Birth certificate

A birth certificate is a public document that contains information about a person's full name, date of birth, personal number, gender and place of birth. In addition, the certificate may contain the name of the parents.

Please note that the processing time will be longer than stated.

Parents receive a confirmation of registered birth and name automatically

Parents who have registered the name of a new-born child will receive a confirmation in Altinn that a Norwegian national identity number and a name has been registered. The confirmation contains information about the name, date of birth, personal number, gender, place of birth and possibly the names of the parents.

View information about yourself

If you want to see the information we have registered about you and children you have parental responsibility for, you can log in to My page.

Birth certificate to order a passport

You do not need birth certificates to order passports for children and young people. See the police’s website for a checklist for ordering passports (in Norwegian only).

Order birth certificates

Will be sent on paper to your registered adress

The birth certificate will be on paper with a stamp and signature.

The certificate will be sent to the address registered for you in the National Population Register. Please note that the processing time can be up to two weeks plus postal delivery time before you receive the certificate.

Generally, you can get a birth certificate if you’re born in Norway. If you’re born abroad, you must contact the authorities in your country of birth. Adoptees who are born abroad can usually get birth certificates.

You can order birth certificates for:

  • yourself
  • your children who are under the age of 18 (if you do not have parental custody, you must document that you have a justified reason* to require the certificate)
  • anyone for whom you’ve been appointed guardian
  • a client for whom you’re acting as counsel as a solicitor/lawyer

If you need the birth certificate for your spouse, grown-up children, parents or siblings, you must document that you have a justified reason to require the certificate. You have a justified reason when the certificate is necessary for you to be able to fulfil your legal rights or duties. You must therefore tell us why you need this certificate.

Birth certificate without information about who your parents are:

  • current name
  • date of birth
  • Norwegian national identity number
  • place of birth
  • gender

Birth certificate including information about who your parents are:

  • current name and any name changes
  • date of birth
  • Norwegian national identity number
  • place of birth
  • gender
  • parents’ name at the time of birth

Multilingual birth certificate:

(English, French, Norwegian, Spanish, German, Italian)

  • current name
  • date of birth
  • Norwegian national identity number
  • place of birth
  • gender
  • parents’ name at the time of birth

If the certificate is to be used abroad, you must send it to the County Governor to apply an apostille or to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs who legalises certificates. You must include information about which country you need to use the certificate in. Certificates that are to be used in Nordic countries do not need apostille or legalisation.

Read more about apostille and legalisation