Under Section 50 of the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act 1995 , the executor, administrator or trustee of the estate of a deceased person may apply for a certificate certifying whether or not the deceased person is recorded as being a parent of any children.

The Search may be used to locate the beneficiaries of an estate so that assets can be distributed. If the deceased person was born overseas, only their time spent as a resident in NSW will be searched.

Searches can be conducted for deceased females from ages 12 to 60, and for males from age 12 until death.

Proof of Identification

All legal practitioners who apply must provide:

1. A letter on company letterhead stating the reason required ("legal" is not sufficient; a specific reason is needed i.e. Probate, Estate Administration, etc), together with the name of the client for whom the solicitor is acting.
2. The letter must be accompanied by:
   - a completed application form, and
   - a copy of your Law Society ID Card or Practising Certificate.
3. The Legal Practitioner's name must be written in the Applicant's Details section. Payment must be made with a company or trust cheque, or company credit card.

If you are not a legal practitioner but are the administrator or trustee of the estate, you must provide at least three (3) forms of your identification from the proof of identification list with your application.

Cost

Please note a separate fee is payable for each surname provided.

All certificates are distributed through registered post (except Family History) and incur a $6.00 (inc. GST) postage and handling fee. Prices listed are inclusive of the postage and handling fee.

Delivery

• Turnaround times

Application Form

Print and complete the application form, then mail it to the Registry.

NSW Registry of Births Deaths & Marriages
GPO Box 30
SYDNEY NSW 2001

• Section 50 Search Application Form