Applying for a copy of a birth certificate in the Netherlands

You will need a copy of your birth certificate if, for example: 

• an organisation requests your birth certificate. This may be your municipality.
• you are adopted and want to know who your biological parents are. Those details are usually recorded on a birth certificate. 

You won't receive your original birth certificate that the municpality has on file. You can choose from an an official copy, extract or a multilingual international extract.

Official copy of birth certificate

This is a copy of the birth certificate record held by the municipality. The municipality puts a stamp on it. The official copy has the same information as your original birth certificate.

Extract of a birth certificate

The extract of the birth certificate contains the following information:   

• your surname;
• your first name(s);
• your place of birth;
• your date of birth.

Details regarding your parents are not included in the extract.

Multilingual international extract of birth certificate

The multilingual international extract is an up-to-date summary of your birth certificate for international use. It provides an explanatory statement in: 

• Dutch;
• English;
• French;
• German;
• Spanish;
• Greek;
• Italian;
• Portuguese;
• Turkish;
• Serbo-Croatian. 

You request a copy of your birth certificate in the municipality where you were born.

Were you born outside the Netherlands? Do you want to request a copy of your birth certificate? If so, contact the Registrar of Births, Deaths, Marriages and Civil Partnerships in the country in which you were born. Is your birth certificate registered with the municipality of Den Haag (The Hague)? If so, you can apply for a copy there.