Western Australia Birth, Death and Marriage Certificates: Fees, Eligibility and How to Apply

Western Australia's Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, part of the Department of Justice, issues birth, death and marriage certificates under the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1998 (WA), charging $60 for a standard certificate of any type as of the Registry's 1 July 2026 fee update.

This page is one of eight state guides in our Australian birth, death and marriage certificates hub.

The Registry and Western Australia's Governing Act

The Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages sits within the WA Department of Justice. Its governing law is the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1998 (WA), current in the consolidated version dated as at 18 December 2025. The Registry's older content pages have moved; its current service pages sit under wa.gov.au rather than the Registry's own former domain, and applications go through the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages Online portal.

Two changes affecting this Act were confirmed within the 2024 to 2026 window. The Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Amendment (Sex or Gender Changes) Act 2024 (No. 31 of 2024) was assented on 26 September 2024 and its main provisions took effect on 30 May 2025, reforming how a person's registered sex or gender is changed. Separately, the Assisted Reproductive Technology and Surrogacy Act 2025 (No. 19 of 2025) amends the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act through its own Part 15, but that part had not yet been proclaimed as of the 18 December 2025 consolidation, so its specific effect on birth registration was not confirmed at the time of writing.

Certificate Fees

All figures below come from the Registry's certificate pages, each carrying a last updated date of 1 July 2026, accessed 18 August 2026.

A standard birth, death and marriage certificate all cost exactly the same amount in Western Australia, $60. The Registry's pages list a Commemorative Birth Certificate but no separate commemorative option for a death or marriage certificate.

Who Can Apply

Eligibility is set by category rather than a single rule, and is broadly consistent across the three certificate types. Common eligible applicants include the person named on the certificate, once 18 or older (a person under 18 needs parental or guardian consent); a parent, for a child's birth certificate; a spouse or de facto partner; other close relatives, which vary by certificate type; a legal guardian; an executor or administrator of a deceased person's estate, for a death certificate; a solicitor acting for an eligible applicant with written authorisation; and government agencies or courts. Each category has its own supporting document requirements set out on the Registry's ordering pages, so an applicant unsure which category applies should confirm directly with the Registry.

Proof of Identity

Western Australia does not describe its identity requirements as a points system. Applicants must supply one of three combinations: one document from List 1, one from List 2 and one from List 3, with at least one containing a photograph; one from List 1 plus two from List 2, with at least one containing a photograph; or two from List 2 plus one from List 3, with at least one containing a signature.

List 1 links a photo to a signature, and includes a WA driver's licence, passport or citizenship certificate. List 2 shows evidence of operating in the community, and includes financial institution cards, a birth certificate, a Centrelink card, a Medicare card or a student ID. List 3 is proof of residency, and includes a utility bill, property lease, vehicle registration or rates notice, generally issued within roughly the last six to twelve months per the Registry's published list.

How to Apply and Processing Times

Applications can be lodged online through the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages Online portal, in person at the Registry's Perth office or at court locations across regional WA, or by post to PO Box 7720, Cloisters Square, Perth WA 6850. The Registry does not accept emailed or faxed applications.

Two different steps carry two different sets of published timeframes, and the Registry's own pages do not fully agree with each other on one of them. Registering the underlying birth, death or marriage event is a separate, earlier step from ordering a certificate of an event already registered:

• Registering a birth: the Registry's birth certificate service page states to allow 28 business days, while the Registry's separate service standards page states a minimum of 15 business days. Both are current, official figures, and this article states both rather than resolving the gap between them.
• Registering a death: the service standards page states within 3 business days.
• Issuing a certificate, once the event is already registered: up to 2 working days plus regular postal delivery time, for birth, death or marriage certificates alike.
• Priority service: processed within 24 hours of receipt, for the extra $44 fee.

Registering a Birth

Section 12 of the Act requires the responsible person, generally the attending hospital's chief executive or delegate, or the doctor or midwife who cared for the mother, to notify the registrar of the birth within one month, with a $1,000 penalty for failing to do so. Section 15 makes both parents jointly responsible for having the birth registered, with exceptions letting one parent apply alone in certain circumstances, such as the other parent's death, disappearance, illness or unavailability. Section 16 requires the birth registration statement itself to be lodged within 60 days of the birth, again carrying a $1,000 penalty for failing to comply. Under section 16(2), the registrar must still accept a statement lodged after that 60 day window; only the penalty attaches to the lateness, and a late statement is not barred from registration.

Registering a Death

Section 42 of the Act requires the funeral director, or the person otherwise arranging disposal of the deceased's remains, to notify the registrar and provide the certificate of cause of death within 14 days of the date of death, the date the body is found, or the date the body is placed, whichever is relevant to the case. Failing to do so carries a $1,000 penalty.

The Registry's own death certificate page describes this 14 day clock as running from the date of the funeral service, but that trigger does not appear anywhere in the Act's own text, which names only date of death, date the body is found, and date the body is placed. Because a funeral can be scheduled well after a death, particularly where the body is released later by a coroner, this article treats the Act's wording as controlling rather than the page's simplified description. Section 44 separately requires the doctor who treated or examined the deceased to certify the cause of death within 48 hours, unless the death must instead be reported to the coroner under the Coroners Act 1996. A death certificate ordered from the Registry is a standard supporting document for a Western Australia probate application; see the Western Australia probate guide for what an executor needs it for.

Historical Records and Closed Periods

The Registry's family history page opens historical records to anyone 16 or older, with reduced identity requirements, once a record passes a set age: births at 100 years or more, deaths at 30 years or more, and marriages at 75 years or more. The Registry's stated reason is that the risk of fraudulent use of a certificate falls as a record ages.

This access threshold is a different mechanism from the $39 reduced certificate fee described above, which uses a uniform 75 year cutoff across birth, death and marriage records regardless of type. A birth record becomes eligible for the reduced fee at 75 years old but does not become openly searchable by any member of the public until it reaches 100 years, so the two thresholds should not be treated as the same rule.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Act governs birth, death and marriage certificates in Western Australia?

The Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1998 (WA), in the consolidated version current as at 18 December 2025. The Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, part of the WA Department of Justice, administers it.

How much does a WA birth, death or marriage certificate cost?

$60 for a standard certificate of any of the three types, per the Registry's certificate pages, last updated 1 July 2026. A reduced fee certificate for a record registered 75 or more years ago costs $39, and a priority service adds $44 to the certificate fee.

How long do I have to register a birth in Western Australia?

The parents must have the birth registration statement lodged within 60 days of the birth, under section 16 of the Act. The registrar must still accept a statement lodged after that window; the penalty attaches to the lateness itself, not to registering late.

When must a death be notified to the WA registrar?

Within 14 days of the date of death, the date the body is found, or the date the body is placed, whichever applies, under section 42 of the Act. This differs from wording on the Registry's own death certificate page, which describes the clock as starting from the funeral service, a trigger that does not appear in the Act's text.

How long does it take to register a birth in Western Australia?

Two different figures appear on the Registry's own official pages: the birth certificate service page states 28 business days, while the separate service standards page states a minimum of 15 business days. Both are current published figures, and this discrepancy has not been resolved by a further primary source.

Does Western Australia use a points system for proof of identity?

No. The Registry uses a three list document system covering photo identification, evidence of operating in the community, and proof of residency, and applicants must supply a specific combination across those lists rather than reach a points total.

When do WA vital records become open to public search?

Birth records become searchable by anyone at 100 years or more, death records at 30 years or more, and marriage records at 75 years or more, per the Registry's family history page. This is a different threshold from the 75 year cutoff used for the reduced certificate fee, so a record can qualify for the reduced fee well before it becomes openly searchable.