Page updated on: Friday April 23, 2010
The Births Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1995 requires that the birth of a child be registered "as soon as is reasonably practicable after the birth".
To register a child you need to fill in a 'Notification of Birth for Registration' form, which is usually sent to you by the hospital or midwife within a few weeks of birth of a child.
If the child's parents are married to each other, either parent can sign the registration form. If the child's parents are not legally married then the mother must sign the form and if the father's details are recorded on the form he must also sign it.
If you do not receive this form you need to contact the Department of Internal Affairs and request one. You can go to their website here > Births Deaths and Marriages
After you had filled in the form in simply send it to: Births, Deaths and Marriages, PO Box 31203, Lower Hutt. Registering your child is free.
You are also able to request any person's birth certificate provided you pay the fee of NZ$26.00 and supply the following details.
This depends on when the birth was registered. If it was prior to 1 January 1998 it will take approximately 8 working days for your application to be processed, once your application is received. If the birth was registered after 1 January 1998 it will take 1 working day to process. This does not include time for postage.
If a person has been legally adopted the details used on the birth certificate are usually of the adoptive parents. If you are interested in receiving the details of your pre-adoptive birth certificate you are able to do this once you turn 20. You need to write to the Central Registry, PO Box 10-526, Wellington New Zealand. The following details should be included in your application:
The birth certificate will then be sent to a counsellor of your choice, who will contact you and arrange for you to receive your birth certificate (you will be provided with a list of counsellors). The role of the counsellor is to provide assistance, information and support. A more thorough description of matters relating to this process is found on the Internal Affairs web-site under the Birth Certificates and Adoption heading.
When somebody dies it is necessary to register that person's death. New Zealand law requires that all deaths be registered within 3 working days after the burial or cremation of the body. Registration is free.
If a funeral director is in charge of the proceedings then he/she is responsible for forwarding the necessary information to the Department of Internal Affairs.
Otherwise the person in charge of the funeral proceedings is responsible for providing the relevant information.
Two forms need to be provided These are 'A notification of Death for Registration (BDM 28) and either a medical certificate of Cause of Death from a doctor or an order from a coroner. This information should be sent to:
Births, Deaths and Marriages
PO Box 31203, Lower Hutt
The death certificate may be requested when registering the death or may be requested any time after the death had been registered. A fee of NZ$26.00 applies. The following details should be provided when requesting a death certificate:
That depends on whether the death was registered before or after 1 January 1998. If the death had been registered after 1 January then your application will take approximately1 working day to process. If it had been registered before then your application will take approximately 8 working days to process.