Certificates and searches for an adoption
How to request searches and certificates for an adopted person and their parents.
Adoption
The Registry provides a range of services for the Adoption Community including birth, marriage and death searches, pre-adoption birth certificates and the new Integrated Birth Certificate.
Adoption Searches
Applying for pre-adoptive information
Before you start your application, you must:
- Contact the Department of Communities and Justice adoption information unit and ask them for an Adoption Information Certificate (AIC) or supply authority.
- Visit Service NSW Adoptions
We cannot search our records until we have this permission to provide you with the pre-adoptive information held in our records.
You can apply for birth, death and marriage certificates if you are:
- an adopted person requesting pre-adoption information
- a birth parent looking for information about your child, including an adopted person’s birth record
- a next of kin: a birth relative such as an adopted sibling or person who has inherited the rights of the adopted person or birth parent.
Once you have an Adoption Information Certificate (AIC) or supply authority, you can apply for pre-adoption information by post or in person at a Service NSW Service Centre.
Download and complete the form:
File
BDM Adoption Search application form 40 (PDF 303.23KB)
Your application for adoption information must include:
- adoption information certificate or supply authority from the Department of Communities and Justice adoption information unit
- completed application form for each record you want to obtain
- proof of identity documents
- payment for the certificates.
- If you are also requesting an Integrated birth certificate (IBC) please provide a copy of the post adoptive birth certificate. If this is not possible, payment of $67 (includes $11 registered postage) is required.
Adoption applications can be complex and we are unable to provide a firm estimate of the time required to complete the process.
Pay and lodge your application:
- At any Service NSW Service Centre
- Via post to:
Adoptions Section
NSW Registry of Births, Deaths & Marriages
GPO Box 30 Sydney NSW 2001
| Service provided | Fee |
Pre-adoptive certificate Includes the information provided by the birth parent(s) at the time of birth. This cannot be used for identification purposes and will be stamped with 'Not for Official Use'.
| $67 |
Integrated Birth Certificate
| No fee if a copy of the original post-adoptive birth certificate is included with your application. If this is not possible, a payment of $67 is required. Note: additional certificates are also $67 each. |
Marriage search Includes a result of search with names of the couple, date and place of marriage only. A full copy can be provided if the marriage was at least 50 years ago.
| $67 |
Death search Includes name, date and place of death, cause of death and burial or cremation details of the person who died. A full copy can be provided if the death was at least 30 years ago.
| $67 |
Extract of a birth parent's birth record For people born in NSW, includes name, date and place of birth and the given names of the parents. A full copy can be provided if the birth was at least 100 years ago.
| $67 |
All prices include $11 postage and handling. Add a further $9 for international post.
The Integrated Birth Certificate (IBC)
What is an Integrated Birth Certificate (IBC)
In addition to the post-adoptive birth certificate, adopted people in NSW can have both their birth and adopted families included on an integrated birth certificate (IBC) as outlined in the amendment to the Adoption Act 2000 and the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1995.
An IBC is an official certified copy of the registration data held by the Registry and is commonly used to help establish a person’s identity. An adopted person can choose to use either their post-adoptive birth certificate or the IBC as their primary identity document.
Find out more by reading the
Factsheet: Integrated Birth Certificates for adopted people (PDF, 102.9 KB)
Download and complete the form:
Integrated Birth Certificates application form 41 (PDF 502.45KB)
Note: The Integrated Birth Certificate cannot be applied for online.
Lodge (and pay if required) your application:
- At any Service NSW Service Centre
- Via post to:
Adoptions Section
NSW Registry of Births, Deaths & Marriages
GPO Box 30 Sydney NSW 2001
New Adoptions
To obtain a copy of a post adoption birth certificate with an Integrated Birth Certificate (IBC). You will need to apply not earlier than six weeks from the date of the adoption order.
- Complete the IBC application form and provide three current identifications (see below).
- Provide payment of $67.00 (includes $11 registered postage).
For an adoption that occurred after 2010
To obtain a copy of an Integrated Birth Certificate (IBC).
- Complete the IBC application form and provide three current identifications (see below).
- Please provide a copy of the original post-adoptive birth certificate. If this is not possible, payment of $67.00 is required (includes $11 registered postage).
For an adoption that occurred before 2010
To obtain a copy of an Integrated Birth Certificate (IBC).
- Complete the IBC application form and provide three current identifications (see below).
- Please provide a copy of the original post-adoptive birth certificate. If this is not possible, payment of $67.00 is required (includes $11 registered postage).
- Please also provide a copy of
- Your Adoption Information Certificate (AIC) and the Memorandum issued by the Department of Family and Community Services Adoption Information Unit, or
- Pre-Adoption birth certificate, or
- Post-Adoption birth certificate issued by the Registry before October 1998.
- You must provide a least 3 forms of current identity, one of each from Categories 1, 2 and 3.
- If you cannot provide proof of identity from Categories 1 and 2, you must still provide at least 3 forms of identity. At least two of these must be from Category 3.
- If cannot meet these requirements, please contact us for further advice.
Category | Identification documents |
1 | If born in Australia:
Record of immigration status:
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2 |
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3 |
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4 |
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Add a parent to pre adoptive Birth Certificate
To apply to add a parent to a pre adoptive birth registration, the birth must be registered in NSW.
In some circumstances, the Registry can add a biological father to the pre adoptive birth registration when the subject of the birth applies for the details to be added.
The Registry may require a Parentage testing DNA report or a court order to confirm paternity. DNA result evidence must be provided from laboratories authorised under the Family Law Regulations to conduct DNA parentage testing. Further information on authorised laboratories can be found on the Attorney General's website.
The Registry may ask for further evident to support the application, such as documentation from the time of adoption.
The child listed on the pre adoptive birth registration must be the applicant.
Download and complete the Apply to add parent's details to a pre adoptive birth registration form (PDF 520.73KB).
Pay and lodge your application:
- At any Service NSW Service Centre
- Via post to:
Adoptions Section
NSW Registry of Births, Deaths & Marriages
GPO Box 30 Sydney NSW 2001
- You must provide a least 3 forms of current identity, one of each from Categories 1, 2 and 3.
- If you cannot provide proof of identity from Categories 1 and 2, you must still provide at least 3 forms of identity. At least two of these must be from Category 3.
- If cannot meet these requirements, please contact us for further advice.
Category | Identification documents |
1 | If born in Australia:
Record of immigration status:
|
2 |
|
3 |
|
4 |
|