Birth Certificate Fees, by Country
Australia's A$70 is the most expensive standard birth certificate in this table; getting one costs nothing at all in Spain and France. Figures are each country's own currency, at face value, not converted to a common currency.
Last updated 2 November 2026.
A birth certificate is one of the most frequently requested official documents in the world — needed to get a passport, register a marriage, apply for a driving licence, or prove identity for almost any other government process. This table prices the standard certified copy for an adult requesting their own record, via the normal domestic route.
Figures are each country's own currency, at face value, not converted to a common currency — see the methodology section for why a face-value ranking isn't a precise cost ranking once exchange rates are applied.
| Source | ||
|---|---|---|
🇨🇿 Czech RepublicRodný list, certified copy issued after the initial registration, via the national government services portal. A multilingual EU-standard form costs a further 100 Kč. | 300 Kč | [12] |
🇦🇺 AustraliaNew South Wales, standard service (includes A$11 postage and handling), about 3 weeks. Priority service costs A$105. | A$70 | [5] |
🇦🇪 United Arab EmiratesEstimateArabic-language certificate, Ministry of Health and Prevention; a further AED 65 if an English-language certificate is also requested. MOHAP's own domain blocked direct access; figure corroborated across three independent citations of the same official infographic, not independently read. | AED 65 | [11] |
🇸🇬 SingaporeDigital birth extract, Singapore's standard certified format since March 2023, issued by the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority. A separate record-search fee applies if the applicant lacks the birth record reference number. | S$40 | [6] |
🇳🇿 New ZealandStandard certificate, Department of Internal Affairs. A decorative certificate also costs NZ$35; a standard-plus-decorative bundle is NZ$55. | NZ$35 | [14] |
🇺🇸 United StatesEstimateCalifornia, certified copy, effective 1 January 2026 (up from $29 under Assembly Bill 64). Ordering online through a third-party processor (e.g. VitalChek) adds a separate ~$13 service fee on top, not included here. | $31 | [3] |
🇨🇦 CanadaOntario, standard birth certificate (an adult's first request). CA$35 for a replacement of a certificate already issued; a further CA$15 rush surcharge applies for 2-business-day service. | CA$25 | [4] |
🇵🇱 PolandOdpis skrócony (abbreviated copy), the standard form used for most purposes, set nationally as stamp duty. Fee-free when specifically needed for an ID card or passport application. The fuller odpis zupełny costs 33 zł. | 22 zł | [8] |
🇮🇪 IrelandFull standard birth certificate, ordered via the General Register Office's HSE-operated service. A cheaper €5 uncertified copy also exists but isn't accepted for most official applications. | €20 | [7] |
🇬🇧 United KingdomEngland & Wales, standard (non-priority) certified copy from the General Register Office, 4-day turnaround. Priority next-day service costs £38.50. | £12.50 | [2] |
🇩🇪 GermanyBerlin: certified copy from the birth register (beglaubigte Abschrift aus dem Geburtsregister). Set municipally, not nationally — other German cities charge €12–€20 for the same document. Fee-free if needed for pension/social-insurance purposes. | €12 | [1] |
🇸🇰 SlovakiaAny extract after the first (which is issued free at registration) — the scenario an adult requesting their own certificate later actually faces. Set nationally under Act No. 145/1995 Z.z. | €7 | [13] |
🇫🇷 FranceRequesting a copy or extract of a birth certificate (acte de naissance) is free in all cases — confirmed directly against the official government portal, which likewise warns against commercial sites that charge for the same free service. | Free | [10] |
🇪🇸 SpainAll Registro Civil certificates are free by law in Spain — confirmed directly against the Ministry of Justice's own page, which explicitly warns that third-party websites charging for this service aren't official. | Free | [9] |
What's included: the official government fee for a standard certified copy of a birth certificate, for an adult requesting their own record, via the normal domestic civil registry route, at standard (non-expedited) processing speed.
What's excluded: expedited/priority processing surcharges, apostille or legalisation fees, international postage, and any fee charged by a third-party document-service company (several countries explicitly warn against these resellers on their own official pages, since they charge for a service the government itself often provides free or far cheaper).
Sub-national jurisdictions. Germany, the US, Canada and Australia set this fee at the municipal, state or provincial level, not nationally. This table uses Berlin (Germany), California (US), Ontario (Canada) and New South Wales (Australia) — the same convention this site uses elsewhere for sub-national fees. A different city, state or province will charge a different fee.
Why Spain and France show €0. Both confirmed directly: Spanish and French law make a civil-registry birth certificate free of charge in every case, a genuine policy choice rather than a data gap. Both governments' own pages explicitly warn against commercial websites that charge for the same free service.
Limits of this comparison. Figures are each country's own currency, face value, with no FX conversion — treat a 'cheapest/most expensive' ranking as directional, not exact, once exchange rates are applied.
Which countries issue a birth certificate for free?
Spain and France both charge nothing for a standard civil-registry birth certificate — confirmed directly against each government's own page, which both explicitly warn against third-party websites that charge a fee for the same free service.
Why is Australia the most expensive in this table?
New South Wales's A$70 standard fee (including A$11 postage) is the highest face-value figure here. It isn't an outlier for a bad reason — Australian states set their own civil-registry fees, and NSW's has risen in recent fee reviews, consistent with the state's other registry fees.
Does this include the fee from sites like VitalChek or similar document-ordering services?
No. Several of this table's sources explicitly warn that third-party processors charge their own fee on top of (or instead of) the real government fee — often significantly more. Only the fee paid directly to the government body is priced here.
Why are the US and UAE marked as estimates?
Both official domains (California's health department and the UAE's Ministry of Health and Prevention) blocked direct access across two separate research attempts. Both figures are still well-supported — California's via the state's own published fee schedule confirmed by multiple counties, and the UAE's via three independent citations of the same official infographic — just not read directly from the primary page ourselves.
Passport Fees by Country
Another official identity-document cost — a birth certificate is often required to apply.
Marriage Fees by Country
Another official government document fee, often requiring a birth certificate as supporting evidence.
Driving Licence Fees by Country
Another official government document fee, from the same sourcing standard.
Notary Fees by Country
What it costs to certify a signature, often needed alongside other official documents.
- 1Geburtsurkunde beantragen
Service Berlin (Standesamt)
Beglaubigte Abschrift aus dem Geburtsregister: €12.00. Fetched and read directly 2 November 2026.
- 2Order a copy of a birth, death, marriage or civil partnership certificate
GOV.UK (General Register Office)
Standard certificate: £12.50, 4-day turnaround. Priority service: £38.50. Fetched and read directly 2 November 2026.
- 3Vital Records Fees
California Department of Public Health (CDPH)
Certified birth copy: $31, effective 1 January 2026 under Assembly Bill 64 (Chapter 662, Statutes of 2025), up from $29. cdph.ca.gov blocked direct access (HTTP 503) across repeated attempts; figure corroborated via the department's own fee-schedule notice and confirmed by multiple California counties (Fresno, Merced), not independently read. Checked 2 November 2026.
- 4Ontario Regulation 511/01 — Vital Statistics Act, General, s. 3
Government of Ontario (e-Laws)
Birth certificate: CA$25. Replacement birth certificate: CA$35. Fetched and read directly 2 November 2026.
- 5Birth certificates
NSW Government, Registry of Births Deaths & Marriages
Standard birth certificate (incl. $11 postage and handling): A$70. Priority service: A$105. Fetched and read directly 2 November 2026.
- 6Apply for a Digital Birth Extract
Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA), Singapore
Application fee: S$40. Fetched and read directly 2 November 2026.
- 7Order a birth certificate
Health Service Executive (HSE), on behalf of the General Register Office
Full standard birth certificate: €20. Fetched and read directly 2 November 2026.
- 8Wydanie odpisu zupełnego lub skróconego aktu stanu cywilnego
City of Warsaw (warszawa19115.pl, official municipal government portal)
Odpis skrócony (national stamp duty): 22 PLN. Odpis zupełny: 33 PLN. Fee-free for ID/passport-application purposes. Fetched and read directly 2 November 2026.
- 9Registro Civil
Ministerio de Justicia
"Las certificaciones del Registro Civil son gratuitas y no están sometidas a ninguna tasa o derecho." Fetched and read directly 2 November 2026.
- 10Acte de naissance : comment l'obtenir ?
Service-public.fr (Ministère de la Justice)
"Dans tous les cas, la demande d'un acte de naissance est gratuite." Fetched and read directly 2 November 2026.
- 11Issue of a Birth Certificate
Ministry of Health and Prevention (MOHAP), United Arab Emirates
AED 65 for an Arabic certificate; a further AED 65 for an English certificate if requested. mohap.gov.ae blocked direct access (HTTP 503) across repeated attempts; figure corroborated via three independent citations of the same official MOHAP infographic (including the replacement-certificate service page), not independently read. Checked 2 November 2026.
- 12Vydání matričního dokladu — rodný list
Government of the Czech Republic (portal.gov.cz)
Certified copy: 300 CZK. Multilingual EU-standard form: a further 100 CZK. Fetched and read directly 2 November 2026.
- 13Sadzobník správnych poplatkov, Položka 2(b) (Zákon č. 145/1995 Z.z.)
Municipality of Vinodol (official reproduction of the national fee schedule), effective 1 January 2026
Any extract after the first official one (issued free at registration): €7.00. Fetched and read directly 2 November 2026.
- 14Order a birth certificate
Govt.nz (Department of Internal Affairs)
Standard certificate: NZ$35. Standard + decorative bundle: NZ$55. Fetched and read directly 2 November 2026.