Newsletter for celebrants 6 August 2024 

2025 independent celebrant renewal

Opens Friday 27 September and closes at midnight on Monday 28 October 2024.

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.

You’ll be notified of your approval or removal before 24 December 2024.

New celebrants approved after 1 April 2024, do not need to apply for renewal this time, but will from next year onwards. 

Questions relating to the 2025 renewal should be sent to celebrants@dia.govt.nz.

Late applications will not be accepted. 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 2025. If you later decide to be a celebrant, you must make a fresh application, pay the full application fee and provide new documents.

RealMe

You must complete the renewal online using your RealMe verified identity. 

Visit www.realme.govt.nz to confirm your login details are still correct. 

If you need to apply for a verified identity, start now because once you have taken your application number (and if required, other documents for scanning) to a participating photo store, you'll need to allow about 3 weeks for Internal Affairs to confirm if your identity is verified. Follow the instructions at www.realme.govt.nz/how-apply/

Fee

You will be required to pay $60 when submitting your renewal application online.

The fee can be paid online via credit, debit or Prezzy card. The fee is for the application only and is non-refundable should your renewal be declined.

Keep your contact details up to date

Make sure your contact details are up to date by logging in to the self-service portal so you get our email when the renewal opens.

If you are using the self-service portal for the first time, get set up by emailing your name and celebrant number to celebrants@dia.govt.nz.

Self-service portal 

Things for you to check:

• your contact details. There can be a variety of spellings for towns and cities so check to make sure yours is spelt correctly. For example: Whangaparaoa, Whangapāraoa or  Whangaparāoa - the last one is the correct spelling with the macron over the fourth a
• if you are a current financial member of Celebrants Aotearoa and your membership number
• if you are a validated member of Celebrants Aotearoa through participation in their specific professional development framework. This is an optional reflective process available to all CANZ members. The VCANZ acronym (V meaning Validated) can only be used if you've completed a successful application
• if you have completed a Certificate in Celebrant Studies, or Diploma in Celebrant Studies at The Celebrant School (TCS), and
• if you have completed a Certificate in Marriage Celebrancy, or Diploma in Celebrancy at the Celebrant Training College (CTC).

Through the celebrants self-service portal you can also ask us to publish on Locating a Celebrant: 

• your email address, home phone and/or mobile phone
• your celebrant related website
• your Māori iwi (tribe)
• your profile photo
• your exact location (Google Maps), and
• up to three celebrant related qualifications or competencies e.g. if you can korero in te reo Māori.

The must haves – celebrants and ceremonies

An approved celebrant must take an active role by officiating over the legal aspects of the ceremony.

The celebrant must formally identify the couple, ensuring that the people standing in front of them at the wedding are the same people named on the marriage licence. That may be achieved by simply asking each party their name.

The marriage ceremony must be in Aotearoa, which includes the Ross Dependency and up to our territorial boundary.

The couple must say their vows in front of an approved celebrant and before at least two other witnesses.

The full names of the couple as written on the marriage licence must be used at some point during the ceremony. Abbreviations and nicknames can be used in other parts of the ceremony.

Couples can write their own vows as long as they say to each other “I take you [partner’s name], to be my legal [wife/husband/partner]” or something similar during the ceremony. The couple should say the words to each other rather than answering a question you ask — although the marriage or civil union is still valid if you have asked the couple a question.

After you have married the couple and the Copy of Particulars of Marriage are fully completed (date, a specific place, couples signed, witnesses signed and addresses, celebrants name and signed and registration number/denomination) email a scan or photo to bdmtoregister@dia.govt.nz. Include the surname of both parties in the subject line.

Retain the Copy of Particulars of Marriage for 4 weeks in case the photo or scan needs to be redone. After four weeks the Copy of Particulars must be destroyed along with any emails that include personal information.

The Celebrant School - Te Wānanga Korowai Aroha offers training, professional development, and support services for celebrants throughout the country. More information is available at www.celebrant.school.nz or phone 021 681 958.

The Celebrants Training College offers a variety of training and professional development, for new or experienced celebrants throughout New Zealand. More information is available by ringing our office on 021 027 896 96 or at www.celebranttraining.co.nz.