What is the premarital counseling intake form template?
Pastors, priests, imams, rabbis and counselors who prepare couples for marriage often spend the first meeting just gathering facts: dates of birth, family backgrounds, whether either partner has been married before, the wedding date and venue. An intake form sent ahead of time moves those details out of the room and leaves the first session for the couple themselves.
This template gives each partner their own page with the same questions — contact details, occupation, faith background, how involved they are in a faith community, and how their parents' marriage looked growing up. "Have you been married before?" opens follow-ups only when the answer is yes: how the marriage ended (divorce, annulment or the death of a spouse), the year, whether a church annulment has been sought, and any children from that relationship.
A third, shared page covers the wedding, how long they've been together, what they'd like to talk about and what concerns them. Both partners sign. The completed intake is saved as a PDF in your FileIt vault, ready to read before you meet.
- Best for
- Clergy, church counselors and marriage-preparation teams
- Filled in by
- Both partners together, on one device
- Time to complete
- About 12 minutes
- Includes
- A page per partner, previous-marriage follow-ups, wedding details, topic choices, concerns and two signatures
Who uses a premarital counseling intake form?
- A parish priest gathering details before a couple's first marriage-preparation meeting
- A church running a group marriage course and planning which topics to emphasise
- A counselor who prepares couples from several congregations
- An imam meeting a couple before a nikah
- A pastor checking a remarriage situation early so there are no surprises later
Questions on this premarital counseling intake form
42 questions over 3 pages · includes signature, conditional questions, multiple pages, consent checkbox.
1 Partner 1
- Partner 1's name*
- Date of birth*
- Mobile*
- Email*
- Occupation
- Faith background or tradition
- How involved are you in a faith community right now?* Very involved · I attend fairly regularly · Occasionally · Not at the moment
- Growing up, your parents were Married to each other · Divorced or separated · A single-parent household · Something else
- Have you been married before?*
- How did that marriage end?* asked only when it applies Divorce · Annulment · My spouse died
- Year it ended asked only when it applies
- Has a church annulment been sought? asked only when it applies Doesn't apply · No · In progress · Granted
- Do you have children from a previous relationship? asked only when it applies
- Their ages, and who they live with asked only when it applies
2 Partner 2
- Partner 2's name*
- Date of birth*
- Mobile*
- Email*
- Occupation
- Faith background or tradition
- How involved are you in a faith community right now?* Very involved · I attend fairly regularly · Occasionally · Not at the moment
- Growing up, your parents were Married to each other · Divorced or separated · A single-parent household · Something else
- Have you been married before?*
- How did that marriage end?* asked only when it applies Divorce · Annulment · My spouse died
- Year it ended asked only when it applies
- Has a church annulment been sought? asked only when it applies Doesn't apply · No · In progress · Granted
- Do you have children from a previous relationship? asked only when it applies
- Their ages, and who they live with asked only when it applies
3 Your wedding and your relationship
- Wedding date
- Ceremony venue
- Who is officiating?
- How long have you been together?* Less than a year · 1–2 years · 3–5 years · More than 5 years
- How long have you been engaged? Under 3 months · 3–6 months · 6–12 months · Over a year
- What made you decide to marry?
- Topics you'd most like to cover* Communication · Handling conflict · Money and budgeting · Faith and spiritual life together · Family backgrounds · Children and parenting · Roles and expectations · In-laws and extended family · Intimacy · Careers and time together · Blending a family
- What's the best thing about your relationship?
- Is there anything you're worried about, or would like help with?
- Good times for sessions* Weekday daytimes · Weekday evenings · Saturdays · Sundays after services · Online sessions work for us
- Our commitment*
- Partner 1 signature*
- Partner 2 signature*
- Date*
The premarital counseling intake form, page by page
1 Partner 1
The first partner gives their name, date of birth, mobile, email and occupation, then their "Faith background or tradition" — the help text says "none" is a welcome answer. "How involved are you in a faith community right now?" and "Growing up, your parents were" give gentle context. "Have you been married before?" is required; a yes asks "How did that marriage end?", the year, "Has a church annulment been sought?" (with a note to skip it if the tradition doesn't ask) and "Do you have children from a previous relationship?", which asks their ages and who they live with.
2 Partner 2
The second partner answers the same questions on their own page, so the two backgrounds can be read side by side. Each partner's previous-marriage questions stay hidden unless that partner answers yes, so most couples never see them.
3 Your wedding and your relationship
The shared page starts with "Wedding date", "Ceremony venue" and "Who is officiating?". "How long have you been together?" and "How long have you been engaged?" use simple ranges, and "What made you decide to marry?" invites a short story. "Topics you'd most like to cover" lists communication, handling conflict, money and budgeting, faith together, family backgrounds, children and parenting, roles, in-laws, intimacy, careers and blending a family. Two open questions follow: the best thing about the relationship, and anything they're worried about. The couple picks good times for sessions, agrees to "Our commitment", and both partners sign.
Make the template yours
- Remove the annulment question if your tradition doesn't use it
- Add a question about the marriage-preparation course or inventory you use
- Change the topics to match your session plan
- Write your fee or donation policy into the cover text
- Add a file question for a baptism or confirmation certificate if you need one
- Send the form to the couple by email from the Share tab rather than posting a public link
Tips for a better premarital counseling intake form
- Send the form at least a week before the first session so you have time to read it
- Read the concerns box carefully — it's often the most important answer
- If one partner's answers seem much shorter, gently invite them to add more in person
- Keep intakes in a private vault folder only you can see
- Refer to a licensed counselor when a concern is beyond the scope of marriage preparation
Every response becomes a PDF in your vault
The intake is saved as a PDF with both signatures in the vault folder you choose, and you're notified by email. The couple receives a copy at the email they gave.
The Responses table lists every couple with their wedding date, which helps when you prepare several couples at once. You can open each PDF before a session or export the list to CSV to plan the year.
- Start from this template. It opens in the FileIt Forms designer — change any question, add pages, set the rules for when questions appear.
- Share it. Turn on a public link, or send it to people by email, each with their own link. They don’t need a FileIt account.
- Get the answers as PDFs. Each response is saved as a PDF in the vault folder you choose, with uploaded files attached — and listed in a Responses table you can export to CSV.
Premarital counseling intake form: frequently asked questions
Is this premarital counseling intake form free?
Yes. It's one of the starter templates in FileIt's Forms app, available on every account including the free plan.
Do both partners need their own link?
No. The form is designed for a couple to fill in together, with a page each and a shared page. Both sign at the end.
Will couples who haven't been married before see the divorce questions?
No. Those questions appear only for a partner who answers yes to "Have you been married before?".
Can I use it outside a church?
Yes. Edit the faith questions or remove them, and it works for any marriage-preparation program.
Is this a counseling assessment?
No. It's an intake form that gathers background before you meet. It doesn't diagnose or score anything.
Who can read the answers?
The responses stay in your FileIt account — the Responses tab and the vault folder you choose. Notification emails go only to the people you list.