Organisational celebrant renewal closes on 30 November
Your responsibility
It is your responsibility to complete the annual renewal on behalf of the celebrants within your organisation. An email was 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.
Sign the declaration up to 30 November
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 or to remove celebrants outside of the actual renewal process.
Only select the celebrants that are renewing. Any that are not renewing will be removed once the Gazette is published on 31 January 2022.
Signing statutory declarations during COVID-19
The Ministry of Justice provides Information for people needing to complete oaths, affirmations or declarations during COVID-19.
On that webpage you will find information on:
- How can a person take an oath, affirmation or declaration remotely?
- What if audio-visual communication is not possible?
- How should a written oath, affirmation or declaration be signed?
- Does the person taking the oath, affirmation or declaration need to sign a certificate?
- What if a person does not have a printer?
Signature of Chief Office Bearer (if appointed) and ten members
To sign the Celebrant Renewal for Approved Organisation declaration, the Chief Office Bearer (if appointed) and ten members that are aged 18 or over, may use an electronic signature. The electronic signature must still be in the likeness of the person's usual handwritten signature.
If you are unsure how to do this, search online for instructions that relate to your device and software.
In Auckland and no printers or electronic signatures
Question: An organisation in Auckland has asked us what they do if none of their members:
- have a printer or know anyone that has a printer, or
- know how to sign with an electronic signature or know anyone that can help them to sign that way.
Answer: The form could be circulated by travelling between the 10 members In Auckland under COVID-19 Alert Level 3 Step 1 so long as:
- you remain within the Alert Level area you are in, and
- you continue wearing a face covering when you leave your home and when physical distancing is not possible, and
- you must maintain 2 metre physical distancing, and
- keep scanning QR codes, or keep another record of where you go.
Please continue to always follow the advice from the government and Ministry of Health:
- Information about COVID-19 from the Ministry of Health
- Government advice about COVID-19 on Govt.nz
Otherwise, the organisation could courier the form between the 10 members until it is signed and ready for the stat dec to be taken.
Reminder for central contacts that the renewal closes at midnight Tuesday 30 November.
Fees
The fee can be paid online via credit, debit or Prezzy card. This fee 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 $150 (organisational). If you want to retain your licence for another year complete the application before the close of the renewal.
Further Information
- The organisational celebrant renewal opened on Monday 1 November and closes at midnight Tuesday 30 November.
- All organisational central contacts are required to complete the renewal online using a verified RealMe Identity.
- Organisational central contacts will be required to pay $30 per celebrant when submitting the renewal online.
- A link to the renewal was sent to you via email in early November.
- 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.
