Newsletter for celebrants: 18 July 2023

Another successful Celebrants Aotearoa conference

It was fantastic to meet so many of you in person when I attended my first CANZ conference as the Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages last month. Joining me was our Senior Advisor Vaughan Millar, whom some of you will have communicated with over the years, and one of my Deputy Registrars-General, Adrian Jarvis.

I wanted to thank you for all the questions and interest in the presentation that Adrian delivered on the new civil registration system that is being built. It was heartening to also see how many of our celebrants were aware of these changes. 

Over time we will be shifting our registers from their current platform and move them a new fit for purpose system, which will provide more online transaction options for you and our broader customers. This has benefits for yourself and your customers and will ensure the protection of this important information for Aotearoa New Zealand

We would also like to thank those celebrants who have helped us understand your environment in more detail. We will continue to keep you informed and updated about our progress.

Emailing the Particulars to BDM

After you have married the couple and the Copy of Particulars of Marriage are fully completed (date, specific place, couples signed, witnesses signed and addresses, celebrant's name and signature and registration number or denomination) email a scan or photo to bdmtoregister@dia.govt.nz:

1. When you send the email include the surname of both parties in the subject line.
2. Before you email us the Particulars, make sure the scan or image is of good quality so it is clear and easy for us to read. Attach for example, a good quality PDF or JPEG to the email. Otherwise, we may ask that you redo it.
3. Do not save a copy to a website so you can send us a weblink as the Particulars contains personal information that you, as the celebrant, are responsible for destroying after 4 weeks.
4. It is the marriage celebrant's responsibility to email the Particulars to  bdmtoregister@dia.govt.nz and this should be done as soon as you can after the ceremony. BDM can only issue the couple a marriage certificate once the marriage is registered. 

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 and the email deleted.

Emphasis on couple to provide true and correct information

It is important to us that true and correct information is recorded in the registers. The law is specifically designed around ensuring that’s what couples provide when they give notice and how the registers are administered. We certainly emphasise that to couples when they apply for a marriage licence.

The legislation provides penalties should anyone be convicted but it’s important to note that I would not approve for a case for prosecution unless I was satisfied that it was a serious breach, it was in the public interest to prosecute and the evidence would be overwhelming in a court of law.

Marriage law has always placed the burden on couples to provide the correct details, and aside from that, they have more to lose from not paying attention to the facts as we often see these couples return to us to correct their details shortly after they get married.

Placing the burden on couples to provide the correct details enables a licence to be issued after the 3^rd day and earlier if there is inconvenience (e.g. one party is on their death bed). We also expect that couples, whether they are based in NZ or overseas, will know their own name and parents details better than we do.

If anyone has concerns that a party to a marriage is knowingly and wilfully providing fictitious names or are still married but claiming that they free to marry, we want to know and the details can be emailed:

• if before the marriage ceremony to MarriageLicence@dia.govt.nz, or
• if after the ceremony at the same time as returning the signed papers to bdmtoregister@dia.govt.nz.

My team will decide what, if any, action should be taken and that would remain a confidential matter between us and the party concerned.

Assumed names on marriage documents

Applying for a marriage licence 

Our Good Practice Guidance for the Recording and Use of Personal Names provides these definitions:

• Official name: A name that can be validated against a NZ authoritative identity data source. Names that could qualify for this category come from documents such as NZ identity documents (birth certificates, citizenship certificates and passports) and the majority of overseas passports.
• Assumed name: Any other name that a person uses providing it is not for the purposes of deceit. These names include married/civil union names, overseas registered names, preferred names, aliases, AKAs, CKAs etc.

On marriage paperwork there are two sets of fields:

• Current names, and
• Names at birth, if different to current names.

A party to a marriage can enter their assumed names in the current name fields that they are commonly known by. As the assumed name is different to their names at birth, they must enter their first names at birth or surname at birth, or both - depending on which is different.

Names must be provided, so that excludes titles and ranks.

Changing your name when you get married

In New Zealand, the couple don’t usually have to do anything special if they want to change their name after they get married or have a civil union.

When they get married, they can:

• keep their last name
• take their husband's, wife's or partner’s last name
• hyphenate or use a combination of both their last names with a space in between.

For more information refer to www.govt.nz/browse/family-and-whanau/getting-married/changing-your-name-when-you-get-married/ about:

• Example of combining names
• How to change your name
• Travelling overseas with your new name
• Changing your name on your driver licence
• Using your birth surname

Licence may be issued earlier than the 3^rd day

Both the Marriage Act and Civil Union Act provide for a licence to be issued before the 3^rd day after the notice was given if: the marriage or civil union is not prohibited; the respective Act has been complied with; and the parties would otherwise be inconvenienced.

One of the parties need to contact BDM to discuss this as soon as they possibly can and there is a standard for “inconvenienced” that needs to be met.

If the urgency is due to medical reasons, the couple would generally need to submit a signed letter from a doctor on official hospital letter head outlining the condition of the family member, including their full name and date of birth.

If the customer was unaware they needed to apply for a licence, they would need to provide supporting evidence that shows that the wedding had been planned for a reasonable amount of time and that the couple would be greatly inconvenienced. Evidence may include:

• invitations
• dated receipts for wedding purchases such as the venue
• catering and wedding attire etc
• email conversations discussing their intended ceremony.

Whether a licence is issued before the 3^rd day, or not, is at the discretion of a Registrar.