The Queensland Government is in a caretaker period until after the state election. Minimal updates will be made to this site until after the election results are declared.
You have to register the birth of your child with us (the hospital doesn’t do it for you). It’s free to do and you can order and pay for a certificate at the same time.
Register your baby before they’re 8 weeks old (that's within 60 days) if they were born in Queensland.
The birth must be registered before you can get a birth certificate. You may need your child's birth certificate to apply for:
access to healthcare and other government services
entry to childcare, kindy or school
an Australian passport.
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Parents have the right to choose the name of their child. However, when considering names, the Registrar-General must refuse to register a name that:
is obscene or offensive
is too long
includes symbols without phonetic significance—for example, brackets (), colons (:), question marks (?), quotation marks (“), numbers, at symbols (@), plus signs (+)
includes or resembles an official title or rank—for example Duchess, Sergeant, Doctor, MP (Member of Parliament)
is a statement—for example, Save Mother Earth
is a political slogan
is otherwise contrary to the public interest.
The prohibited name policy includes detailed advice about what kinds of names are prohibited.
If your baby was delivered before 20 weeks, or if the number of weeks is unknown and your baby weighed less than 400g, we cannot register the birth. However, you can commemorate your family's loss with an early pregnancy loss recognition certificate.
How to apply
To register your baby's birth and buy a birth certificate (optional), choose whether you:
will do it online
can't do it online.
If you don't have access to a printer to print the birth registration and birth certificate application forms, contact us or visit us in person.
Do it online
To register online (which is free), simply fill in the online birth registration form. You may also choose to order and pay for a certificate at the same time. There are 2 submission options when you complete the online birth registration form:
Electronic signature
Paper submission
Make sure you only complete the registration form once. We will process the first registration application that you submit.
If you choose to order a birth certificate when you register your baby’s birth (you can do this online), we will post the certificate to you as soon as the registration has been processed.
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To sign the registration electronically, you will need your wallet or purse to help you verify your identity.
When you have completed the steps to verify your identity this is your electronic signature for the online submission of your child’s birth registration.
You will not need to download and print a paper form if you sign electronically.
If you do not order a certificate when you register your baby’s birth you will need to provide proof of ID in the future to get a birth certificate
If you can't verify your identity online (or don't want to), download the completed form. To complete the registration process, you will need to:
Print the completed registration form.
Have both parents complete and sign the declaration section of the form, and another adult (18 or older) witness your signatures.
Processing your baby’s registration form can take up to 10 business days. If you order a birth certificate when you register your baby’s birth, we will post the certificate to you as soon as the birth registration has been processed.
Urgent processing of a registration is not available when registering your baby. We do suggest secure certificate delivery services if you order a birth certificate.
Pay the fee
When ordering a certificate, the total cost is calculated when you fill in the application form online.
You can pay:
online
by credit card (Visa or MasterCard)
at the customer service centre
by EFTPOS or credit card
with a business account cheque
with a bank cheque
with a money order
through the mail
within Australia
by credit card
with a business account cheque
with a bank cheque
with a money order
from overseas
by credit card.
We will accept cash at the customer service centre but prefer contactless payments such as EFTPOS or credit card.
We do not accept personal cheques or cheques issued from outside Australia (in any currency).
Make Australian-drawn cheques and money orders payable to 'Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages'.
Application fees
Item
Cost
Registering a birth before baby is 8 weeks (before 60 days)
Free
Commemorative birth certificate package (1 official birth certificate and standard postage included)
$70.70
Official birth certificate (standard postage included)
$54.40
Need help in your language?
To help parents whose first language is not English our birth registration flyer has been translated into 6 languages:
