One of the matters that my constituency office deals with on a regular basis is helping people to obtain birth certificates. If you require birth certificates for passports, travel, health cards, Social Insurance Numbers, or any other reason, please apply early for your birth certificate.

The government is currently facing a backlog and there may be delays in obtaining a birth certificate and other types of certificates issued through the Office of the Registrar General. The current waiting period for regular service for birth certificates is 6-8 weeks provided the birth is registered. An optional expedited service is available and the wait time for that service is approximately 10 days.

Emergency service is available as well with a wait time of 2 days plus shipping time if you apply at the Registrar General’s Office Public Counter located in Toronto at 900 Bay Street. If you apply through my constituency office, emergency applications take 5 days. Unfortunately, the Registrar General’s office is not able make any guarantee that emergency service will take place within those time periods.

If you require emergency service there is an additional fee. For both expedited and emergency service you must supply proof of urgency. In the case of travel requirements, a copy of an airline ticket would serve as proof. If you are applying for regular, emergency, or expedited service, please feel free to contact my constituency office for help to ensure that everything proceeds as smoothly as possible.

Birth certificate application forms are available from the provincial government’s Service Ontario website http://www.serviceontario.ca . This website contains a variety of forms and helpful information in addition to birth certificate applications. If you are applying for a birth certificate for a child 8 years of age or younger, you can even fill out the application on-line if you are able to make payment with a credit card. You may also pick up application forms at any Land Registry Office, Government Information Centre, the Toronto Office of the Registrar General or at my constituency office.

The regular delivery cost for a wallet size first birth certificate is $25 and a replacement certificate costs $35. If you are applying by mail you can pay by cheque or money order, made payable to Minister of Finance, or by VISA, MasterCard or American Express.

Birth certificate applications must now include a guarantor’s signature in order to be processed. A variety of individuals are qualified to act as guarantor, but they must have known the applicant for at least two years. A complete list of who is eligible to act in this capacity is included on the birth certificate application form.

My constituency office would be pleased to help you with birth certificate applications and a variety of other matters. It is often frustrating to deal with service delays such as the current birth certificate backlog. If you would like to check on the status of your application please give my office a call at 705-324-6654 or 1-800-424-2490.