The Department of Internal Affairs

Te Tari Taiwhenua | Department of Internal Affairs

Building a safe, prosperous and respected nation



 

Misinformation and false claims about birth certificates:

Updated: November 2021

Download a PDF version: Misinformation and false claims about birth certificates (PDF, 223KB)

Getting the right information matters

How do you order a New Zealand birth certificate?

You can order a New Zealand birth certificate online, on the phone or in person. If you need to order in person, you need to book an appointment beforehand. It costs $33 for a standard birth certificate.  

Why are births in New Zealand registered?

Every birth in New Zealand is to be registered (recorded) in accordance with the Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Relationships Registration Act 1995 (BDMRR). This means all live-births and still-births are registered but it does not include miscarriage. The definitions of birth, still-birth and miscarriage are in Section 2 Interpretations of the Act.

Can a New Zealand birth certificate be used as an identification document?

A New Zealand birth certificate is an official document containing registered information about a person’s birth as at the date of issue. A birth certificate can only be used as evidence that an identity exists and that the event occurred. The birth certificate should not be used as the sole form of evidence for asserting an individual’s identity, as it does not provide any link to the person presenting it.

What information is recorded on a New Zealand birth certificate?

The information that is required to be registered and included on birth certificates has changed over the years. Currently, as per regulation 6 of the Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Relationships Registration (Prescribed Information) Regulations 1995. Information may vary depending on the date your birth was registered.

Listed below is some of the information that is generally included on birth certificates;

  • the person’s full name as registered on the registration of the birth
  • details of all name changes
  • the date of the birth
  • the place of the birth
  • the person’s sex.

In addition, New Zealand birth certificates show whether the child was stillborn or one of a multiple birth, such as twins and in which order they were born.

For more information visit:

What does ‘not recorded’ or dash (-) mean on the birth certificate?

When a certificate shows 'Not Recorded' this means that the information was requested on the application but that it was not known or provided by the parent/s at the time of the registration.

If the certificate shows a dash (-) this means that the information does not apply to this birth registration e.g. a dash (-) by ‘still-birth’ means the child was born alive.

What is the number at the back of the birth certificate for?

The paper that is used for printing birth certificates has a number on the back of it. This is a reference number and is only used internally by Te Tari Taiwhenua/Department of Internal Affairs (the Department) for operational purposes and is not used for any other purpose. The reference number is not shared outside the Department with any private organisation or public agency.

Why do parents sign birth registration information or historical birth registrations?

Parent/s sign the birth registration with their signature to confirm that the information they have provided in the notification of the birth of their child is true and correct.

What if there is a mistake on your New Zealand birth certificate?

Contact Births, Deaths and Marriages by phone if you believe there is an error on your certificate.

Call Births, Deaths and Marriages for further information on correcting mistakes on birth death and marriage information.

The registrar will review your information to establish if and how the error occurred and advise you of the next steps. Depending on how the error occurred, you may need to pay for a replacement certificate.

Old birth certificates and possible storage of source information

Where is birth registration information stored?

All birth registrations are now computerised (image capture and centralised digital record storage) with high standard information security and privacy. To View the timeline of Births Deaths and Marriages key dates.

The Department guards the information and privacy of our citizens very closely. We have a responsibility and obligation to ensure that the best possible standards around data security are set and maintained. We have a range of practices, protocols and safeguards to ensure that the integrity of our data is secure.

Why is the information recorded differently on old and present-day birth certificates?

The birth certificate will reflect the information that was required to be recorded by legislation at the time the event was registered. The information required for registration has changed throughout the years. For example, parents used to have their age at the time of the event recorded, opposed to their date of birth. Visit Births Deaths & Marriages Online for more information about the data collected.

Are you able to get an original or source document birth certificate?

Original or source documents relating to birth, death and marriage registrations (for example, birth notices issued by the hospital) are held by the Department. A person who applies under the BDMRR may obtain a copy of the source document.

The BDMRR provides the strict conditions under which a copy of a source document may be given. The original source document will sometimes be retained by the Department and for varying lengths of time.

Why aren’t all original paper source documents available?

Unfortunately, there are some cases where we are unable to provide the birth registration source documents. In 1981 the Registrar General at the Department of Justice (who then administered Births Deaths and Marriages) authorised the secure destruction of some source documents after they had been transferred to another paper record. The courts, that registered births at this time, were not required to keep the source documents indefinitely. At the time, source documents were rarely referred to as there was another paper record available and the courts were unable to keep storing them.

From 1995 onwards, the Department of Internal Affairs has administered Births, Deaths and Marriages. In 1999 computerisation began of all new records and the imaging of pre-1998 of birth death and marriage registrations began. In 2001 computer imaging of the pre-1998 records were completed.

In 2000 all birth and death agency work were withdrawn from the courts and local authorisation agencies. All birth register books were then archived. The source documents are the property of the Crown/New Zealand Government and not the property of the individual.

Where can I find the timeline of Births Deaths and Marriage information?

Births Deaths and Marriages Online provides a timeline of the history of birth, death and marriage registration in New Zealand. This includes information on the different departments that have looked after birth registration, the type record that was stored and changes to the legislation.

Misinformation

Does a birth registration or certificate get used for any other purpose?

A New Zealand Birth Certificate is an official document containing registered information about a person’s birth as at the date of issue. Birth certificates are not used for any other purpose as they are only used to the record the birth.  

New Zealand birth certificates:

  • have never been sold to financial institutions or financial corporations in this country or overseas,
  • have never been used by the New Zealand government to set up bonds, fiduciary obligations, contracts, ‘power of attorney’, ‘living property’ or foreign situs trusts,
  • have never been used for land transfer or public trust purposes,
  • have never been used to set up bond funds or trust companies.

Is the parents’ signature used for any other purpose other than register the birth of a child?

A parent’s signature on birth registration forms only relates to the birth registration of the child and has nothing to do with the administration of property, property transfer, the Public Trust Office, land registration, bonds, financial corporations, fiduciary obligations, contracts, ‘power of attorney’, ‘living property’ or foreign situs trusts.

Does a birth registration or the Registrar General or Registrar’s have anything to do with land information or land administration?

The Registrar General or Registrars are independent statutory roles held under the BDMRR and have nothing to do with past or present land information or land administration. A New Zealand birth certificate has nothing to do with land registration.

Land information and administration is undertaken by Toitū Te Whenua/Land Information New Zealand. There are four statutory officers (Surveyor- General, Valuer-General, Registrar-General of Land and the Commissioner of Crown Lands). These officers are responsible for ensuring the legal framework of land ownership and property rights in New Zealand. These statutory officers of Toitū Te Whenua have nothing to do with births deaths and marriages.

How to spot misinformation in relation to birth certificates

Protect yourself, your family and others by knowing how to spot misinformation online about New Zealand birth certificates. Read the FAQ’s on using RealMe, ordering products payments and refunds and waiting for your birth, death or marriage product.  Use trusted sources of information and rely on the Department of Internal Affairs websites; www.bdmonline.dia.govt.nz and www.govt.nz

Also visit  the Netsafe website for more information on How to spot fake news.

Births, Deaths and Marriages information