How to apply for a Birth Certificate

An Easy Read guide about what you need to do to get your Birth Certificate.

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About Easy Read

This information is easy to read. Pictures are used to explain some ideas.

Read the full information:

Download How to apply for a Birth Certificate (PDF 1.93MB)

 NSW birth certificate with baby on front

In this guide, we explain how you can order a New South Wales (NSW) birth certificate.

Who can order a birth certificate?

Mother embracing child with arms on her shoulder both smiling

You can order a birth certificate for:

  • you
  • your child. 
Man pointing to himself and with checkbox list claiming he is eligible to apply on behalf of someone else

You can also order a birth certificate for someone else if you follow one of these rules. 

Letter ID bankcard proof of ID

You can order a birth certificate for someone else if you have:

  • a letter from the person saying it’s ok  
  • documents to prove who they are
  • documents to prove who you are. 
Power of attorney document

You can order a birth certificate for someone else if you have a written power of attorney.

A power of attorney is a document that says:  

  • a person can make decisions for someone when they can’t  
  • what decisions they can make.
A person with a disability with their carer.

You can order a birth certificate for someone else if you have a document that shows you are their guardian.

A guardian is a person who acts and makes decisions for someone. 

Female lawyer with client

You can order a birth certificate for someone else if you are the person’s lawyer.

A lawyer is someone who knows and understands the law. 

Australian passport

You can order a birth certificate for your parents if:

 Calendar date
  • you were born in Australia after 20 August 1986
Map of Australia

 

  • Your parent was born in NSW.
Baby born in NSW

You can only order a birth certificate from us if the person was:

  • born in New South Wales (NSW)
  • adopted in NSW.

What will you need to apply?

Birth Certificate – man pointing finger to self-claiming proof of identity

You need to share documents to prove who you are to order a birth certificate.  

There are 4 document category types you can use to prove who you are:

category 1 certificate
  • Category 1 documents

 

Category 2 documents
  • Category 2 documents
Category 3 documents
  • Category 3 documents
Category 4 documents
  • Category 4 documents.
 Man looking at document folder

We explain these document category types on the following pages.  

Document category types

Category 1

Category 1 documents include:

A birth certificate with a map of Australia
  • an Australian birth certificate
Australian citizenship certificate
  • citizenship certificate
Australian citizens and permanent residents next to a map of Australia.

A citizenship certificate is an official document that proves someone is a citizen of a country.

Australian map person and law scripture proving citizenship

A citizen is someone who belongs to a country under the law.

They have the rights and freedoms of that country.  

If you are from New Zealand, you can share:

A New Zealand citizenship certificate
  • a New Zealand citizenship certificate and passport
 NSW birth certificate with baby on front
  • a New Zealand birth certificate.

Category 2

Category 2 documents include:

Drivers license
  • an Australian driver licence
Australian passport with kangaroo and emu coat of arms
  • a passport
Firearms licence
  • a gun licence 
Photo I D card
  • a NSW Photo Card.

Category 3

Category 3 documents include:

Green Medicare card
  • a Medicare card
 A Centrelink card
  • a Centrelink card
Department of veteran's affairs card
  • a Department of Veterans Affairs card
A licence to work as security or to control crowds
  • a licence to work as security or to control crowds
 An ID card for uni or college
  • an ID card from university or college.

Category 4

Women claiming document with home address location

Category 4 documents include bills that shows your name and address.

Electricity bill

For example, an electricity bill.

This bill must be from the last 3 months.

Rules about the document category types

You need to share 3 documents to prove who you are. 

3 category files

This includes one document from:

  • Category 1
  • Category 2
  • Category 3. 
category 3 documents

If you can’t meet this rule, you still need to share 3 documents to prove who you are. 

And at least 2 of these documents must be from Category 3.

Category 4 documents

You can share a document from Category 4 if you can’t provide documents from:

  • Category 1
  • Category 2.
Man on phone smiling

If you can’t meet either of these rules, you can contact us for help.

How much does it cost?

Birth certificate and envelope

It costs $67 to order a birth certificate.

Person with limited time to get birth certificate

It will cost $99 if you want your birth certificate faster.  

Commemorative certificate

It will cost $44 for a commemorative certificate.  

Birth Certificate – you cannot use a commemorative certificate as proof of ID

A commemorative certificate is copy of a document.  

You can’t use a commemorative certificate as proof of who you are.

We do not process commemorative certificates faster stop watch

We don't send out commemorative certificates faster.

Birth certificate and commemorative certificate cost 97 dollars

It will cost $97 if you want to order a birth certificate and commemorative certificate. 

 Women who need's certificate delivered fast

It will cost $129 if you want your birth certificate and commemorative certificate faster.

Planet earth for cost of birth certificate for outside Australia

It will cost an extra $9 to send your birth certificate outside of Australia.

Cost of sending birth certificate to post office

It will cost $48 for us to send a copy of your birth certificate to a passport office.

How can you order a birth certificate?

How you can order a birth certificate who when where

When you order a birth certificate, you need to fill out information about the person.

For example, information about:

  • who they are
  • when the person was born
  • where the person was born. 
Person handing over payment card

You also need to make sure you have a way to pay for the birth certificate.  

Download form from website online

Or you can fill out a form to order a birth certificate.

You can download the form from our website. 

A letter.

After you have filled out the form, you can send it in the mail.

NSW Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages
GPO Box 30
Sydney NSW 2001

Service centre on map on website

Or you can take your form to a service centre.

You can find a centre near you on the Find a service centre page on the Service NSW website.

Women with baby on laptop accessing application for birth certificate

If you are a new parent, you can order a birth certificate when you tell us about your child.

You can find out more on the Register your baby page on our website.

Woman applying for a USI number online

If you need a birth certificate for a research project about your family, you can visit the Family history search guide page on our website. 

What happens next?

 Man checking order of information for birth certificate

We will check your order for a birth certificate to make sure you have provided the information we need.

 2 to 4 weeks Calander timeframe

Most orders will take between 2 to 4 weeks to arrive.

DO NOT USE – Easy Read – Birth Certificate

If you paid for your order to arrive faster, it will take between 1 to 2 weeks.  

check birth certificate document

You should check the birth certificate to make sure all the information is right when it arrives.

Birth certificate with wrong information

You need to send it back to us if the information on your birth certificate is wrong.

3 documents to send back to us for correcting birth certificate

When you send it back to us, you need to include 3 documents that show who you are. 

Download form from website online

You also need to send a form that explains what the information should be.

You can download the form from our website.

A letter.

You can send it to:

NSW Registry of Births Deaths & Marriages

GPO Box 30

Sydney NSW 2001

Don't make any changes

You must not make any changes to your birth certificate before you send it back to us.

Who you can contact for support

Women in wheelchair smiling getting information on the phone

You can contact Service NSW for more information.

You can call us for more information.

You can call Service NSW.

13 77 88

Man on laptop

You can find Service NSW contact information on the Contact us page on the Service NSW website.

Service centre on map on website

You can also take it to a Service NSW centre near you.

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