SCAMwatch is warning Australians to be wary of websites that appear official that provide birth, death, marriage or divorce certificates in return for a fee. These online companies are NOT endorsed by or affiliated in any way with the Office of Regulatory Services. For further information refer to the SCAMwatch warning.
The Office of Regulatory Services is responsible for the administration of legislation relating to the registration of certain events that occur in the A.C.T. such as births, deaths, marriages, changes of name, changes of sex, adoptions and deaths abroad, and provides certificates of registrations to authorised applicants. For counter applications you will be required to attend our shopfront at Fyshwick. Please refer to Contact Us for further details.
A person whose birth is registered in the A.C.T. may apply for a certified copy of their birth certificate by completing an Application for Certificate or online and by paying the prescribed fee. Applications are assessed in accordance with the Certificate Access Policy.
Three forms of identification must be provided with your application. At least one form of identification must be presented from the following list:
Other forms of identification that may be presented along with the above may be:
Original forms of identification must be presented if applying at our shopfront. Applications made via the post must be accompanied by copies of identification certified as true and correct copies by a Solicitor, Justice of the Peace or Police Officer.
Certificates that have been applied for via the post or online will be sent to you by registered person to person post at which time you will need to present identification at the Post Office.
If you are unable to satisfy the identification requirements please, contact the Office of Regulatory Services for further assistance.
A person whose marriage is registered in the A.C.T. may apply for a certified copy of their marriage certificate by completing an Application for Certificate or online and by paying the prescribed fee. Applications are assessed in accordance with the Certificate Access Policy.
Persons whom are named as either the spouse, domestic partner, parent or child of a deceased person whose death is registered in the A.C.T. may apply for a certified copy of the death certificate by completing an Application for Certificate or online and by paying the prescribed fee. Applications are assessed in accordance with the Certificate Access Policy.
If you are not named on the death registration you will need to provide evidence of your relationship to the deceased.
If the birth, death or marriage was registered in another State or Territory you will be required to apply for the certificate through that State or Territory Births, Deaths and Marriages Registry. Each registry has their own proof of identity requriements. Refer to Other Jurisdictions for information on how to apply for a certificate and proof of identity requirements from another State or Territory.
The parents or guardian of a child whose birth is registered in the A.C.T. may apply for a certified copy of their birth certificate by completing an Application for Certificate or online and by paying the prescribed fee. Applications are assessed in accordance with the Certificate Access Policy.
Please note - Applications for your child’s birth certificate may only be made by a parent or guardian where the child is under the age of 18 years. In the case of guardianship, you must produce the guardianship order or a copy certified as true and correct by a Solicitor, Justice of the Peace or Police Officer.
Applications may also be accepted by the parent or guardian of a child over the age of 18 where the child has given you written permission to do so. In these cases you will also need to provide three forms of identification of your child as outlined above or copies that have been certified true and correct by a Solicitor, Justice of the Peace or Police Officer.
All births occurring in the A.C.T. must be registered within 60 days of the birth by the parent/s of the child by completing a Birth Registration Statement. Birth registration statements may be lodged in person at our shopfront or by post. A birth registration statement is usually provided by the hospital as the hospital completes certain information on the form on your behalf.
You may wish to also apply for a copy of your child’s birth certificate upon lodging the birth registration statement, as an application is included as part of the birth registration statement.
Certificates that have been applied for via the post will be sent to you by registered person to person post at which time you will need to present identification at the Post Office.
If you are unable to satisfy the identification requirements, please contact the Office of Regulatory Services for further assistance.
To change your name in the A.C.T. you must either have had your birth registered in the A.C.T. or be a permanent A.C.T. resident. You may apply to change your name by completing an Application to Register a Change of Name for an Adult and by paying the prescribed fee.
Changes of name will not be registered unless the Registrar-General is satisfied of the identity and age of the applicant and that the change of name is not being sought for a fraudulent or other improper purpose.
In order to assess your application you must provide:
You must also provide three forms of identification. At least one form of identification must be presented from the following list:
Original forms of identification and evidence of residency where applicable must be presented if applying at our shopfront. Applications made via the post must be accompanied by copies of identification certified as true and correct copies by a Solicitor, Justice of the Peace or Police Officer.
If you are unable to satisfy the identification and evidence of residency requirements if applicable, please contact the Office of Regulatory Services for further assistance.
To change your child’s name in the A.C.T. you must either have had their birth registered in the A.C.T. or be a permanent A.C.T. resident. You may apply to change your child’s name by completing an Application to Register a Change of Name for a Child and by paying the prescribed fee.
Changes of name will not be registered unless the Registrar-General is satisfied of the identity and age of the child and that the change of name is not being sought for a fraudulent or other improper purpose. Where the child is at least 14 years old, the Registrar-General must also be satisfied that the child consents to the change of name or cannot understand the implications of the change of name.
Applications must be made by both parents of the child unless:
Both parents must also provide three forms of identification unless the application is being made by only one parent. At least one form of identification must be presented from the following list:
To change your sex on your birth registration in the A.C.T. you must have had your birth registered in the A.C.T. and be at least 18 years of age and have undergone sexual reassignment surgery. You may apply to change your sex on your birth registration by completing an Application to Alter Birth Register to Record Register Change of Sex and by paying the prescribed fee.
Sexual reassignment surgery means a surgical procedure involving the alteration of a person’s reproductive organs carried out for the purpose of assisting a person to be considered a member of the opposite sex or to correct or eliminate an ambiguity relating to the sex of a person.
Applications to change your sex on your birth registration must be accompanied by two Medical Practitioner’s Declaration in Support of a Change of Sex and three forms of identification. At least one form of identification must be presented from the following list:
Upon alteration of the birth registration to reflect the change of sex you may apply for an updated birth certificate.
If you are unable to satisfy the identification requirements or wish to discuss a change of sex relating to a person under the age of 18, please contact the Office of Regulatory Services for further assistance.
Marriages in Australia are conducted in accordance with the Marriage Act 1961 (Cwlth) which provides for three classes of celebrants who may solemnize marriages. These include:
Marriages in the A.C.T. may be performed by a celebrant authorised as a marriage celebrant under the Marriage Act 1961 (Cwlth). You should check the Register of Marriage Celebrants maintained by the Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department to ensure your proposed celebrant is authorised to perform marriages. The register includes civil marriage celebrants and marriage celebrants from both recognised and non-recognised religious denominations.
Deaths of Australian citizens that occur overseas do not necessarily need to be registered in Australia, however they may be if the individual circumstances require the death to be registered. You should seek independent legal advice as to whether the death needs to be registered.
Where a death that occurred overseas needs to be registered you should contact the State or Territory that the deceased was normally resident. Most jurisdictions are able to register a death that occurred overseas where the person was normally a resident of that jurisdiction.
Where the person was normally a resident of the A.C.T, the death will be registered under the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1997.
The Office of Regulatory Services is also responsible for the administration of the Registration of Deaths Abroad Act 1985 (Cwlth) and maintenance of the register of deaths abroad. Deaths that are unable to be registered under another jurisdiction’s legislation may be registered as a death abroad.
If you wish to register a death as a death abroad you should contact the Office of Regulatory Services for further assistance.
The Registrar-General maintains a Certificate Access Policy which outlines who, and under what circumstances, a person may access information. In general terms where a birth occurred more than 100 years ago, a marriage occurred over 75 years ago, or a death occurred more than 30 years ago, the limitations imposed upon applicants are less stringent.
If you are unsure if you are able to access information contained in a register, please contact the Office of Regulatory Services for further assistance.
The Registrar-General is required to protect the details of persons named in a register from any unreasonable intrusion into their privacy. Access to information is subject to the Certificate Access Policy however the Registrar-General or a Deputy Registrar-General may make decisions on unusual cases that may fall outside the scope of the policy.
Identifiable information may also be provided to law enforcement organisations and authorised organisations that have legal authority to request information under prescribed circumstances.
Documents that are presented to the Office of Regulatory Services may also be verified through the Certificate Validation Service or National Document Verification Service. Subscribers of these services may also verify documents issued by the Office of Regulatory Services.
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