About the Registry
The Registry was formed in 1856 to register life events in NSW. Our role is to keep accurate and secure records, ensuring their integrity and confidentiality.
Who we are
The NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages is an agency within the NSW Department of Customer Service. It exists to enact the Births Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1995 and the Relationships Register Act 2010.
What we do
Our role is to register life events in NSW accurately and securely for all time. This includes the registration of births, deaths and marriages and official changes of name and sex.
Our products and services
To serve our customers, we provide a range of certificates, products and information services that help establish legal entitlements.
We also provide data for planning and research to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare and the Australian Bureau of Statistics. This includes maintaining records and reporting on:
Family names in CAPITALS
To be consistent with most Australian Registries and Government documents (e.g. passports), Registry certificates show family names in CAPITALS.
For the period between April 2014 and 19 April 2020, family names are still shown in Title Case. All previously issued certificates are still valid.
Our policies
The Registry has policies to guide its operations and ensure its quality management system complies with international standards.
- Access to information contained in the register policy (PDF 199KB)
- Your right to privacy policy (PDF 393.33KB)
- Certificate replacement policy (PDF 336.8KB)
- Change of name policy (PDF 124.3KB)
- Prohibited names policy
- Complaints and feedback policy (PDF 307.73KB)
- Refunds policy (PDF 335.77KB)
- Fee waiver policy
- Internal review of registry decisions policy (PDF 352.81KB)
Our history
The Registry touches the lives of customers who have experienced a life event in NSW. We have been a trusted service for over 150 years.
Read about the history of the Registry.
Access to information
You can request access to information held by the Registry through the Department of Customer Service.
Terms and conditions of using our service
In completing a Registry application form, you consent to us releasing the details you provide to agencies who may be able to validate the information.
- To protect your privacy, we require proof of your identity.
- We collect information, in line with the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1995 and the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998, to determine your eligibility to obtain a certificate and to prevent fraud.
- Information may be used for statistical purposes and by law enforcement agencies, and other uses by law.
- For more information read Your right to privacy (PDF 393.33KB) and our Privacy Collection Notice.
False representation
If you knowingly provide false information in your application, you may be guilty of an offence under Section 57 of the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1995.
A person who makes a representation in an application, notice or document under this Act or in response to a notice under Section 44 of this Act (Registrar's powers of inquiry), knowing the representation to be false or misleading in a material particular, is guilty of an offence.