IDENTITY: I was married and divorced and so my birth certificate an driver licence have different names. What do I need to prove my identity?

There is a Case Study in the Guidelines on the Marriage Act 1961 for Marriage Celebrants – July 2014 that matches your situation.

It is Case Study One under section 4.12 Case Studies In The Correct Use Of Documents –

The scenario is that an authorised celebrant is approached by a prospective bride who uses the name Jane Brown.

An authorised celebrant is approached by a prospective bride who uses the name Jane Brown.

She was born Jane Smith and was previously married to Tim Brown.

She changed her name by usage to Jane Brown following that marriage.

She was divorced from Tim Brown and has the following documents:

1. a birth certificate (issued by NSW BDM) which records her name as Jane Smith
2. a BDM issued marriage certificate which also records her name as Jane Smith
3. a Federal Magistrates Court issued Certificate of Divorce for her marriage to, and subsequent divorce from, Tim Brown which records her name as Jane Brown, and
4. a driver’s licence which records her name as Jane Brown.

For the purposes of section 42 of the Marriage Act, an authorised celebrant needs to see all of these documents to establish Jane’s correct name for use on the marriage documents and to fulfill all the other responsibilities under section 42 as follows:

A) Proof of date and place of birth (subsection 42(2)) – the authorised celebrant must use the BDM issued birth certificate.

B) Proof of identity (subsection 42(8)) – the authorised celebrant needs to use the full chain of documents listed above.

• The BDM issued birth certificate, the BDM issued marriage certificate and the Court issued divorce certificate taken together establish the clear link in the name change from Jane Smith to Jane Brown.
• This chain of documents allows the authorised celebrant to record the name Jane Brown instead of Jane Smith (as recorded on the birth certificate) on the NOIM.
• The driver’s licence, which has a photograph of Jane, establishes that Jane Brown is the same person as the person referred to in the documents.
• Together all these documents establish her identity.

C) Evidence of the end of the previous marriage (subsection 42(10)) – the Court issued divorce certificate establishes conclusively the end of the previous marriage and so fulfils the requirement under subsection 42(10).

Remember – the authorised celebrant must see all the original documents prior to the marriage ceremony.

In addition, as Jane changed her name only by marriage, she is free to revert to her maiden name and so, as she has proved her identity, she can use either her birth name or former married name on her new NOIM.

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