Every child born in Ontario must be registered with the Office of the Registrar General before applying for a Birth Certificate. If your child is more than one year of age and you have not yet registered their birth, you will need to obtain a Delayed Statement of Live Birth form. Once the birth is registered, a Birth Certificate will be issued.

Please visit our Delayed Registration of Birth page to learn how to obtain this important document.

You can apply for an Ontario Birth Certificate if you are:

• The person whose name appears on the certificate (must be at least 13 years of age);
• Parents of the person named on the certificate (if that person is less than 19 years of age or incapable);
• A legal guardian of the person named on the certificate;
• Next-of-kin, executor or estate administrator, if the person named on the certificate is deceased.

Before applying, find out the type and format of the document required by contacting the organization to which you must submit it.

Documents:

Birth Certificate:

A birth certificate contains information taken from the birth registration. This birth certificate only contains information about the person named on the certificate; it does not contain parental information. This regular birth certificate replaces the old “short form” or wallet-sized birth certificate. You may want this type of birth certificate if you are applying for a Canadian passport, if you are applying for your first Social Insurance Number, if you need your driver’s license or you need to apply for a Health Card.

Birth Certificate with Parental information:

This type of birth certificate contains both information about the person named in the certificate and their parental information, including both the parents’ names and places of birth. If you are getting a birth certificate for your child, this is the certificate you want to apply for (provided the appropriate time period has passed). It is also useful for your child’s passport, your child’s health card or health insurance and proving parentage for any other reason (such as if you are immigrating to another country or claiming citizenship of another country).

Certified Copy of Birth Registration:

A certified copy of birth registration is a certified copy of the Statement of Live Birth and therefore contains all details of the birth registration filed after the subject’s birth. The copy is certified as authentic by the Registrar general and contains a raised seal so that it is identifiable as issued from the Registrar. Please note this copy is printed on legal-sized paper.

The certified copy of birth registration contains all amendments that have been made to the birth registration including name changes and corrections of misprints. You should only apply for a certified copy of birth registration if you absolutely need it, as it contains a great deal of information about the subject and should only be shared with authorities if expressly requested. The certified copy of birth registration is normally used for adoptions, applying for Indian status, or claiming citizenship by descent from another country, or immigrating to another country.

Search Letter:

This is a letter saying the record is or is not on file. A 5 year period will be searched (the year provided, plus 2 years before and after).

Service Options

Regular Service (15-20 business days)

Birth Certificate

  First Birth Certificate:$75.00  Replacement Birth Certificate:$85.00

Birth Certificate with Parental Information

  First Birth Certificate:$86.00

  Replacement Birth Certificate:$96.00

Certified Copy of Birth Registration

  First Birth Certificate:$87.00

  Replacement Birth Certificate:$99.00

Search Letter

(5 year period):$64.00

Rush Service (5-10 business days)

Birth Certificate

  First Birth Certificate:$110.00

  Replacement Birth Certificate:$120.00

Birth Certificate with Parental Information

Please Note:  Rush service are not available for applications that contain the birth certificate with parental information.

Certified Copy of Birth Registration

  First Birth Certificate:$121.00

  Replacement Birth Certificate:$131.00

Search Letter

(5 year period):$85.00

Rush service is NOT available under the following circumstances:

Rush Service is not available for delivery outside Canada.

Newborns:

Ontario Birth Certificate will be issued upon completion of the birth registration. The registration takes approximately 16 weeks from the date of birth. Rush service is not available for newborns born within the last 16 weeks. Please contact the Office of the Registrar General at 1-800-461-2156 (Ontario Only) or 416-325-8305 if you require a certificate for a newborn on a rush basis.

Births Prior to 1930:

Births prior to 1930 may not Births prior to 1930 may not be in electronic format. When applying for an Ontario birth certificate for a birth prior to 1930, it can take up to an extra 6-8 weeks for the registration to be converted into electronic format before processing can be completed. Therefore, rush service is not available for these births.

Please Note: Fees listed above are inclusive of taxes and shipping costs. Delivery times are approximate and cannot be guaranteed. Applications may be delayed or rejected if inadequate information is provided or if there is a discrepancy between information provided and the government records. If no record of the birth is found by the Office of the Registrar General, fees will be applied to the search cost and will not be refunded.

If you are applying for a Birth Certificate for an individual nine years of age or older, guarantor information is required. A guarantor is someone who has known you (the applicant) personally for at least 2 years during your life, is a Canadian citizen, and is currently serving in or a practicing member in good standing of a particular profession. Please see the Guarantor section of the Ontario Birth Certificate Application for a full listing of acceptable professions.

If you have not received your Birth Certificate within the expected timeframe, you may contact the Office of The Registrar General to check the status of your application.

Toll Free: 1-800-461-2156 (Ontario Only)
Telephone: 416-325-8305