Who can apply?

In Western Australia, historical certificates are available to:

• Anyone (16 years of age or over) for births 100 years old or more;
• Anyone (16 years of age or over) for deaths 30 years old or more;
• Anyone (16 years of age or over) for marriages 75 years old or more.

In recognition of the fact that the fraudulent use of certificates reduces with the age of the record, the identification requirements are not required for the historical certificates stated above.

More recent certificates held by the Registry contain sensitive and personal information and are restricted to eligible people only.  

A person must be at least 16 years of age to apply for a certificate and must provide their identification.

If you are not an eligible applicant you must provide the written consent or authority from an eligible person and you must also provide identification for yourself and that person (see Letter of Authority download on this page).

Please refer to the Registry's access policies for a full list of eligible applicants:

• Birth Certificate Access Policy 
• Death Certificate Access Policy 
• Marriage Certificate Access Policy 
• Change of Name Certificate Access Policy

Last Updated: 30-Aug-2012