How to Order a Birth Certificate in Ontario
Ontario has three birth documents: a birth certificate at $25, one with parental information at $25, and a certified copy of birth registration at $35. Order online, in person, or by mail.
How to Order a Death Certificate in Canada
How to order a death certificate in Canada: Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta routes, who can order each document, and official fees and times.
Applies in: CA
A death certificate is an official document from the province or territory where the death occurred. There is no national death certificate in Canada: each province and territory registers deaths and issues its own certificates, so you must apply to the records office of the province or territory where the death took place. This guide gives the verified routes for Ontario, British Columbia, and Alberta, and points every other province and territory to the records offices directory. It is written in plain language for a difficult task, and it states only the fees and times shown on the official pages.
Before you order: registration first, then the right document
In Ontario, a death must be registered before a death certificate can be issued. Registration starts with the Medical Certificate of Death, completed by the attending physician, coroner, coroner investigator, nurse practitioner, or registered nurse, and a Statement of Death completed by an informant, usually a family member, with the funeral director. The funeral director takes both documents to the local municipal clerk's office, which sends them to the Office of the Registrar General. Ontario states it may take up to 12 weeks from the time the forms are received for a death to be registered.
The funeral director will issue copies of proof of death that you can use in certain situations. Some organizations require an official death certificate from the province instead, which can only be obtained by applying online, by mail, or in person. Before ordering, check with the ministry, government agency, or person requesting the document whether they need a death certificate, a certified copy of the death registration without cause of death information, or a certified copy with cause of death information. The three documents are not interchangeable, and the certified copy with cause of death information has the narrowest ordering routes.
Ontario: online, mail, or in person in Toronto or Ottawa
Ontario's route is set out on the Ontario page for getting or replacing a death certificate. To order a death certificate, or a certified copy of the death registration, you need the following information about the deceased: first, middle, and last name or single name, sex, date of birth, date of death, the name of the city or town where the death took place, parental information, and spouse or partner information if applicable. If you do not know the exact date of death, order a death search letter instead.
Online, use the online certificate application. In person, download and complete the Request for Death Certificate application and submit it at the ServiceOntario centre at 47 Sheppard Avenue East, unit 417, 4th Floor, Toronto, ON M2N 5N1, or at 110 Laurier Avenue West, 1st Floor, Ottawa, ON K1P 1J1. By mail, send the completed application to ServiceOntario, P.O. Box 4600, 189 Red River Road, Thunder Bay, ON P7B 6L8. Online payment is by Visa, Visa Debit, Mastercard, or Debit Mastercard. In person or by mail, payment is by cheque, money order, Visa, or Mastercard, and personal cheque payments are no longer accepted at retail locations for certificate transactions.
Ontario fees and times on the page are:
- Death certificate, regular online service: $15, estimated 15 business days plus delivery by Canada Post.
- Death certificate, premium online service: $45, 5 business days including delivery by courier.
- Death certificate, emergency service in person at 47 Sheppard Avenue East, Toronto: $45, 5 business days including delivery by courier, with proof of urgency required and no service guarantees.
- Certified copy of death registration, regular online service: $22, 15 business days plus delivery by Canada Post.
- Certified copy of death registration, premium online service: $52, 5 business days including delivery by courier.
- Certified copy with cause of death information: not available through regular or premium online service. Emergency service in person in Toronto costs $52, and mailed applications cost $22 and take 6 to 8 weeks by Canada Post, with no service guarantees.
- Death search letter: $15 for each 5-year period, regular online service 15 business days plus delivery, mailed applications 6 to 8 weeks, with no service guarantees and no emergency service.
There are no restrictions on who can apply for an Ontario death certificate, and no restriction on the number you can apply for and receive. If you are not related to the deceased, you can order a death certificate or a death search. A certified copy of the death registration may be applied for only by the deceased's next of kin or their authorized representative, who must provide proof of authorization. Next of kin are parents, a spouse or common-law partner, children, and siblings. If all the next of kin are deceased, extended next of kin, meaning aunts, uncles, first cousins, grandchildren, grandparents, nephews, and nieces, or their authorized representative may apply.
Emergency service is available only at the Toronto ServiceOntario centre. To qualify, the death must be registered in Ontario and you must provide proof of urgency, such as travel reservations, along with the complete form, documents, and fee. Certificates are delivered within 5 business days if the event is registered. Older events, such as deaths prior to 1991, may not be immediately available and can take up to an extra 6 to 8 weeks for the registration to be made available. To replace a lost, stolen, or damaged death certificate, use the online application or the Request for Death Certificate application in person or by mail. To change or correct information, request a registration amendment application form from the Office of the Registrar General; the death must currently be registered in Ontario.
British Columbia: online, mail, or a Service BC counter
British Columbia's route is set out on the British Columbia page for ordering certificates and copies. You can order a death certificate online through the province's electronic ordering system, paying by Visa, Mastercard, or American Express, or use the paper form VSA 430D, Application for Death Certificate, in person at a Service BC counter or by mail to the Vital Statistics Agency, PO Box 9657 Stn Prov Govt, Victoria, BC V8W 9P3. By mail you can pay with a money order, cheque, or credit card information. The forms are for British Columbia events only.
British Columbia fees and times on the page are:
- Certificate, meaning a birth, death, marriage, or change of name certificate: $27 by mail, $60 by courier.
- Certified registration copy or extract: $50 by mail, $60 by courier.
- Certificates print in 2 to 5 business days, plus mail delivery time. Certified photocopies and certified extracts print within 20 business days, plus mail delivery time. Courier documents print on the next business day after the request is received, delivery costs $60, is provided through Canada Post Priority, requires a signature, and is not available on weekends or holidays.
A standard British Columbia death certificate is open to any applicant. A certified copy or certified electronic extract of a death registration is different. It contains all the information recorded at the time of the death, is rarely needed except for personal records, and is generally required only for court purposes. If more than 20 years have passed since the date of the death, anyone can apply. If fewer than 20 years have passed, only a relative on production of proof of relationship, meaning a mother, father, son, daughter, sister, brother, spouse, grandparent, or grandchild, a medical practitioner who needs it for the treatment of a member of the deceased's immediate family whose illness may be life threatening, a person authorized by a court order, an officer of a provincial or federal government acting in official duties, or any other person who satisfies the registrar general may apply. The British Columbia certified copies page states the cost as $50 per certified copy by mail, printing within 20 business days plus mailing time, or $60 by courier, printing the next business day.
Alberta: through a registry agent office
Alberta's ordering hub is the Alberta page for ordering certificates and documents. When applying in person at a registry agent office, you must bring acceptable government-issued photo identification. The page links to identification requirements for records services, to records forms, and to historical records at the Provincial Archives of Alberta. The Government of Alberta keeps a record of all registered events that take place in Alberta and can only issue documents for those events, so a death outside Alberta must be ordered from the province or country where it occurred. Alberta's page does not state a death certificate fee or processing time on the page, and this guide states none. Ask the registry agent for the current fee and service fee before you apply, and use the records forms linked from the Alberta page.
Everywhere else in Canada
For Quebec, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, Yukon, the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut, use the office listed in the records offices directory, which links each province and territory to its official office page. Do not send an application to the wrong province: an office can only issue a certificate for a death registered in its own jurisdiction. Fees, eligibility, and processing times differ by province and territory, and none are stated here beyond Ontario and British Columbia, because no other province's ordering page could be verified.
What this guide could not verify
No fee, processing time, eligibility rule, or ordering route is stated in this guide for any province or territory other than Ontario, British Columbia, and the Alberta registry-agent route described above, because no other ordering page could be verified. Alberta's death certificate fee and processing time were cut for the same reason: the Alberta page states neither. The cost of a British Columbia rush or additional service beyond the $27, $50, and $60 figures above, and any fee for correcting a registration outside Ontario and British Columbia, are likewise not stated. Check the office page for the province where the death occurred before paying or relying on a delivery date.
Related guides:
- How to Start Getting a Birth Certificate in Canada — the parallel birth-records route for birth certificates, province by province.
- How to Get a Family Doctor in Ontario — the Ontario route that starts from a valid health card, one of the government services a death certificate can close off.
- How to Start Getting Provincial Health Coverage as a Newcomer to Canada — how provincial coverage registration works when a person arrives in a province.
Ordering a death certificate, in five steps
- Confirm the death is registered in the right provinceA death certificate is issued only after registration, and only the province or territory where the death occurred can issue it
- Check which document the requester needsA death certificate, a certified copy of the death registration without cause of death, or a certified copy with cause of death information, which has narrower routes
- Gather the details of the deceasedFull name, sex, dates of birth and death, the city or town of death, and parental and spouse or partner information where the form asks for it
- Apply through the province's own routeOntario online, by mail, or in person in Toronto or Ottawa; British Columbia online, by mail, or at a Service BC counter; Alberta through a registry agent office
- Check who may order before payingNo restriction on an Ontario death certificate, but certified copies are restricted to next of kin or authorized representatives, and British Columbia restricts certified copies within 20 years
Questions people ask
Does the death have to be registered before I can order a certificate?
Yes. Ontario states that a death must be registered in order for a death certificate to be issued, and that registration in Ontario may take up to 12 weeks from the time the forms are received by the Office of the Registrar General. Order from the province or territory where the death occurred, not from the province where you live now.
Who can order a death certificate, and who can order a certified copy?
In Ontario there are no restrictions on who can apply for a death certificate, and no restriction on the number you can apply for. A certified copy of the death registration may be applied for only by the next of kin or an authorized representative, who must provide proof of authorization. In British Columbia, a certified copy within 20 years of the death is limited to listed relatives, a medical practitioner in narrow circumstances, a person authorized by court order, a government officer, or a person who satisfies the registrar general.
What is the difference between a death certificate and a certified copy of the death registration?
A death certificate gives the basic registered details. A certified copy of the death registration contains all the information recorded at the time of the death. In Ontario, a certified copy without cause of death information can be ordered online, while a certified copy with cause of death information can only be obtained by mail or in person. Check with the ministry, agency, or person asking for the document before you order.
How much does an Ontario death certificate cost, and how long does it take?
On the Ontario page, a death certificate costs 15 dollars for regular online service, with an estimated 15 business days plus delivery by Canada Post, or 45 dollars for premium online service, with 5 business days including delivery by courier. A certified copy costs 22 dollars regular online or 52 dollars premium online. Mailed applications take 6 to 8 weeks. Emergency service is in person in Toronto only, costs 45 dollars for a death certificate, and requires proof of urgency.
How much does a British Columbia death certificate cost, and how long does it take?
On the British Columbia page, a certificate costs 27 dollars by mail or 60 dollars by courier. Certificates print in 2 to 5 business days plus mail delivery time, or on the next business day for courier delivery. A certified registration copy or extract costs 50 dollars by mail or 60 dollars by courier and prints within 20 business days plus mail delivery time.
What if I do not know the exact date of death?
In Ontario you can order a death search letter, which verifies that the death took place and was registered. It costs 15 dollars for each 5-year period searched, with regular online service estimated at 15 business days plus delivery, and mailed applications at 6 to 8 weeks. If you give a specific year, a 5-year search is conducted, covering 2 years before and 2 years after that year. There is no fee for death searches to locate records for children who attended Indian Residential Schools.
Sources
- Government of Ontario, Get or replace an Ontario death certificate — registration before issue, the three document types, online, mail, and in-person routes, fees and processing times, who can apply, search letters, emergency service, and replacement and correction routes.
- Government of British Columbia, Order certificates and copies — online, in-person, and mail ordering, the VSA 430D form, processing times, and the fee schedule for certificates and certified copies.
- Government of British Columbia, Certified Copies and Certified Electronic Extracts of a Death Registration — the 20-year eligibility rule, the list of eligible applicants within 20 years, and the mail and courier cost and printing times for certified copies.
- Government of Alberta, Ordering certificates and documents — the registry agent office route, the photo identification requirement for in-person applications, and the links to records forms and historical records.