Proving and protecting your identity
Order or access birth, marriage, death or name change certificates and records. Get your official documents translated or ready to use overseas. Sign up for Realme® to prove your identity online.
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Order a birth certificate
New Zealand birth certificates are a record of birth. You can order a birth certificate online. It costs $33 for a standard certificate.
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Get a marriage certificate
Your New Zealand marriage or civil union certificate is an official record of your marriage. It costs $33 to get one sent to you.
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Get a death certificate
You might need a death certificate if you're administering someone's estate or applying for a funeral grant from Work and Income or ACC.
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Name change certificate
Learn what's on a name change certificate and what you can use one for. Order a name change certificate online, by phone, post, or in person.
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Access to your birth, marriage and name change records
Birth, death, marriage, civil union and name change records are a public register — anyone can generally request copies of someone's information. You can see who's accessed your records since 2009 or block access to them if your safety is at risk.
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Translating official documents
If you need a document translated into English or another language, you can organise the translation yourself or use the Department of Internal Affairs Translation Service.
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Use your NZ documents overseas
To use a document overseas it may need to be apostilled or authenticated. Apostilles and authentications are certificates that prove the signature, stamp or seal on a document is genuine.
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Use RealMe to prove your identity online
Use RealMe to prove who you are online and securely access many government and private sector services online.
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BDM service timeframes
Check this page regularly for up-to-date BDM processing times.