Your responsibilities as a marriage celebrant

Rules for Commonwealth-registered marriage celebrants

Commonwealth-registered marriage celebrants play an important role in our communities.

As a celebrant, you have legal responsibilities you must follow. If you don’t, you could face serious consequences.

You must follow all the rules in the:

• Marriage Act 1961
• Marriage Regulations 2017 (including the code of practice for marriage celebrants)

Download the code of practice:

• Code of practice for marriage celebrants

Guides to help you understand the rules

We manage the Marriage Celebrant Program in Australia. Through the program, we aim to help you understand your responsibilities and how to meet them.

Our guides contain essential information on how to meet your responsibilities as a Commonwealth-registered marriage celebrant. We cannot provide legal advice.

Download a guide to the Marriage Act 1961:

• Guidelines on the Marriage Act 1961 for authorised celebrants – September 2021

Correcting marriage documentation fact sheet:

For guidance on how to amend information or correct errors made on marriage documentation please read the fact sheet on correcting marriage documentation.

• Correcting marriage documentation – September 2020

We also provide guidance on how to advertise your services as a marriage celebrant. This includes rules you must follow and tips for offering your services.

Download the advertising guidelines:

• Guidelines on advertising for Commonwealth-registered marriage celebrants – Updated May 2019

Tell us about a conflict of interest

You must tell us if there is a potential conflict of interest between your role as a marriage celebrant and:

• your interests in a business
• your interests in another area

Examples of this would be if you:

• help people migrate to Australia and want to be or are already a registered celebrant
• operate a wedding venue and want to be or are already a registered celebrant

Download the guidelines on how to recognise a conflict of interest:

• Guidelines on conflict of interest and benefit to business for Commonwealth-registered marriage celebrants – Updated April 2018

Complete your professional development

You must complete the compulsory professional development activities every calendar year (January to December).

If you do not complete your compulsory professional development activities the Registrar may impose a disciplinary measure, unless you were granted a professional development exemption.

Read the rules for compulsory professional development.

Keep us updated

You must write to us within 30 days to tell us about:

• changes to your contact details
• an event that, if it had occurred before you were registered, would have meant you might not be registered (such as a criminal offence)

Find out how to update your details in the self-service portal.

Pay the annual registration charge

There is an annual charge to remain a registered marriage celebrant.

If you don’t pay the charge you will be deregistered, unless you are exempt.

Learn more about costs for marriage celebrants.