How to Apply for an Alberta Birth Certificate: Cost and Timing

To apply for an Alberta birth certificate, complete the Application for Birth Documents (form DVS11163B) and submit it with original government-issued photo ID and payment through an authorized Alberta registry agent. The government fee is $20 per document, plus a service fee that varies by agent, and Vital Statistics processes a correctly completed application in about three business days.¹ You cannot send applications directly to Vital Statistics — they must come through an agent or an authorized mail-in service.²

Pick the Right Certificate Type First

Alberta issues one physical certificate, but in three levels of detail. Check with whoever is asking for the certificate before you order, because the wrong version means starting over.

Personal Information Only shows the person’s full name, date of birth, place of birth, sex, registration number, registration date, and date issued. This is the version most commonly used for general identification.
Personal Information and Parentage adds the names and birthplaces of the parent(s). Some passport offices and citizenship applications require this version.
Photocopy of a Registration of Birth is a photocopy of the original paper registration. It cannot be used for identification and is generally requested for genealogy, court proceedings, or consulate requirements.

All three reflect any amendments made to the original registration since the birth was recorded.¹

Who Can Apply

Alberta restricts who can order a birth certificate, and the registry agent verifies eligibility before processing anything. You can apply if you are:

The person named on the record, once you are at least 12 years old.
A parent named on the birth record. If parentage was established by court order rather than through the original registration, attach a copy of that order.
A guardian or trustee named in the guardianship or trusteeship document, with a copy of that document attached.
A person holding power of attorney that names you specifically, with a copy of the power of attorney attached.
A person named as an agent under a personal directive, with a copy of the directive attached.
A person named in an Alberta court order that explicitly states you are eligible to apply.

Any time you are not the person on the certificate, the supporting legal document has to travel with the application.¹

If the person on the record has been deceased fewer than 50 years, the same eligibility rules apply, and the certificate carries a “Deceased” notation. Records for deaths 50 or more years ago are handled by the Provincial Archives of Alberta instead.¹

What to Gather Before You Apply

Have everything ready before you walk into a registry agent or mail your package. One missing item sends the application back.

Details for the Form

The application asks for the full legal name, date of birth, place of birth, and sex of the person on the record. For a certificate with parentage, you also need the parents’ names and birthplaces, and for the mother, her maiden (birth) last name.³ You can download form DVS11163B from Alberta’s Central Form Repository or pick one up at a registry agent.

Photo ID

Bring original government-issued photo ID. Photocopies and faxes are not accepted for in-person applications. Your ID must:

Be issued by a provincial, territorial, or federal government of Canada, or by a comparable authority in another country.
Show your photo, your first and last name, and a distinct ID number.
Be unexpired, or if it has no expiry date, have been issued within the last five years.

A driver’s licence, passport, or permanent resident card each meet these requirements.²

No valid photo ID? You can appoint a designated agent to apply for you. That person then becomes the applicant and has to meet the ID requirements themselves.³

How to Submit the Application

There are three routes. Which one fits depends on where you are and, for online, how recently the birth was registered.

In Person at a Registry Agent

If you are in Alberta, this is the standard route. Bring the completed form and your original photo ID to any authorized registry agent. The agent verifies your identity, witnesses your signature, and forwards the application to Vital Statistics.²

Online Through Alberta eServices

This route is only for new births registered online within the last year. At eservices.alberta.ca, sign in with an Alberta.ca account and enter the tracking number issued when you submitted the online birth registration. The tracking number is single-use and expires after one year. If the birth was not registered online, you cannot use eServices and will need to go through a registry agent.⁴

By Mail from Outside Alberta

Two services handle out-of-province applications: Registry Connect Co-op (open to anyone) at Suite 207, 236 91 Street SW, Edmonton, AB T6X 1W8, and the Alberta Motor Association (AMA members only).

With the DVS11163B form, you also complete a Statutory Declaration for Proof of Identity (form DVS3512). The statutory declaration has to be signed in person before a Commissioner for Oaths in Canada, or a Notary Public inside or outside Canada. Remote or virtual notarization is not accepted. The Notary or Commissioner examines your original photo ID, fills in the questions on the form, and signs it. Mail the original signed declaration — Vital Statistics rejects photocopied, faxed, or emailed versions.³

Sending a courier package into Canada? Declare the contents as “Documents” and keep the declared value at or below $1.00. Higher declared values can trigger customs and brokerage fees, and the package will be rejected.³

What It Costs

The government fee is $20 per document. Everything above that is service fees.¹

Registry agents in Alberta set their own service fees, so the in-person total varies. Online orders through Alberta eServices are $40 all-in.⁴

Registry Connect’s standard out-of-province service is $40 per document (government fee plus service fee). Two rush options are available:

Gold Service: $40 per document, plus a $35 rush processing fee, plus a courier fee that depends on destination. Return by trackable courier.
Silver Service: $40 per document, plus a $35 rush processing fee. Return by regular, non-trackable Canada Post mail.

Registry Connect accepts Visa, Mastercard (including debit versions), and Discover online, or certified cheques and money orders in Canadian funds.³

How Long It Takes

Once Vital Statistics has a complete, correct application, processing takes about three business days. Mailing time in either direction is on top of that.¹ AMA estimates total delivery at seven to ten days from the time you submit.⁵

Standard return is by regular Canada Post mail with no tracking. For a trackable return, AMA suggests Xpresspost or a courier.⁵ Registry Connect’s Gold tier includes courier return with a tracking number. If your application has errors or details that don’t match the record, Vital Statistics will contact you and the clock pauses until it is resolved.

If the Birth Record Has an Error

If a name is misspelled, a date is wrong, or another detail is off, ordering another certificate won’t fix it — you have to request an amendment to the underlying registration. The corrected information then flows through to any certificate issued afterward.

Fill out the Vital Statistics amendment request form on Alberta.ca. Within five business days, Vital Statistics will contact you to explain the evidence required, any fees, and to send you an affidavit to sign. Inside Canada, sign the affidavit before a Commissioner for Oaths or Notary Public; outside Canada, before a Notary Public or equivalent.⁶

The amendment fee is $20, payable by cheque, money order, or credit card. There is no fee if you catch the error within 90 days of the birth. Alberta has restrictions on personal names, so not every requested change will be approved. If the birth was registered outside Alberta, contact the jurisdiction where it occurred — Alberta cannot amend another province’s or country’s record.⁶

1
Alberta.ca. Order a Birth Certificate or Document
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Alberta.ca. ID Requirements for Vital Statistics Services
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Registry Connect Co-op. Birth Certificates for Non-residents of Alberta
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Alberta eServices. Birth Certificates
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Alberta Motor Association. Alberta Birth Certificate Applications and Replacement
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Alberta.ca. Correct a Birth, Marriage, Death or Stillbirth Record