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New Zealand Legislation: Acts

Acts are laws made by Parliament

Reprint as at 1 November 2008

Births, Deaths, and Marriages Registration Act 1995

Public Act	1995 No 16
Date of assent	31 March 1995

Note

Changes authorised by section 17C of the Acts and Regulations Publication Act 1989 have been made in this eprint.

A general outline of these changes is set out in the notes at the end of this eprint, together with other explanatory material about this eprint.

This Act is administered in the Department of Internal Affairs.

Contents

1 Short Title and commencement

Part 1
Preliminary

2 Interpretation

3 Act binds the Crown

4 Notice of births

5 Births in New Zealand to be notified and registered

6 Births outside New Zealand

8 Births on New Zealand aircraft or ships

9 Persons responsible for notifying Registrar of birth

10 Other person may be authorised to notify

11 Manner of notification of birth

12 Registration of births

12A Record of citizenship

13 Registration of certain still-births

14 Maori custom marriages

15 Particulars of father where not married to, or in civil union or de facto relationship with, mother

16 Registration of births notified late

17 Parents who marry or enter into civil union after birth of child may have particulars of marriage or civil union recorded

18 Acceptance of names

19 Names to be specified when birth notified

20 Guardians may change child's names within 2 years of birth

21 Changes of name generally

22 Registrar-General to give effect to decisions under Care of Children Act 2004

Part 4
Adoptions

23 Registrar-General to be notified of New Zealand adoptions

24 Registration of New Zealand adoptions

25 Registration of overseas adoptions

26 Registrar-General may supply adoption information to registration authorities overseas

27 Variation or discharge of adoption order

Part 5
Declarations of Family Court as to sex

28 Declarations of Family Court as to sex to be shown on birth certificates issued for adults

29 Declarations of Family Court as to appropriate gender identity for children

30 Registrar-General may add information to registration of birth

31 Registrar-General may delete information where procedures not completed

32 Other powers not affected

33 New information not to affect general law

34 Deaths in New Zealand to be notified and registered

35 Deaths outside New Zealand

36 Deaths on New Zealand aircraft or ships

37 Medical certificates in relation to illness

38 Medical certificates in relation to accidents to elderly persons

39 Bodies to be disposed of within reasonable time

40 Transfer of charge of body

41 Medical certificate or coroner's order to be obtained before body disposed of

42 Registrar to be notified when body disposed of or removed

43 Notification of death where Court gives leave to swear to death

44 Notification of death reported to coroner where body destroyed or irrecoverable

45 Notification of death reported to coroner in other cases

46 Other person may be authorised to notify

47 Manner of notification of death

48 Time within which death to be notified

49 Registrars to register deaths

50 Register of deaths of certain service personnel

51 Registrar to be notified when disinterred body disposed of or removed

52 Deposit with Registrar-General of death certificates issued outside New Zealand

Part 7
Marriages

53 Marriages in New Zealand to be registered

54 Marriages outside New Zealand

55 Marriage information to be sent to Registrar

56 Registrars to register marriages

57 Registrar-General may register certain marriages

58 Overseas ceremony where New Zealand representative attends

59 Dissolutions to be recorded

60 Convictions for bigamy to be recorded

61 Celebrants and Registrars to be notified

62 Recording new names in relation to marriages

Part 7A
Civil unions

62A Civil unions under Civil Union Act 2004 to be registered

62B Civil unions solemnised by celebrant

62C Registrars to register civil unions

62D Change to form of relationship to be recorded

62E Dissolutions to be recorded

62F Convictions for bigamy to be recorded

62G Recording new names in relation to civil unions

Part 8
Certificates

63 Birth certificates for adopted persons

64 Birth certificates after sexual assignment or reassignment

65 Protection of certain witnesses, etc

66 Birth certificates where error in birth registration corrected

67 Birth certificates generally

68 Surnames on certain birth certificates

69 Death certificates

70 Marriage certificates

70A Civil union certificates

71 Certificates to be prima facie evidence

72 Fees for certificates

Part 9
Searches

73 Searches of Registrars' records

74 Registrar-General's indexes

75 Searches to be made in respect of named persons only

76 Restrictions on searches relating to adopted persons

77 Restrictions on searches where error relating to person's sex has been corrected or sexual assignment or reassignment has been registered

78 Restrictions on searches relating to new names of certain witnesses, etc

78A Disclosure of birth information, death information, marriage information, and civil union information to certain specified agencies for certain purposes

Part 10
Registrar-General and Registrars

79 Registrar-General

80 Deputy Registrar-General

Part 11
Miscellaneous provisions

82 Registrars may decline to record certain information

83 No information to be recorded or altered except in accordance with Act

84 Correction of errors

85 Family Court may consider proposed corrections in cases of difficulty or dispute

86 Entries relating to illegitimate children

87 Statutory declarations

89 Offences and penalties

90 No prosecution without authority of Registrar-General

Amendments to Marriage Act 1955

92 Interpretation

93 Issue of marriage licence and information return

94 Validity of service marriages

Consequential amendments and repeals

95 Consequential amendments

Schedule 1A
Disclosure of information to specified agencies

Schedule 1
Consequential amendments

Schedule 2
Enactments repealed

An Act to provide for—

(a) The recording of information relating to births, citizenship by birth, names, adoptions, sexual assignment and reassignment, deaths, marriages, and civil unions; and

(b) Access to information recorded in respect of any such matter; and

(c) The provision and effect of certificates relating to information recorded in respect of any birth, death, marriage, or civil union

Paragraph (a) was amended, as from 26 April 2005, by section 46 Civil Union Act 2004 (2004 No 102) by substituting the words “marriages, and civil unions” for the words “and marriages”.
Paragraph (a) was amended, as from 21 April 2005, by section 16 Citizenship Amendment Act 2005 (2005 No 43) by inserting the words “citizenship by birth,” after the expression “births,”.
Paragraph (c) was amended, as from 26 April 2005, by section 46 Civil Union Act 2004 (2004 No 102) by substituting the words “marriage, or civil union” for the words “or marriage”.

BE IT ENACTED by the Parliament of New Zealand as follows: