Proving and protecting your identity
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
Name change certificate
A name change certificate is official evidence of a name change. You can order online and it costs $33.
-
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.
-
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.
-
Use your NZ documents overseas
Check which countries require New Zealand documents to be officially authenticated or apostilled by the Department of Internal Affairs' Authentication Unit.
-
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.
-
BDM service timeframes
Check this page regularly for up-to-date BDM processing times.