How to Order a Birth Certificate in Manitoba

The short answer

A Manitoba birth certificate comes from the Vital Statistics Branch and costs $30.00. The Manitoba Residents Portal page for getting a birth certificate sets out the basic route: complete an application form, available in person or online, and send it with payment by mail or fax, or apply through the online certificate application. The Branch can issue a document only if the birth occurred in Manitoba.

Manitoba keeps this simple compared with some provinces. There is one certificate size, one fee, and two versions: with parents' names or without. A certified photocopy of the birth registration is a separate document. This guide covers the certificate order process only.

The two certificate versions

The Branch's certificates page states that certificates contain information extracted from the original registration filed at the Branch, and that birth certificates are issued in the applicant's birth name unless a legal change of name has occurred. Both versions come in one size, approximately 5 in. wide by 7 in. high (12.5 x 17.6 cm).

With parents' names. Contains name, date and place of birth, sex (optional), parents' names, registration date and registration number.

Without parents' names. Contains name, date and place of birth, sex (optional), registration date and registration number.

The Branch states in capital letters on its how-to-apply page that it strongly recommends birth certificates be ordered with the name or names of the parents. There is also a practical reason: as of December 1, 2011, Passport Canada requires that applications for children have a document that details the child-parent relationship, and for a child born in Manitoba, this is a birth certificate with parents' names.

Registration photocopy. Separate from the certificate, the Branch can issue a certified photocopy of the original registration of the event. It contains all the information that appears on the registration.

Who can order

The Branch's entitlement page lists who is entitled to receive a birth certificate:

1. You, if the application is for your own certificate.
2. Parents named on the record of a child.
3. A guardian, who must submit guardianship papers.
4. A representative with written authorization from one of the people above; the written authorization of the person entitled to the certificate must accompany the application.

How to order

Every event must be fully registered before a document about the event can be issued, because the registered information is printed on the document. The how-to-apply page gives four routes.

Step 1: Choose your version. With parents' names or without, keeping the Branch's strong recommendation in mind.

Step 2: Apply online. Use the Online Certificate Application linked from the Residents Portal and the Branch site.

Step 3: Or apply in person. Counter service is available at 254 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg, at the southwest corner of Portage Avenue and Garry Street. The Branch is open Monday through Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. In-person payment methods are cash, cheque, money order, debit, Visa or MasterCard.

Step 4: Or apply by mail. Download the Application for a Manitoba Birth Document form and mail it to Vital Statistics Branch, 254 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg MB R3C 0B6. Payment by mail is cheque, money order, Visa or MasterCard.

Step 5: Or apply by fax. Download an application form and fax it to 204-948-3128. Payment by fax is Visa or MasterCard.

Step 6: Pay the $30.00 fee. By mail, a cheque or money order is made payable to the Minister of Finance. Personal cheques, unless certified, are not accepted for rush service.

You can check the status of your order on the order status page the Branch links from its how-to-apply page: if you applied online, enter your order number exactly as shown on your emailed receipt; if you applied by paper form, enter the number exactly as shown on your printed or emailed receipt.

Regular and rush service

Two service options are available.

Regular service runs first-come, first-served: applications are processed in the order received, then sent out to applicants via Canada Post.

Rush is quicker at the processing step — within three business days, and out by courier. Shipping time sits on top of that. Extra, in other words.

What rush speeds up is only the processing of an application for a document, never the registration of the birth itself. And service of either kind starts only once that registration is done correctly and in full, even though a payment may be processed immediately.

Two payment rules apply to every application. All applicants who send applications for service must pay the required fee regardless of their application results, for example a cancelled application or a refused certificate, and there are no refunds. All sections of the application form must be completed in full; incomplete applications or those with insufficient payment are returned. Questions can go to the Branch by email at vitalstats@gov.mb.ca.

What the opened pages do not state

The Residents Portal, certificates, entitlement and how-to-apply pages opened for this guide state the $30.00 fee, the two certificate versions and their contents, who is entitled to apply, the four order routes, and the rush processing time of three business days. They do not state a separate dollar fee for rush issuance service on those pages, and they do not state a processing time in days or weeks for regular issuance, only that regular applications are processed in the order received. This guide therefore gives no rush fee and no regular processing time.

Related guides:

• How to Order a Birth Certificate in Ontario — Ontario's three birth documents and its online, in-person and mail routes.
• How to Order a Birth Certificate in British Columbia — British Columbia's certificate and certified copy ordering.
• How to Order a Birth Certificate in Alberta — Alberta's registry agent route and its government fee.
• How to Start Getting a Birth Certificate in Canada — how birth certificate ordering works across Canada, province by province.

Sources

• Government of Manitoba, Residents Portal — Get a Manitoba Birth Certificate — completing an application form available in person or online and sending it with payment by mail or fax, mail payment by cheque or money order payable to the Minister of Finance or by Visa or MasterCard, fax payment by Visa or MasterCard, the $30.00 fee, the email address, and the links to the online certificate application and the printable application form.
• Manitoba Vital Statistics Branch, Identity Certificates — documents issued only if the birth occurred in Manitoba, certificates as extracts from the original registration, birth certificates issued in the birth name unless a legal change of name occurred, the single 5 by 7 in. size, the contents of the versions with and without parents' names, Passport Canada's child-parent relationship document requirement from December 1, 2011, and the certified photocopy of a registration.
• Manitoba Vital Statistics Branch, How to Apply — full registration required before a document can be issued, regular service processed in order and sent by Canada Post, rush service processed within three business days and sent by courier without speeding up registration, order status checking, no refunds, incomplete applications returned, the strong recommendation to order with parents' names, counter service at 254 Portage Avenue with its hours and payment methods, mail to the same address, and fax to 204-948-3128.
• Manitoba Vital Statistics Agency, Who Is Entitled to Receive Certificates — entitlement for a birth certificate: the person named, parents named on the record of a child, a guardian submitting guardianship papers, and a representative with written authorization that must accompany the application.