Documents and ID in Newfoundland and Labrador: birth certificate and change of name

Who issues birth certificates in Newfoundland and Labrador, how to order one, how a legal change of name works and what to update afterwards.

Who issues your documents

Birth, marriage and death certificates and legal changes of name in Newfoundland and Labrador are handled by Vital Statistics Division (Digital Government and Service NL). It can only issue documents for events registered in Newfoundland and Labrador: for a birth, marriage or death elsewhere, order from the province or territory where it happened.

Order a birth certificate

Apply online, by mail or in person. A legal change of name requires a certified criminal record check and is generally published in the Newfoundland and Labrador Gazette; changing the name on a driver's licence is done in person at a Motor Registration office.

Ask for the long form (it shows your parents) if the certificate is for a passport, immigration or citizenship file: the short form is often not enough.
Order well before you travel or apply: processing times vary and can be long. Rush options exist in some provinces.
Have the person's full name, date and place of birth, and their parents' names ready, exactly as they were registered.
You will need to prove who you are; only certain people can apply (the person, a parent, a guardian or an authorized representative).

Official page: birth certificates ↗

Change your name

Marriage or divorce: in most provinces you can start using your spouse's surname, or go back to your birth surname, without a legal change of name: you show the marriage certificate or divorce papers. Check your province's page.
Any other change is a legal change of name made through the province's vital statistics office. Many provinces now require a criminal record check, often with fingerprints, and some publish the change in a government gazette.
Residency rules, minimum ages, consent for children and fees are set by each province: use the official page and plan for several weeks or months.

Official page: change of name ↗

After a name change: update the rest

Social insurance number record, then the CRA and Service Canada (see our SIN guide).
Passport (see our passport guide), health card and driver's licence.
Bank, employer, insurers, landlord and online accounts (see government online accounts).

Moving to Newfoundland and Labrador from another province? See our moving checklist and the moving page for Newfoundland and Labrador.

Procedures only: fees, forms and waiting times change, so each official page above is the authority. Quebec has its own rules: see AtlasQuébec.

Documents and ID in Newfoundland and Labrador: birth certificate and change of name

Who issues your documents

Order a birth certificate

Change your name

After a name change: update the rest

Guides for this province