Couples marrying in the Otago/Southland area apply for a licence through the district court nearest them. Here they complete the appropriate type of Notice of Intended Marriage form, which includes a statutory declaration that the parties are free to marry each other and that all the details supplied on the form are correct. One of the pair must appear before a registrar of marriages to sign the statutory declaration, when the required fee must be paid.
The registrar will (no sooner than three days after receiving the Notice of Intended Marriage) issue the marriage licence, together with two copies of a document known as a Copy of Particulars of Marriage. These three documents need to be delivered to the person officiating at the marriage before the ceremony.
After the ceremony the person officiating sends one Copy of Particulars of Marriage to the registrar of marriages so the marriage can be registered with Births, Deaths and Marriages. The other copy is given to the couple. On payment of the required fee a marriage certificate may be obtained from Births, Deaths and Marriages.
