Order certified copies of birth, marriage or death registrations
High request volume
There may be delays responding to inquiries due to higher than normal volumes of requests. We will do our best to complete your request in a timely manner and apologize for any inconvenience.
To help us respond as efficiently as possible, we kindly ask that you do not submit multiple messages for the same request.
You can order certified copies of archived birth, marriage or death registrations for a fee.
A certified copy is a paper copy guaranteed by the Archivist of Ontario to be a true reproduction of the original registration. Certified documents are often required for legal or government purposes.
All years of our vital statistics holdings are available for order.
To order a certified copy of a registration, you need to provide the following information:
- name of individual (enter in the “title” field)
- reference code
- RG 80-2 for births
- RG 80-5 for marriages
- RG 80-8 for deaths
- date of birth, marriage or death (enter in “other information” box)
- registration number (enter in “other information” box)
Visit our birth, marriage and death registrations topic page to learn how to find this information
Personal information provided to the Archives through order forms or through email, phone or mail enquiry is collected under the authority of the Archives and Recordkeeping Act (2006) Chapter 34, Schedule A. We only collect personal information that is necessary to address your inquiries or service requests, in accordance with section 38(2) of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. Personal information will be used only for the purpose of responding to enquiries and service requests, for statistical analysis and to send you surveys to solicit feedback that will help us improve the ways in which we engage with you. Contact us if you have questions or comments about anything in this Privacy Statement.
Order a registrationRequest a divorce file
We hold all Ontario divorce files from 1931 to 1980 and up to 1986 for some counties and districts.
To request to view or order a reproduction a divorce file, you need to provide the:
- file number
- year the case started
- courthouse where the divorce took place
Visit our Divorce files topic page to learn how to obtain this information.
Personal information provided to the Archives through order forms or through email, phone or mail enquiry is collected under the authority of the Archives and Recordkeeping Act (2006) Chapter 34, Schedule A. We only collect personal information that is necessary to address your inquiries or service requests, in accordance with section 38(2) of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. Personal information will be used only for the purpose of responding to enquiries and service requests, for statistical analysis and to send you surveys to solicit feedback that will help us improve the ways in which we engage with you. Contact us if you have questions or comments about anything in this Privacy Statement.
Request a divorce fileOther archival reproductions
Follow these steps when preparing to order a reproduction of archival records other than vital statistics or divorce files:
- Identify exactly which records you want to have reproduced. You can:
- flag the item you want reproduced when viewing it in the Reading Room
- find the item(s) or file(s) in Collection Search
- find the file number(s) of a given person from a given year online or on self-service microfilm
- Gather the following information for each item on Collection Search:
- title
- reference code (starts with F, RG or C)
- location and ordering information
- date of creation (optional)
- Determine what kind of reproduction you want. Visit our services and fees page to learn more about our pricing.
- Submit your order using our online form.
Note: if you do not know exactly which records you want reproduced, you will need to come in person to view it first, find it online or hire a researcher to find it on your behalf.
Personal information provided to the Archives through order forms or through email, phone or mail enquiry is collected under the authority of the Archives and Recordkeeping Act (2006) Chapter 34, Schedule A. We only collect personal information that is necessary to address your inquiries or service requests, in accordance with section 38(2) of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. Personal information will be used only for the purpose of responding to enquiries and service requests, for statistical analysis and to send you surveys to solicit feedback that will help us improve the ways in which we engage with you. Contact us if you have questions or comments about anything in this Privacy Statement
Order archival reproductionsService fees
Reproduction costs depend on the chosen turnaround time, item format, size and page volume.
We calculate the exact cost after completing the reproduction. We will send you an invoice that details our work.
We require a $100 deposit on any order estimated to be over $500.
Visit our reproduction services and fees page to estimate the cost of your order.
What to expect after submitting an order
Your order will be sent to a reference archivist for review.
We use the information provided to retrieve the item if it wasn’t flagged in person. We may reach out to you to confirm the item(s) you want reproduced or to let you know if they require conservation treatment before reproduction can start.
We will contact you if you need to pay a deposit before starting the reproduction.
When your reproduction is ready, we will send you an invoice with a link to our secure online payment portal. Upon receipt of payment, we will deliver your order according to the option you selected (mail, courier or electronic delivery).
You can reply to any email containing your case number to get help with your order.