Download the conflict of interest guidelines:

• Guidelines on conflict of interest and benefit to business for Commonwealth-registered marriage celebrants – Updated April 2018

Criminal history

When you apply to be a marriage celebrant, we will conduct a Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check (police check). 

This is to find out, among other considerations, if you have a criminal conviction that is:

• punishable by imprisonment for 1 year or more
• against a law of the Commonwealth, or a state or territory.

We will advise you by email of the result we receive on your check, including any disclosable outcomes.

Disclosable outcomes are police information released to us as part of the check. 

We are unable to accept completed checks provided by the applicant. 

Find out how we handle disclosable outcomes:

• Disclosable Outcomes Guidelines

How we treat your private information

Find out how we collect and use your information under the Marriage Celebrants Program.

Instructions for how to apply online

• Instructions for completing the application for registration as a marriage celebrant
• Documentation checklist

Template for your referee reports

• Application for registration as a marriage celebrant - Referee report template

Downloads

• Fact sheet – Registrar requirements for Certificate IV in Celebrancy – updated June 2020