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Overview
If you need records for a citizenship by descent application, you can search our vital statistics records online. If the record isn’t online, you can request a search of offline records by providing the required details.
Find records online
Start your search by checking our online collections.
Vital statistics
Search our vital statistics collection for:
- Births registered in New Brunswick before 1930
- Marriages or deaths registered in New Brunswick before 1976
For births after 1930, or marriages and deaths after 1976, contact Service New Brunswick’s Vital Statistics office.
Church records
If you can’t find a vital statistics record, church records may help. The provincial archives hold some records for various denominations, including:
- Anglican
- Baptist
- Lutheran
- Methodist
- Presbyterian
- Roman Catholic
- United
You can view our county genealogical guides to explore our collection church records. These guides list church records by denomination, parish, event type, year, and corresponding microfilm references. They also include contact information.
These records do not include all sacramental records (documents of important rites such as baptism, marriage, or burial) held at the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick.
In New Brunswick, churches are not required to transfer records to the archives. There are often restrictions on sacramental records, and these can vary between denominations.
Before you request a search
To request a search, you must be able to provide:
- First and last names of the individuals(s) whose records you are requesting.
- Date (you can provide a 3-to-5-year range if the exact date is unknown).
- County, city, town, village or community where the birth, marriage, or death occurred.
- Religious denomination.
For some types of records, you may also be required to provide a maiden name or birth name.
It’s also helpful, but not mandatory, to provide:
- Middle name or initials
- Parents’ names (this is helpful for finding baptismal records)
If you were able to find relevant church record information in our county genealogical guides, providing the denomination, county, parish and relevant table details from the guide (records, dates, film) will help us locate the record you need faster.
If you only have partial information
If you don’t have enough information to start a search, we recommend checking other resources to gather more details:
Library and Archives Canada
Obituaries or wedding announcements
Genealogy sites
Church records
Other places you might find information:
- Family documents
- Old letters or diaries
- Family Bibles
How much it costs
If you need a certified copy of a record to support your citizenship application, you can order a copy when you make your request.
Due to higher demand, the cost of certified copies will be increasing soon.
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Certified copy (cost per record, includes shipping) | $11.00 CDN |
| Each additional page | $1.00 CDN |
We accept Visa or Mastercard. Our staff will contact you to arrange payments.
Records are sent by ground mail. We are unable to offer tracking.
How long it takes
We are currently experiencing higher than usual demand. It may take at least 12 weeks for an archivist to begin processing your request. This timeline is an estimate and could change if demand continues to increase.
Once assigned, the time it will take to process your request depends on the complexity. For example: The record you are looking for might be on microfilm and not in our digital collections.
Delivery time varies on where the record is being sent. Most of the time, you will receive your record within 2 to 4 weeks after we collect your payment.
How to send a request
If you were unable to find the record you need online, archives staff will do a limited search on your behalf. You can send your request using the contact form on our website:
Other ways to search for a record
Visit us in person
Contact us to make an appointment before your visit to search for records in person or access church records.
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 506-453-2122
Please note that some church records in our holdings may not be available to the public and require staff assistance.
The Provincial Archives of New Brunswick are located at:
23 Dineen Drive, Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada E3B 9V7
Hire a researcher
We offer a list of independent researchers (PDF 285 KB) you can contact to conduct research on your behalf.
After you submit your request
If for any reason, you need to modify or cancel your request, please email us at [email protected]. If you have an inquiry number, please include it in your email.