How to order historical records
In 1856, Queensland started compulsory registration of life events. We keep records of life events (births, deaths and marriages) that took place in Queensland between 1829 and present day.
Anyone can buy a historical Queensland birth, death or marriage certificate, or an image from an event that took place in the state. You do not have to provide proof of ID.
We recommend that you sign up or login to your QGov account when you start searching so that you can view your purchases at a later date.
If you don’t login when you pay for an image, you will need to sign up or login with the same email address you used for your purchase. Once you have logged in you will be able to download previous image purchases.
It is free to search historical records online. You can then buy a:
- registration image for $24.70 (online PDF)
- source image for $24.70 (online PDF)
- certificate (A4) for $34.70 (standard postage included).
Historical records are:
- births that took place more than 100 years ago
- marriages that took place more than 75 years ago
- deaths that took place more than 30 years ago.
We also hold some historical church records for:
- baptisms and burials between 1829 and 1856
- church marriages between 1839 and 1856
- marine birth and death records until 1920
- death records for service personnel who enlisted in Queensland for World War I and World War II.
This page explains how to:
- order historical certificates or images online
- download a historical image and what to expect
- receive a historical certificate
- update and checkout your cart
- apply for a historical certificate offline
- contact us about a transcription error on a historical record
- request a refund.
How to order historical certificates or images
If an image is available for a record, you will be given the option to add the historical image product to your shopping cart.
Signing up to QGov allows you to view image purchases at any time. If you are unable to sign up to QGov images are not emailed to you. Be aware that you need to download images immediately to your computer from the receipt page.
To order historical Queensland certificates or images online:
- Search the historical index to find the record you are looking for.
- Open the record to
- read the terms and conditions
- bookmark the page so you can return to the record later or make your purchase.
- To make your purchase
- select ‘add to cart’ for the product you want to buy
- check the quantity and the product is correct in the cart—edit if required.
- Select ‘checkout’ to order, pay by credit card (Visa or Mastercard) and download images immediately from the receipt page.
A receipt for your payment will be sent to the email address you give us during checkout.
If you are not sure which result is the record you want, you can contact us before you buy the record. We don’t issue refunds if you have chosen incorrectly.
How we offer historical records
You can buy Queensland historical records as:
- an image of the original register (if available) that you can view, download or print from your own computer
- a certificate printed on historical paper that we post to you.
Sign in to QGov online so that you can download purchased images at a later date or save images you have paid for.
If there is no image available to purchase, this means that there is no image for the record. A historical certificate shows the information that would be available on a historical image. Be aware that you cannot download the image of a certificate.
If you order an image
The historical image you buy will be available for you to download and print from your own computer after you pay (from the receipt page) and in your QGov account.
If you login to QGov, you can download previously purchased images at a later date.
Be aware that we don't provide prints of images.
We have made sure you get the best quality image of each record—age will affect the condition and how easy some records are to read.
If you order a certificate
We will print your historical certificate and post it to you (in a DL envelope, 110 x 220mm) within 10 working days.
Be aware that you can't download the image of a certificate.
Checkout or edit your cart
The cart will update with your orders, the quantity ordered and the total amount to pay. You can edit the number of items in your cart.
Purchasing online is convenient.
However, keep in mind that the built-in settings, browser and history or cookies on your device may create their own issues.
If you are getting a message that your shopping cart is empty:
- select the green checkout button to continue
- try a different internet browser
- clear the browser history or cookies
- use a different device.
To continue searching and buying records, select the ‘Back to search’ button. This will take you back to the search page.
Editing your cart
To change your order before you pay, select the ‘Edit cart’ button at the bottom of your cart. This will allow you to remove items from your order or change the quantity of an item you are ordering.
Make sure that you only have 1 copy of an image in your cart. These images can be viewed through your QGov online account or downloaded onto your own computer, so you don't need more than 1 copy.
When you have finished editing your order, you can:
- select the ‘Checkout’ button to pay
- select the ‘Family History’ link to return to your record.
Checkout
To finish and pay for your order, select the ‘Checkout’ button at any time.
Follow the instructions to give us your contact and delivery details before you pay by credit card (Visa or Mastercard).
Applying offline
If you can't apply for a historical certificate online, you can complete an application form to buy one.
You do not need to provide any proof of ID to apply for a historical record.
- Birth certificate application form
- Marriage certificate application form
- Death certificate application form
Once you have filled in a birth, death or marriage certificate application form, you will need to submit it to us along with the application fee of $34.70 for a historical certificate, by post or in person.
This price includes standard postage for us to send your certificate to you (in a DL envelope, 110 x 220mm).
After we get your application and payment, we will print your certificate and post it to you within 10 working days.
Correct a historical certificate
Historical records show information that was correct at the time of the event and the information held in our historical records can't be changed.
If you think information on a certificate or index record is incorrect, we can review the record to find out if the error occurred in transcription or when the information was provided at the time of registering the event.
Please read our corrections policy before you contact us.
To have us check, request a review of the certificate.
How to get a refund
You need to carefully research and make sure that you order the correct historical record. We don’t issue refunds if you have chosen incorrectly
To ask for a refund for a historical Queensland certificate, send us an email at bdm-mail@justice.qld.gov.au—we will review your request and reply to you.
Contact us
Online: our corrections and feedback form.
Online: our general enquiry form.
By phone: local call* 13 QGOV (13 74 68)
International +61 7 3022 6100 (+10 hours UTC)
(Phone lines are open Monday–Friday, 8.30am–4.30pm)
*Costs may be higher from mobile phones and interstate.