Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Relationships Registration Act 1995

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Version as at 1 July 2022

Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Relationships Registration Act 1995

Public Act		1995 No 16
Date of assent		31 March 1995
Commencement		see section 1(2)

Act name: substituted, on 24 January 2009, by section 5(1)(a) of the Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Relationships Registration Amendment Act 2008 (2008 No 48).

Note

The Parliamentary Counsel Office has made editorial and format changes to this version using the powers under subpart 2 of Part 3 of the Legislation Act 2019.

Note 4 at the end of this version provides a list of the amendments included in it.

This Act is administered by the Department of Internal Affairs.

	Title [Repealed]
1	Short Title and commencement
	Part 1 Preliminary
1A	Purpose
2	Interpretation
3	Act binds the Crown
4	No information to be recorded or altered except in accordance with Act
	Part 2 Births
5	Births in New Zealand to be notified and registered
5A	Preliminary notice of birth
6	Births outside New Zealand
7	Foundlings
8	Births on New Zealand aircraft or ships
9	Parents primarily responsible for notifying birth
10	Guardian or authorised person may notify birth
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	Registration of parents’ details
15A	Appeals relating to registration of parents’ details
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
	Part 3 Names
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	Definitions for sections 21A and 21B
21A	Application for registration of name change
21B	Registration of name change
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
27A	Definitions for sections 28 and 29
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
	Part 6 Deaths
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 [Repealed]
38	Medical certificates in relation to accidents to elderly persons [Repealed]
39	Bodies to be disposed of within reasonable time [Repealed]
40	Transfer of charge of body [Repealed]
41	Medical certificate or coroner’s order to be obtained before body disposed of [Repealed]
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, and for coerced marriage, to be recorded
61	Celebrants and Registrars to be notified [Repealed]
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, and for coerced civil union, 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	Request for new identity information for 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
70B	Name change certificates
71	Certificates to be prima facie evidence
72	Fees for certificates
	Part 9 Searches and disclosure of information
73	Definitions for sections 74 to 75G
74	Access to birth information, death information, marriage information, civil union information, or name change information
75	Persons authorised to access source documents
75A	Subject of birth information, marriage information, civil union information, or name change information may search access register and request non-disclosure direction
75B	Effect and duration of non-disclosure direction
75C	Registrar may provide limited verification of registered information that becomes publicly available while non-disclosure direction in force
75D	Registrar-General must keep access register
75E	Public sector agencies may search access register
75F	Searches for certain authorised purposes
75G	Searches for purposes of gathering statistics, or for health, historical, or demographic research
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, civil union information, and name change information to certain agencies for certain purposes
78AA	Disclosure of birth information, death information, marriage information, civil union information, and name change information under approved information sharing agreement
78AB	Disclosure of birth information, death information, marriage information, civil union information, and name change information for law enforcement purposes
78B	Information matching to trace unregistered births [Repealed]
78C	Disclosure of statistical information
78D	Registrar-General may share name change information and death information with foreign registration authorities
78E	Supply of information to foreign registration authorities must be in accordance with written agreement
78F	Disclosure of death information to non-government organisations for certain purposes
78G	Definition for sections 78H and 78I
78H	Registrar-General may make certain historical information available
78I	Index information must not be made available on Internet
78J	Review of operation of sections 74 to 75G, 78F, and 78H
78K	Disclosure of certain information for purposes of Identity Information Confirmation Act 2012
	Part 10 Registrar-General and Registrars
79	Registrar-General
80	Deputy Registrar-General
81	Registrars
	Part 11 Powers of inquiry and correction and updating of records
82	Registrar-General’s powers of inquiry in relation to registrable events
82A	Registrar-General’s powers of inquiry in relation to information provided or verified electronically
83	Registrars must decline to record certain information
84	Correction of errors
84A	Amendments to birth registrations to include details of parents under Part 2 of Status of Children Act 1969
85	Family Court may consider proposed corrections in cases of difficulty or dispute
85A	Health information may be used to correct records
85B	Information recorded under Act may be used to update information kept under Human Assisted Reproductive Technology Act 2004
	Part 11A Miscellaneous provisions
86	Entries relating to illegitimate children
87	Statutory declarations
87A	Provision of information to Statistics New Zealand
87AB	Access to information for purposes of Identity Information Confirmation Act 2012
87B	Registrar-General may issue standard forms
88	Regulations
89	Offences and penalties
89A	Electronic transactions
90	No prosecution without authority of Registrar-General
91	Fees
91A	No liability for costs incurred in supplying information
91B	Protection for supply of information
	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
96	Repeals
	Schedule 1A Disclosure of information to agencies
	Schedule 1 Consequential amendments
	Schedule 2 Enactments repealed
	Notes

Title [Repealed]

Title: repealed, on 24 January 2009, by section 4 of the Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Relationships Registration Amendment Act 2008 (2008 No 48).

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Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Relationships Registration Act 1995

Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Relationships Registration Act 1995

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