New Zealand - Obtain a Birth Certificate

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Procedure

By Phone

• Phone Births, Deaths and Marriages first as you may be able to order your certificate over the phone.
  • In New Zealand Freephone 0800 22 77 77
  • Outside New Zealand (+64 4) 463 9362
• You can pay your payment over the phone by credit/debit card (Visa, American Express, Prezzy Card or Mastercard).
• If you are advised that you can order the certificate over the phone but you do not have a Visa, American Express, or Mastercard credit/debit card, you may wish to purchase a Prezzy Card from your local NZ PostShop and call Births, Deaths and Marriages again. Ordering by phone reduces the time it takes for Births, Deaths and Marriages to start working on your order.
• Please note that it is not confirm that you are able to order by phone until you talk with them.

Online

• If the certificate or printout is for a record that is historical you may wish to use Births, Deaths and Marriages Online to search historical records and order certificates and printouts on the Internet.
• If the certificate or printout is for a record that is non-historical you may wish to use Births, Deaths and Marriages Online to order certificates and printouts on the Internet (this requires an igovt ID). Please note that you cannot search non-historical records.
• Follow link to apply online https://www.bdmonline.dia.govt.nz/

Post your application form or visit one of Births, Deaths and Marriages offices

• You may post your completed application form with payment to Births, Deaths and Marriages.
• Or if you prefer you may visit one of Births, Deaths and Marriages offices, complete the appropriate Request for a Birth Certificate or Printout (BDM 93B) form, and make payment.

Application form Request for a Birth Certificate or Printout (BDM 93B) form http://www.dia.govt.nz/Pubforms.nsf/URL/BirthCertificateorPrintoutRequestForm.pdf/$file/BirthCertificateorPrintoutRequestForm.pdf

Tips for ordering certificates using the order form

• If the record is non-historical the Declarations part of the form must be completed. The referee that signs the form may be any person aged 16 years of age or older.
• If you order many certificates at once, fully complete the first form and then only complete The certificate I want on all the other forms. Staple all the forms securely together with the fully completed form on top.
• If you are applying on behalf of a company or organisation, enter your name, email address and phone number in My Details. You do not need to provide your place of birth nor date of birth, though you must attach a request on your company or organisation letterhead to the order form and complete the "Declarations" part of the form.

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Required Documents

• Valid Identity document
• Proof of residency

Office Locations & Contacts

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Eligibility

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Fees

• Birth certificate: NZ$26.50
• Birth certificate package (1 pictorial and 1 standard certificate for the same person): NZ$39.80

Payment Method

Payment at one of Births, Deaths and Marriages offices

• Births, Deaths and Marriages offices accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Cheque, Bank Draft, New Zealand Post Money Orders, EFTPOS, Prezzy Card and cash if you visit one of Births, Deaths and Marriages offices.

Payment over the phone

• Not all products and services can be paid for over the phone.
• Freephone 0800 22 77 77 (New Zealand only) or phone (+64 4) 463 9362 (from outside New Zealand) and provide details over the phone if paying by credit/debit card (Visa, Mastercard, Prezzy Card or American Express only).

Credit Card

• You can pay by credit/debit card (Visa, Mastercard, Prezzy Card or American Express). If you are paying by credit/debit card, please supply the following details:
  • your name;
  • postal address;
  • phone number;
  • type of card;
  • card number;
  • expiry date;
  • name of cardholder; and
  • the total amount to be debited from your credit/debit card account.

Cheque or Bank Draft

• All cheques and bank drafts must be in New Zealand dollars, drawn against a New Zealand bank account. Please make cheques and bank drafts payable to "Department of Internal Affairs".

New Zealand Post Money Orders

• Money orders are available from Post Shops in New Zealand. Please make money orders payable to "Department of Internal Affairs".

EFTPOS / Cash Births, Deaths and Marriages accept EFTPOS and cash if you visit one of Births, Deaths and Marriages offices.

Validity

Birth Certificate is Valid for Ever

Documents to Use

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Sample Documents

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Processing Time

The certificate or printout will usually be issued within 8 working days of receiving your order (plus delivery time). Certificates and printouts cannot be issued until the birth has been registered.

Related Videos

Videos explaining the procedure or to fill the applications. 
Attach videos using the following tag <&video type='website'>video ID|width|height<&/video&> from external websites. 	
Please remove the '&' inside the tags during implementation.
Website = allocine, blip, dailymotion, facebook, gametrailers, googlevideo, html5, metacafe, myspace, revver, 
sevenload, viddler, vimeo, youku, youtube
width = 560, height = 340, Video ID = Can be obtained from the URL of webpage where the video is displayed.
e.g In the following url 'http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0US7oR_t3M' Video ID is 'Y0US7oR_t3M'.

Instructions

• Births, Deaths and Marriages is responsible for the registration of all births that take place in New Zealand, and for the upkeep of, and access to those records.
• You can order the birth certificate either by phone or online or by post or in person by providing the required details and paying the certificate fee.
• Births, Deaths and Marriages offices accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Cheque, Bank Draft, New Zealand Post Money Orders, EFTPOS, Prezzy Card and cash if you visit one of Births, Deaths and Marriages offices. All cheques and bank drafts must be in New Zealand dollars, drawn against a New Zealand bank account. Please make cheques and bank drafts payable to "Department of Internal Affairs".
• Please do not send cash in the mail. Refer to information on each application form for acceptable methods of payment.

Decorative Birth certificates

• The birth of a child is a major event in any familys life. Celebrate this by turning their official record of birth into a treasured keepsake. To record this special event Births, Deaths and Marriages offer a choice of two decorative birth certificates, each uniquely New Zealand. Buy separately or as a package with a standard birth certificate. See the order form for details.

• Forest decorative
  • New life unfolds from the koru and brings richness and abundance to the great forests. The harakeke (flax) reflects the strength and endurance of the whanau (family) as each new leaf grows from the mother and is supported by the father.

• Beach decorative
  • A mother nurtures her new baby as the warmth of the day provides nourishment and strength for lifes wonderful journey ahead.

What happens if Births, Deaths and Marriages cannot find the birth?

• It is important the information you provide with your certificate request is as accurate as possible. It may be an idea to ask other family members for information before making your request.
• The certificate fee is the cost for the product. If Births, Deaths and Marriages cannot locate the record with the information provided, Births, Deaths and Marriages still start charging you search fees. Prior to contacting you, Births, Deaths and Marriages will have searched a 3-year period and a fee of NZ$15.30 will have been charged.
• For example, if the year you quote is 1992 Births, Deaths and Marriages undertake a search in the year given plus a year either side. If Births, Deaths and Marriages cannot find the birth in those years Births, Deaths and Marriages will contact you to ask if you would like to search additional years at NZ$1.00 for each additional year. If you agree and request to search 1994 and 1995 then Births, Deaths and Marriages will charge you an extra NZ$2.00:
  • if Births, Deaths and Marriages find the birth in 1995 and you wish to have a certificate then the total fee for the certificate is NZ$43.80 (NZ$26.50 plus the NZ$17.30 search cost); or
  • if Births, Deaths and Marriages cannot find the birth the total fee will be NZ$17.30 (NZ$15.30 plus NZ$2.00 search cost) and you will not receive a certificate. However, you can request more years to be searched or Births, Deaths and Marriages can refund the amount remaining to you.

Pre-adoptive Birth certificate

• When a person has been legally adopted, the birth certificate that Births, Deaths and Marriages will issue is the post-adoptive birth certificate, showing the details of the adoptive parents. If you are adopted, you may wish to apply for a copy of your original, pre-adoptive birth certificate, showing the details of your birth before you were adopted. Under New Zealand law, you can do this once you turn 20 years old.

Non-disclosure direction

• A non-disclosure direction may be placed on a persons records if the person, or his or her personal representative (e.g. persons parents or other person authorised in writing), reasonably believes that disclosure of the registered information, or any part of the registered information, would be prejudicial to the personal safety of that person or his or her family. A non-disclosure direction expires after 5 years unless it is reinstated or withdrawn.
• If a non-disclosure direction is in place on a persons record(s), generally only the person who is the subject of the information (or a parent if the person is under 18), or any other person authorised by the subject of the information may request a certificate or printout of that record. If any other person attempts to access registered information when a non-disclosure direction is in place he or she will be advised that the information exists but that the information cannot be provided.

Required Information

• Name
• Date of Birth
• Sex
• Fathers and Mothers Name
• Mailing address
• Residence address
• Daytime phone number
• Email address

Need for the Document

A birth certificate is an official document containing registered information about a person's birth. You may obtain a certificate by providing the required details and paying the certificate fee.

Information which might help

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Other uses of the Document/Certificate

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e.g. Birth Certificate can be used as proof of identity.

External Links

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Others

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