You sign a certificate of marriage on the day and keep a copy, but that is not the document most institutions will want. The official certified certificate is issued by the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registry under Fiji's Ministry of Justice, and at its published August 2025 fee it costs FJ$16.88 including VAT at a registry office. From overseas, you order it through a Fiji diplomatic mission.
Almost every couple who marries in Fiji assumes the paperwork ends when the celebrant leaves. It does not, and the gap between the document you hold on the day and the document your bank, passport office or immigration agency asks for is where the frustration lives.
What do you actually receive on your wedding day?
A certificate of marriage, completed and signed by you, your witnesses and your marriage officer. Fiji's Embassy in Japan describes the certificate being completed in triplicate, with one duplicate retained by the couple and the original forwarded to the district registrar or the Registrar-General for recording.
Keep it. It is real, and it is evidence. But it is a signed original of a form, not a certified extract of the marriage register, and some institutions will only accept the latter.
Who registers the marriage, and who lodges the paperwork?
The Births, Deaths and Marriages Registry, part of Fiji's Ministry of Justice, holds the register. Its head office is at Level 1, Suvavou House, Victoria Parade, Suva, and the ministry states that notice of intention to marry can be lodged at any BDM Registry location in Fiji.
Lodgement of the completed certificate after the ceremony is the marriage officer's job, not yours. The Fiji Embassy in Japan describes the original being sent to the district registrar or Registrar-General within seven days. We could not confirm that seven-day figure against the statute itself, so treat it as indicative and ask your celebrant directly when they will lodge, and to confirm in writing once they have.
If you booked through a resort coordinator, ask the same question of the resort. No Fiji Government page we could find defines the coordinator's role in lodgement, which means it is defined only by your contract.
How do you order a certified copy, and what does it cost?
At a registry office in Fiji, the Ministry of Justice's published fees — stated as effective 1 August 2025 — are:
| Document | Published fee |
|---|---|
| Marriage certificate | FJ$15.00 + FJ$1.88 VAT = FJ$16.88 |
| Decorated tapa marriage certificate | FJ$56.25 incl. VAT |
| Notice of intention to marry | FJ$16.88 |
| Court marriage | FJ$56.25 |
| Marriage outside the registry office | FJ$112.50 |
At the Reserve Bank of Fiji's indicative rates, FJ$16.88 is roughly NZ$13 or A$10.50 — small enough that it is worth ordering two or three copies while someone is standing at the counter.
What you need to bring: a completed and signed request form, and valid photo identification (FRCS, FNPF, voter ID, driver's licence or passport). If someone is collecting on your behalf, they need a letter of authority from you plus their own ID.
An older 2019 public notice lists slightly different figures, including a Post Fiji delivery option at FJ$27.25 and a decorated certificate by post at FJ$81.75. Use the 2025 figures and confirm the current fee before you send money, because Fiji's fee schedules have moved more than once.
The registry does not publish a processing time for a marriage certificate ordered in person. Fiji's online BDM portal currently lists birth services only, so there is no self-service online route for a marriage certificate.
Can you order one from New Zealand or Australia?
Yes — through a Fiji diplomatic mission, and it is slower than doing it in Fiji.
The Ministry of Justice directs overseas applicants to "liaise with the Fiji High Commission office of your convenience." The Fiji High Commission in Wellington publishes the clearest process of any mission we checked:
- Complete the Marriage Certificate Request Form.
- Supply a self-addressed prepaid registered-post envelope.
- Fee NZ$25, paid at appointment by internet banking or EFTPOS, non-refundable.
- Applications are forwarded to Fiji fortnightly.
- Typical turnaround within 20 working days, with no responsibility accepted for delays at the Registrar-General or in the post.
The High Commission is at 31 Pipitea Street, Thorndon, Wellington. Australian applicants should confirm the equivalent process with the Fiji High Commission in Canberra, as the fee and turnaround will differ.
The practical lesson: order your certified copies before you leave Fiji. Twenty working days plus a fortnightly forwarding cycle can become two months, and it is a poor use of a honeymoon to discover it.
Do you need an apostille?
Only if the country you are using the certificate in asks for one — and many will not, because Fiji's certificate is already in English.
Fiji is a contracting party to the Hague Apostille Convention of 1961, recorded on the HCCH status table by succession dated 29 March 1971. Fiji's Ministry of Foreign Affairs issues apostilles on Fiji Government documents, including marriage certificates, and the Fiji High Commission in New Zealand states the service is provided free of charge, against an Apostille Authentication Request Form and a prepaid registered-post return envelope, in around 20 working days.
So: a Fiji marriage certificate can be apostilled, at no fee, but plan on a month. Ask the receiving institution whether it actually requires one before you start — for a name change, a bank, or an Australian or New Zealand partnership visa, the certified certificate alone is usually enough.
Guideline only. Fees, forms and processing times change. Confirm current requirements with the Fiji Ministry of Justice Births, Deaths and Marriages Registry and, for use abroad, with the Fiji Ministry of Foreign Affairs or your nearest Fiji diplomatic mission. Last reviewed 30 September 2026.
What goes wrong, and how to avoid it
- Nobody lodged the register. The single most common failure. Get written confirmation from your celebrant that the certificate has been lodged, with a date.
- Names do not match your passports. Check the spelling of every name on the certificate before you leave the ceremony. Correcting it later from overseas is genuinely difficult.
- You only have one copy. Order three certified copies in Fiji. One lives with the passport, one with the lawyer, one in a drawer.
- You assumed the resort would send it. Unless your contract says so, nobody is posting anything to you.
The verdict
Do the certificate the day after the wedding, not the month after you get home. A registry office visit in Fiji costs under FJ$20 and takes an afternoon; the same document ordered from Wellington costs NZ$25 and can take two months. Ask your celebrant to lodge promptly, confirm they have, then collect certified copies in person before you fly out.
Next step
Get the front end right first: how to get legally married in Fiji and every document you need for a Fiji marriage licence. If you are Australian, is a Fiji marriage recognised in Australia? answers the recognition question, and the Fiji wedding legal FAQ covers the rest. For a celebrant or planner who will handle lodgement properly, start with Celebrant Fiji, Fiji Weddings, Eterna Weddings or Lyka Weddings, or browse weddings in Suva. The whole picture is in the complete guide to getting married in Fiji.