How to become a Marriage Celebrant

Commonwealth-registered marriage celebrants are registered by the Registrar of Marriage Celebrants. The Registrar is an officer of the Attorney-General’s Department. Information about how to become a Commonwealth-registered marriage celebrant, including the application fee and annual registration charge, the qualification/skills required, and the factors the Registrar of Marriage Celebrants must consider in determining whether a person is a fit and proper person to be a celebrant can be found at Part 13.2 of the Guidelines on the Marriage Act 1961 for authorised celebrants , and on the Attorney Generals’ department’s website: Become a Marriage Celebrant

A brief summary to become a Commonwealth-registered marriage celebrant, which is what I am.

You need to:
- understand what it means to become a Celebrant, this may seem obvious but do take the time to read through all of the documentation before you go too far in the process, in particular Marriage Act 1961, Marriage Regulations 2017 and the guidelines for marriage celebrants.

- have the relevant qualifications:

  • a Certificate IV in Celebrancy from a registered training organisation (RTO)

  • a qualification in celebrancy, awarded by a university specified in the Marriage (Celebrancy Qualifications or Skills) Determination 2018

  • skills in celebrancy

- complete compulsory professional development (PD) every year.

- Undertake a police history check

- pay the fee to apply, and there is an annual fee to continue to be registered

- organise your certified identification documents

- organise two referee reports

- complete the online application form

and best of luck!

For more information on becoming a Marriage Celebrant in Australia, visit become-marriage-celebrant

Trudy Worden