Skip to content
English - Australia
  • There are no suggestions because the search field is empty.

Birth certificate troubleshooting tips

Common reasons a birth certificate cannot be verified digitally, and how to fix registration number errors.

Having trouble entering your birth certificate details? Work through the checks below in order.

1. Birth certificate types that cannot be verified digitally

Only Australian birth certificates can be verified digitally - international birth certificates cannot. Certain Australian certificates also cannot be verified digitally, including: commemorative certificates; certificate extracts; births registered in Norfolk Island or Papua New Guinea; NSW records prior to 1952 containing a district number only; TAS certificates printed before 1 January 1970 and single-name certificates; ACT certificates printed before 1 January 1930 and Identity Acknowledgement certificates; VIC certificates where a change of name, correction or legitimation occurred before or during 1993; NT Identity Acknowledgement certificates; QLD certificates for births prior to 1 January 1941 and single-name certificates; SA certificates printed before 1 January 1944, Identity Acknowledgement certificates and certain historical District certificates; and WA certificates issued in the Cocos Islands prior to 1955 or Christmas Island prior to 1 July 1993.

If your certificate is one of these types, use an alternative identity document if possible - see What ID documents do I need?. If you can't, contact the business that requested the verification to arrange an alternative method.

2. Are you entering the correct information?

  • Birth date, registration date and issue (printed) date are all different - use the one the form asks for.
  • Certificate number and registration number are different - enter the one specified on the form.

3. Registration number error

The most common issue is the registration number being rejected with a red warning. Troubleshoot in this order:

  • Check your certificate type isn't in the cannot-be-verified list above.
  • Beneath the Registration number field, green text shows the required format (e.g. 123421X/2000) - confirm your number matches that pattern, and that you're entering the registration number, not the certificate number.
  • Confirm the correct State or Territory is selected in the Document Region dropdown.
  • Confirm the Date Document Issued dropdown matches the issue (printed) date of your certificate - not your birth date or the registration date.
  • If your certificate's issue date is within about a month of a dropdown boundary and nothing else has worked, try the date range immediately before the one you chose - old certificate stock was sometimes used up before new stock was issued.

If you get stuck, contact the business that asked you to verify your identity, or contact easyAML support - support@easyaml.com or 1300 425 495.