2022 celebrant renewal starts soon
The renewal for independent celebrants starts in October.
Independent celebrants: Opens 4 October and closes at midnight 26 October.
Organisational celebrants: Opens 1 November and closes at midnight 30 November.
If you do not apply for renewal between those dates, you will be removed as a celebrant and will not be able to marry couples in 2022. If you later decide to be a celebrant, you must make a fresh application, pay the full application fee and provide new documents.
Independent Celebrant Renewal
All independent celebrant renewals are required to be completed online using your verified RealMe Identity. All independent celebrants should now have a verified RealMe Identity ready to use for the 2022 renewal.
RealMe
If you have not already verified your identity or wish to confirm your login details are still correct visit www.realme.govt.nz.
If you need to apply for a verified identity please start now as once you have taken your application number (and if required, other documents for scanning) to a participating photo store, you'll need to allow a further five working days for Internal Affairs to confirm if your identity is verified. Follow the instructions at www.realme.govt.nz/how-apply/
Keep your contact details up to date
Make sure your contact details are up to date by logging in to the self-service portal at: www.govt.nz/organisations/births-deaths-and-marriages/information-for-marriage-celebrants/update-your-celebrant-registration-details/
Not used the portal before
If you have not used the portal before, email celebrants@dia.govt.nz with your name and celebrant number to obtain your personalised link.
Organisational Celebrant Renewal
Renewal for organisational celebrants is from Monday 1 November until 30 November and is to be completed online by the central contact.
Central Contacts
Change of central contact
If your central contact has changed, email celebrants@dia.govt.nz by Friday 29 October.
Organisation's name
If the name of the organisation needs to change, that must occur outside the renewal period.
RealMe
All central contacts should now have a verified RealMe Identity ready to use for the 2022 renewal. If you have not already verified your identity or wish to confirm your login details are still correct, visit www.realme.govt.nz
Your responsibility
It is your responsibility to complete the annual renewal on behalf of the celebrants within your organisation. An email will be sent to you in early November providing you with access to the online renewal for your organisation. Complete the renewal in full and pay the fee before 30 November to ensure your celebrants are current for the following year.
The renewal is fully online, so don't send us any paper forms.
Wait until renewal starts
Wait until 1 November before completing any paperwork, otherwise you will need to do it again. The declaration must be signed on a date from 1 November to 30 November.
Pay the renewal fee
You will need to pay the renewal fee for each celebrant at the time of submission. You can only pay once for the renewal for all of your organisations celebrants. You cannot log-in again to pay for another celebrant. It is recommended that you consider this ahead of time and have the fee readily available on a credit, debit or Prezzy card.
New or removing organisational celebrants
The renewal cannot be used to include new celebrants. Also, the renewal cannot be used to remove celebrants outside of the actual renewal process. Those applications need to go through the usual process e.g. www.govt.nz/organisations/births-deaths-and-marriages/information-for-marriage-celebrants/become-an-organisational-celebrant/#how-to-apply.
Organisational Celebrants
The central contact of your organisation is responsible for completing the renewal on your behalf. It is recommended that you speak to your central contact to ensure they have obtained their verified RealMe Identity and are prepared to complete the renewal in November.
How to find out who your central contact is
Ask one of your colleagues if you do not know who your central contact is.
Fees
The fee can be paid online via credit, debit or Prezzy card when completing the renewal. This fee is for application only and is non-refundable should your renewal be declined.
If the renewal application is not completed before the official close date, you will be removed from the list of celebrants. To become a celebrant again you will need to complete a new celebrant application and pay the full fee of $220 (Independent) or $150 (Organisational). If you want to retain your licence for another year complete the application before the close of the renewal.
Further Information
- The independent celebrant renewal will open on Monday 4 October and close at midnight Tuesday 26 October.
- The organisational celebrant renewal will open on Monday 1 November and close at midnight Tuesday 30 November.
- All independent celebrants and organisational central contacts are required to complete the renewal online using a verified RealMe Identity.
- Independent celebrants will be required to pay $60 when submitting their renewal application online.
- Organisational central contacts will be required to pay $30 per celebrant when submitting the renewal online.
- A link to the renewal will be sent to you via email as soon as the renewal opens.
- You may continue taking bookings and performing weddings throughout the renewal process.
- We will send you an email advising that the renewal has closed.
- Before Thursday 23 December, we plan to notify the celebrants that have been approved or removed.
Any questions relating to the 2022 renewal should be sent to celebrants@dia.govt.nz as soon as possible to ensure an easy renewal process.
Cannot use Zoom/Skype to marry a couple
Under the Marriage Act, a marriage can’t occur virtually (i.e. you cannot use video conferencing software like Zoom, Skype etc.) and the couple, celebrant and witnesses must be physically present in the same place.
Everyone must be physically present, in-person, at the geographical place when the couple say their vows to each other.
The marriage licence application and return of the signed papers can be done online.
Celebrant listings in the Yellow Pages
Marriage celebrants can apply to the Yellow Pages to publish their name. From https://yellow.co.nz/our-solutions/yellow-profile/ you can create a Yellow Profile and get access to your Yellow Portal. From the portal you can manage your listing and add a printed listing in the Yellow Pages. Yellow Pages contact details are care@yellow.co.nz or alternatively phone 0800 803 803.
Recently, it was brought to our attention that there were names being advertised that were no longer registered marriage celebrants. We are working with the Yellow Pages to remove those names from their publications.
If your name is advertised on the Yellow Pages, make sure you update your Yellow Profile when you are no longer a marriage celebrant.
