Birth certificate

The birth certificate states all the information about a person’s birth:

• the child’s date, place and time of birth, sex, surname and first names
• where appropriate, the declaration of name choice by the parents
• the surname, first names, and date and place of birth of the mother, and of the father or co-mother, if their parentage is established
• where appropriate, the certificate number of the prenatal recognition certificate, or the recognition by the mother, father, or co-mother.

Under certain conditions, you can request a copy of or an extract from the birth certificate:

• A copy contains the original data of the certificate and the history of the status of the person to whom the certificate relates.
• An extract, on the contrary, only states the current details of the certificate, without stating the history of the status of the person to whom the certificate relates. Therefore, an extract only shows the current status of the data.

Who can request a copy or an extract?

The right to receive a copy of or an extract from birth certificates is limited to

• yourself
• the spouse
• the surviving spouse or legal cohabitant
• the legal representative (e.g. parent, guardian, conservator)
• blood relatives in the ascending or descending line (no relatives by affinity and side branches)
• heirs
• and special agents such as notaries or lawyers.

If the certificate is more than 100 years old, anyone is entitled to request a copy or an extract.

You can request a copy of or an extract from a birth certificate from the local council via the Civil Affairs Office.

If you have an electronic identity card (eID), you can request a copy of or an extract from the certificate online

• via the e-desk of your municipality
• or via the certificates page of My Citizen Profile (‘Mijn Burgerprofiel’).

Since 31 March 2019, certificates from the register office are registered in digital format only. If your certificate dates from before 31 March 2019, it may not yet be available digitally.

Some municipalities digitise old archives when copies of or extracts from the certificates are requested or changes are made.

Foreign birth certificate

If you were born abroad and the birth certificate has not been drawn up in Belgium, you must request the birth certificate from the place of birth.

If you have the Belgian nationality, the certificate may be drawn up in the database of civil status certificates by the civil registrar in the municipality in which you are registered in Belgium. To draw up a birth certificate in Belgium, the foreign birth certificate must first be recognised and legalised in Belgium.

If you collect the document yourself:

• your own identity card or residence permit.

If you are requesting the document for someone else:

• a power of attorney from that person
• and a copy of their identity card as well as your own identity card.