Identity documents you need

To prove your identity, you'll need to provide certain types of identification depending on where you were born.

If you were born in Australia, you'll need:

• a full, original Australian birth certificate
• other identity documents with your current photo, address and signature.

If you were born outside Australia, you'll need:

• an Australian Citizenship certificate
• evidence of your gender and place of birth
• other identity documents with your current photo, address and signature.

All of your documents must be in English or translated in full by an approved translation service.

If you were born in Australia, you need to provide your full, original Australian birth certificate issued by your state or territory Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages (RBDM).

Australian RBDM by state and territory:

• Australian Capital Territory(Opens in a new tab/window)
• New South Wales(Opens in a new tab/window)
• Northern Territory(Opens in a new tab/window)
• Queensland(Opens in a new tab/window)
• South Australia(Opens in a new tab/window)
• Tasmania(Opens in a new tab/window)
• Victoria(Opens in a new tab/window)
• Western Australia(Opens in a new tab/window).

If your birth wasn't registered, contact your state or territory RBDM at the link above. Ask them about a late registration of birth. You will then need to get either a:

• full, original Australian birth certificate
• certificate that says your birth is listed in the Northern Territory Aboriginal Population Records
• citizenship certificate from the Department of Home Affairs(Opens in a new tab/window).

If you identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, you don't need to apply for a citizenship certificate. Instead, if you can't provide any of the above documents, you can provide a completed B-19 form.

Adult applicants

If you're an adult who was born overseas, and you're applying for a passport for yourself, you must provide your Australian citizenship certificate.

You'll also need to show evidence of your gender and place of birth by providing either:

• your Australian citizenship certificate that shows your gender and place of birth
• your original foreign birth certificate  translated into English
• a foreign passport or other official documents that show your gender and place of birth
• a full, original Australian birth certificate issued post-adoption, if you were born overseas and adopted in Australia.

Child applicants

If you're applying for a passport for a child who was born overseas and doesn't have a birth certificate, the best option is to get a birth certificate for them.

If getting a birth certificate is genuinely impossible, you'll need to get each person with parental responsibility for the child to complete a B-6 form explaining why you can't get a birth certificate.

You'll also need to provide supporting documents to establish that the persons named on the form are the parents of the child. These can include:

• travel document(s) on which the family travelled to Australia
• the child’s name on a parent’s citizenship certificate
• the child’s name on a parent’s passport
• the child’s name on the full birth certificate of a younger sibling
• baptismal or other religious certificates connecting the child with the parent
• a hospital record showing both parents’ names
• a family book that links the child to the parents
• Medicare card or Health Care Card
• 2 letters stating the child’s and the parents’ names, from the child’s school (if applicable) and the child’s doctor or a religious leader.

You'll also need to provide a combination of documents from the categories below.

Ideally, if you can, provide:

• one document from Category A
• one document from Category B
• if neither document shows your current address, one document from Category C showing your current address.

If you can’t provide a Category A document, then provide:

• 2 documents from Category B
• one other official document that includes your photo
• if none of these documents show your current address, one document from Category C showing your current address.

If you can’t provide any Category A or Category B document, provide:

• at least 3 documents from Category C showing your name and current address
• one official document that includes your photo and signature, such as a workplace identity card or student card.

Document categories - applying within Australia

Document categories – applying outside Australia