Birth Information

Register a Birth

Who can register a birth?

  • The mother of the child;
  • If the mother is incapable, the father of the child;
  • where either parent is incapable, the other parent;
  • where both parents are incapable, the person standing in the place of the parents
  • if there is no person to whom the above apply, the occupier of the premises in which the child was born i.e. hospital, health centre, etc.

How to register a birth?

To register a birth:

  • Both the mother and father must complete and sign the Birth Registration Statement. 
  • The child’s name must be written entirely in characters of the Roman alphabet. If identifiers such as Junior, Jr., II or III are included in either the given name(s) or surname of the child, it will become part of their legal name. A child’s surname can contain no more than two names hyphenated or combined. 
  • The rules for choosing a surname must be followed.
  • If the birth occurs in a hospital, the hospital requires the completion of the Birth Registration Statement form before the mother is discharged.  If this does not happen, the staff will complete and submit one on behalf of the parents. 

Note: If the birth does not occur in a hospital, the Mother and/or Father must contact the Health Services Administration office on steps to register the child.

  • Once the Registrar General of Vital Statistics receives the Birth Registration Statement form, the information is checked and verified. Any missing or incorrect information is followed up with the appropriate parties (i.e. mother, father and/or hospital) for correction. The completed registration is entered into a computer database and the hardcopy registration is permanently filed. 
  • The Registrar General of Vital Statistics does not send notification of receipt of the Birth Registration Statement. However, if child is 'unnamed' or father or other parent was not available to sign the original Birth Registration Statement, then a follow-up letter will be written with required statutory declarations.
  • The information collected on the Birth Registration Statement is collected under the authority of the Vital Statistics Act. The information provided is necessary to register the birth, produce certificates and provide statistical and demographic information.

Birth registration is needed to create a permanent record of a person’s birth and to order a Birth Certificate.

Prerequisites

All births that occur in the NWT must be registered with the Government of the Northwest Territories within 30 days of birth.

Forms

  • Birth Registration Statement
    Available at hospital at time of birth or if birth occurs outside of hospital/health centre, parent must request it from Registrar General of Vital Statistics, Health Services Administration Office.

Fees

  • There is no fee to register a birth within one year of the date of birth.

Contact this Service

Phone: 1-800-661-0830 (toll free)

Email: hsa@gov.nt.ca

Hours: 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM (Monday to Friday, closed statutory holidays)

Sending the Completed Form…

If this form is not collected by staff before you leave the hospital/health centre, you must send the completed form within 30 days of the birth of your child to:

Registrar General of Vital Statistics
Health Services Administration Office
Bag #9
Inuvik, NT X0E 0T0

Note: If the birth does not occur in a hospital, please contact the Health Services Administration office on steps to register the child. The completed form must be sent to the Health Services Administration office within 30 days of the birth of your child.

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