Certificates of No Impediment (CNI) to Marriage - Smartraveller

If you're going overseas to get married, you may need a Certificate of No Impediment to Marriage (CNI) to prove you're free to marry. Skiptomaincontent Breadcrumb Home Ourservices Notarialservices CertificatesofNoImpediment(CNI)toMarriage CertificatesofNoImpediment(CNI)toMarriage LastUpdated Tuesday,17/05/2022   Ifyou'regoingoverseastogetmarried,youmayneedaCertificateofNoImpedimenttoMarriage(CNI).AuthoritiesoverseasmayaskforaCNItoproveyou'refreetomarry. TheDepartmentofForeignAffairsandTrade(DFAT)canissueCNIs. Thispagediscusses: howtofindoutifyouneedaCNI otherdocumentsyoumayneed howtoapplyforaCNI Alsoseeourpageongettingmarriedoverseas,andreadtheConsularServicesCharter. HowtofindoutifyouneedaCNI YoumustaskanauthorityfromyourdestinationifyouneedaCNI.DFATcan'ttellyouabouttherulesandrequirementsofanoverseascountry.It’syourresponsibilitytofindoutwhatyouneed. Contactyourdestination'sembassyorconsulateinAustralia.Alternatively,ifyouhaveacontactinyourdestinationhelpingyouwithyourweddingplans,youcouldcontactthem. YoumaynotneedaCNI.CheckifyoumusthaveaCNItogetmarriedthere. Authoritiesmayacceptotherevidencethatyou'refreetomarry.Askifyoucanusea'SingleStatusCertificate'ora'NoRecordResultCertificate'insteadofaCNI.Youcangetthesefromyourlocalbirths,deathsandmarriagesregistry. SomeauthoritiesonlyacceptaCNIissuedwithintheircountry.AskifyoumustgetitfromtheclosestAustralianembassyorconsulate,orifyoucangetoneinAustraliabeforeyougo. YoumayalsoneedtolegalisetheCNI.AskifyouneedanapostilleorauthenticationcertificateonyourCNI. Otherdocumentsyoumayneed TheoverseasauthoritymayalsoaskforotherevidenceordocumentationfromAustralia.Thiscouldincludeyourbirthcertificate,divorcecertificate,oryourdeceasedpartner'sdeathcertificate. Askforacomprehensivelistofwhatelseyouneed. Alsoaskifyouneedthosedocumentslegalised.Ifyoudo,seeourpageondocumentsinAustraliaordocumentsoverseas. Youcangetmostdocumentsfromyourlocalbirths,deathsandmarriagesregistry. HowtoapplyforaCNI 1.Prepareyoursupportingdocumentation ToapplyforaCNI,youandyourpartnerneedtoprovidesupportingdocumentation.AtleastonepersonapplyingfortheCNImustbeanAustraliancitizenorpermanentresident. IfanAustraliancitizen,avalidAustralianpassport. IfanAustralianpermanentresident,avalidforeignpassportwithevidenceofpermanentresidenceinAustralia. Ifaforeigncitizen,avalidforeignpassportorvalidphotoidentification Ifdivorced,aDivorceCertificateforthepreviousmarriage. Ifwidowed,thedeceasedpartner'sDeathCertificate. Ifunder18yearsofage,acopyofthejudicialauthorisationtomarry.ThismustbeissuedbyanAustraliancourtoflaw. Supportingdocumentscanbeoriginals,orcertifiedtruecopies. IfthedocumentsarenotinEnglish,theymustbeaccompaniedbyanEnglishtranslationthat'sperformedbyaprofessionaltranslator. 2.Completetheapplicationform Downloadandcompletetheapplicationformforacertificateofnoimpedimenttomarriage(CNI). Youcanprintitandfillitin,orcompleteitelectronically Don'tuseaneSignature.You'llneedanauthorisedwitnesstowatchyouphysicallysignit. Ifyou'reapplyinginAustralia,you'llalsoneedtosubmitadocumentlegalisationrequestform. IftheoverseasauthoritytoldyoutolegalisetheCNIorotherdocuments,seeourpageondocumentsinAustraliaordocumentsoverseas. 3.Signtheforminfrontofanauthorisedwitness Onlysigntheforminthepresenceofanauthorisedwitness.Theyneedtowatchyousignit. InAustralia,findalocalauthorisedwitness.ThiscouldbeaJusticeofthePeace.Or,anofficialfromtheAustralianPassportOfficecanwitnessyousignitatyourappointment. Overseas,aconsularofficialcanwitnessyousignitatyourappointment. 4.Submityourformandsupportingdocuments Theprocesstosubmityourformanddocumentsdependswhetheryou'reinAustraliaoroverseas.Youcansubmitbymailorinperson. SeehowtosubmitdocumentsinAustralia. Seehowtosubmitdocumentsoverseas. Thesepagesalsodetailhowtosubmitanyothersupportingdocumentsyouneedlegalised. 5.Paythefee InAustraliaoroverseas,theCNIapplicationfeeisA$153. Youmustpaywhenyousubmityourapplicationform. IfyouneedtolegaliseyourCNIorsupportingdocuments,thefeeisA$87perdocument. Ourfeesincreaseinlinewiththeconsumerpriceindexon1Januaryeachyear. 6.We'llprocessyourapplication We'llreviewyourapplication.Ourfirststepistomakesureitiscomplete. Ifit'sincomplete,wecan'tprocessit.Ifyousubmittedyourapplicationbymail,we'llsenditbacktoyouwithaletterexplainingwhatyouneedtodo. 7.Onceapproved,we'llgiveyoutheCNI Wecanmailittoyouinyourprepaidenvelope.Or,youcanpickitupinpersonfromanAustralianPassportOffice,embassyorconsulate. Furtherenquiries Forhelp,ormoreinformationabouthowtoapplyforaCNI: Ifyou’reinAustralia,[email protected] contactyournearestAustralianembassyorconsulateifyou'reoverseas Wecan'ttellyouifyouneedaCNIoranyotherdocument. Readmore Readourgeneraladviceaboutgettingmarriedoverseas. Readaboutforcedmarriage. Seealso Findoutwhatdocumentsyou’llneedtogetmarriedoverseas.Contactyourdestination’sembassyorconsulateinAustralia. FormoreinformationabouthowtoapplyforaCNIfromoverseas,contactyournearestAustralianembassyorconsulate. FindaJusticeofthePeaceinyourstateorterritory. Findyourlocalbirths,deathsandmarriagesregistry. NeedtoverifyanApostille? Useouronlineportal Verifyanapostille Relatedcontent Notarialservices(legalisingdocuments)inAustraliaExplorethispageforinformationabouthowtofindoutifyouneedyourdocumentlegalisedandwhichdocumentswecanlegaliseinAustralia. Viewdetails NotarialformsAlllegalisationformsthatweofferarelistedhere. Viewdetails DocumentswecanlegaliseForeignauthoritiesmayrequestadocumenttobeissuedwithanApostilleoranAuthenticationcertificatebeforetheywillacceptit.Thisiscalled‘legalisation’. Viewdetails Mainnavigation ApplicationforCertificateofNoImpedimenttoMarriage(PDF347.49KB) DocumentLegalisationRequestForm(PDF1.6MB)