Passports, citizenship and identity

  • Get or renew a New Zealand passport

  • Proving and protecting your identity

    • Order a birth certificate

      New Zealand birth certificates are a record of birth. You can order a birth certificate online. It costs $33 for a standard certificate.

    • Get a marriage certificate

      Your New Zealand marriage or civil union certificate is an official record of your marriage. It costs $33 to get one sent to you.

    • Get a death certificate

      You might need a death certificate if you're administering someone's estate or applying for a funeral grant from Work and Income or ACC.

    • Name change certificate

      A name change certificate is official evidence of a name change. You can order online and it costs $33.

    • Access to your birth, marriage and name change records

      Birth, death, marriage, civil union and name change records are a public register — anyone can generally request copies of someone's information. You can see who's accessed your records since 2009 or block access to them if your safety is at risk.

    • Translating official documents

      If you need a document translated into English or another language, you can organise the translation yourself or use the Department of Internal Affairs Translation Service.

    • Use your NZ documents overseas

      To use a document overseas it may need to be apostilled or authenticated. Apostilles and authentications are certificates that prove the signature, stamp or seal on a document is genuine.

    • Use RealMe to prove your identity online

      Use RealMe to prove who you are online and securely access many government and private sector services online.

    • BDM service timeframes

      Check this page regularly for up-to-date BDM processing times.

  • New Zealand citizenship

  • Changing your name

    • Change your own name

      You can change your own name in New Zealand if you’re 18 or over and a citizen or entitled to live here indefinitely. If you're 16 or 17, you can apply with your guardians' consent.

    • Change your child's name

      You can change your child’s name in New Zealand if they are 15 or under and a citizen or entitled to live here indefinitely. Once your child is 16, they can apply themselves with your consent.

    • Change your name on your driver licence

      If you legally change your name, you don't have to replace your driver licence — but you can if you want to. You'll need to provide an original document that shows the change.

    • Change your name in your passport

      If you want to change the name in your passport, you’ll need to apply for a new one. The name in your passport must be your officially registered name.

  • Changing your gender

    • Change the registered sex on your birth certificate

      To change the sex marker on your birth certificate, you must complete a statutory declaration and apply to Births, Deaths and Marriages.

    • Choose the gender on your citizenship record

      If your gender is different to the one on your birth certificate, you can ask for your citizenship certificate to show your new gender (if you have not yet applied for citizenship), or request an evidentiary certificate (if you have been granted citizenship).

    • Change your gender on your official ID

      If you’ve changed your gender, or if your gender has been wrongly recorded, you can update your official identification. You can record your gender as M (male), F (female) or X (gender diverse).