How to Order a Birth Certificate in Manitoba
A Manitoba birth certificate costs $30 from the Vital Statistics Branch, with or without parents' names. Order online, in person at 254 Portage Avenue in Winnipeg, by mail, or by fax.
How to Order a Birth Certificate in Nova Scotia
A Nova Scotia birth certificate costs $33 for the short form or $39.90 for the long form from Vital Statistics. Apply online or on the paper form; it should take 4 to 6 weeks.
Applies in: Nova Scotia
The short answer
A Nova Scotia birth certificate is ordered from Vital Statistics, part of Service Nova Scotia, and costs $33.00 for the short form or $39.90 for the long form. The Government of Nova Scotia's Apply for a Birth Certificate page states that a Birth Certificate is a legal record of a birth that took place in Nova Scotia, that it may be used as proof of identity, and that it can only be issued for a birth that has been registered by Vital Statistics.
Nova Scotia's two forms differ by whose information is printed: the short form carries the child's information, and the long form adds the parents' information. A third document, a photographic print of the registration, sits beside them at the same price as the long form. This guide covers the Nova Scotia order process only.
The formats
Short Form Birth Certificate — $33.00. Includes the child's information. The Birth Certificate Application form spells it out as full name, sex indicator, date of birth, place of birth, registration date, registration number, and date issued. Its dimensions are 12.5 cm wide by 17.5 cm high, and wallet sizes are no longer available.
Long Form Birth Certificate — $39.90. Includes the child's information and the parents' information: the same fields as the short form plus the names of the parents and the birthplace of the parents. It is the same 12.5 cm by 17.5 cm size.
Photographic print of Birth Registration — $39.90. The Vital Statistics fees page lists this as a separate birth document. The application form describes it as all the information that appears on the original registration, including the parents' names and birthplaces plus other information, for example the name of the person who assisted at the birth and the birth weight. It is larger, at 21.5 cm wide by 35.5 cm high.
Agencies and organizations sometimes require proof of identity in a particular format. It is your responsibility to check with the agency or organization to confirm the certificate format you need.
Sex indicator options
Birth Certificates show the sex indicator of the person named on the certificate. The certificate can show M for male, F for female, or X if you do not identify exclusively as male or female. The person named on the certificate also has the option to not display a sex indicator on the Birth Certificate. Certificates that show X or that do not display a sex indicator may not be accepted by all agencies and organizations, so check with the agency or organization to confirm what information they accept before you order.
Who can apply
To apply for a Birth Certificate, the birth needs to have taken place in Nova Scotia and you need to meet one of these criteria:
- You're the person named on the certificate
- You're a parent whose name appears on the child's Birth Registration
- You're a lawyer working on behalf of the person named on the certificate
- You're a lawyer working on behalf of the child's parents
- You're an executor or trustee of an estate (proof required)
- You have legal guardianship of the child (copy of guardianship papers required)
- You're an authorized agent or representative
If you are applying on behalf of someone other than yourself or your minor child, the application form states that you need a consent form completed by the person on whose behalf you are applying, and you may have to complete a Statutory Declaration. An authorized agent route has its own form, the Consent for Agent or Authorized Person to Apply for a Birth Certificate Form, linked from the Apply page.
How to apply
Step 1: Confirm the birth is registered. A Birth Certificate can only be issued for a birth that has been registered. If the birth has not been registered, that registration comes first.
Step 2: Choose the format. Short form at $33.00, long form at $39.90, or a photographic print of the registration at $39.90, after checking what the requesting agency accepts.
Step 3: Apply online. The Apply page's route is to apply online for the certificate, check the application for details on all required supporting documents, include payment, and submit the completed application, supporting documents and payment. When you pay online you pay by credit card: Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, Visa Debit or Debit Mastercard.
Step 4: Or apply on the paper form. Download the Vital Statistics Birth Certificate Application, complete all sections in full, and mail it to Vital Statistics, PO Box 157, Halifax, Nova Scotia B3J 2M9. The form warns that walk-in services are not available, and that if you need assistance, limited appointments are available but must be pre-booked online. Vital Statistics can be reached by phone at 902-424-4381, or toll free within Nova Scotia at 1-877-848-2578, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday to Friday except holidays.
Step 5: Pay the fee. Payment options are credit card (Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover), debit card, cheque, money order and cash, and payment options may vary depending on how you apply. Make a cheque or money order payable to the Minister of Finance. The paper form adds that it is against postal regulations to send cash through the mail, and that mailed payment in Canadian funds should be by cheque, bank draft or money order. The form also offers an optional courier fee of $20.00, which provides expedited shipping of the certificates; the processing time is not expedited.
Step 6: Allow 4 to 6 weeks. It should take 4 to 6 weeks to get a Birth Certificate. It can take longer if more information is needed or if your form has not been filled in correctly.
The fees page also lists a records search (3-year search) at $6.25 under Birth, for searches of the records rather than a certificate order.
What the opened pages do not state
The Apply for a Birth Certificate page, the fees page and the application form opened for this guide state the short and long form fees, the photographic print fee, the courier option, who can apply, the payment options and the 4 to 6 weeks timing. They do not state a rush or priority processing service that shortens the 4 to 6 weeks, and the form is explicit that its courier fee does not expedite processing, so this guide gives no faster processing option. The Apply page's list of other ways to apply is cut off in the text read here beyond the paper form, so this guide describes only the online route and the paper form it opened in full.
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.
Nova Scotia birth certificate fees
| Short Form Birth Certificate | $33.00; the child's information only |
|---|---|
| Long Form Birth Certificate | $39.90; the child's information and the parents' information |
| Photographic print of Birth Registration | $39.90; all the information on the original registration |
| Optional courier fee on the paper form | $20.00; it speeds up shipping of the certificate, not the processing time |
It should take 4 to 6 weeks to get a Birth Certificate. A certificate can only be issued for a birth that has been registered by Vital Statistics.
Questions people ask
How much does a Nova Scotia birth certificate cost?
The Short Form Birth Certificate is $33.00 and the Long Form Birth Certificate is $39.90. A photographic print of the birth registration is also $39.90. On the paper application form, an optional courier fee of $20.00 speeds up shipping of the certificate; it does not expedite the processing time.
What is the difference between the short form and the long form?
A short form includes the child's information: full name, sex indicator, date of birth, place of birth, registration date, registration number and date issued. A long form includes all of that plus the names of the parents and the birthplace of the parents. It is your responsibility to check with the agency or organization asking for the certificate to confirm the format you need.
Who can apply for a Nova Scotia birth certificate?
The birth must have taken place in Nova Scotia, and you must be the person named on the certificate, a parent whose name appears on the child's birth registration, a lawyer working on behalf of the person named or of the child's parents, an executor or trustee of an estate with proof, a person with legal guardianship of the child with a copy of the guardianship papers, or an authorized agent or representative.
How long does it take to get a Nova Scotia birth certificate?
It should take 4 to 6 weeks to get a Birth Certificate. It can take longer if more information is needed or if your form has not been filled in correctly.
Can the certificate show an X or no sex indicator?
Yes. Birth Certificates show the sex indicator of the person named, and the certificate can show M for male, F for female or X if you do not identify exclusively as male or female. The person named also has the option to not display a sex indicator. Certificates that show X or that do not display a sex indicator may not be accepted by all agencies and organizations, so check with the agency first.
How do I apply on paper?
Use the Vital Statistics Birth Certificate Application form from Service Nova Scotia. The form's mailing address is Vital Statistics, PO Box 157, Halifax, Nova Scotia B3J 2M9. Payment forwarded by mail should be in Canadian funds by cheque, bank draft or money order made payable to the Minister of Finance; it is against postal regulations to send cash through the mail. The form states that walk-in services are not available and that limited appointments must be pre-booked online.
Sources
- Government of Nova Scotia, Apply for a Birth Certificate — a Birth Certificate as a legal record of a Nova Scotia birth that may be used as proof of identity and can only be issued for a registered birth, the short form carrying the child's information and the long form adding the parents' information, the M, F, X and no-indicator sex options and the warning that X or no indicator may not be accepted by all agencies, the eligibility list, the online application steps, the 4 to 6 weeks timing, the $33.00 short form and $39.90 long form fees, and the payment options including online credit cards.
- Government of Nova Scotia, Vital Statistics Fees for Certificates, Licences and Services — the Birth fee table: Short Form Birth Certificate $33.00, Long Form Birth Certificate $39.90, photographic print of Birth Registration $39.90, and records search (3-year search) $6.25.
- Service Nova Scotia, Vital Statistics Birth Certificate Application (form, Rev 11/20) — the paper application with the short form at $33.00, long form at $39.90 and photographic print at $39.90, the optional $20.00 courier fee that expedites shipping and not processing, the exact contents and dimensions of each document, eligibility on the form including the consent and statutory declaration position for applications on behalf of another person, mailed payment by cheque, bank draft or money order payable to the Minister of Finance, walk-in services not available with limited pre-booked appointments, the PO Box 157 Halifax mailing address, and the phone numbers and hours.