Auckland Council Libraries: Births, deaths and marriages

Finding records of births, deaths and marriages (BDM)

Te kimi rēhita ā-whānautanga, ā-matenga, ā-mārena

When starting your family history research, you'll want to look at BDM records.

BDM indexes

We have unique family history online resources, and provide free access to subscription websites like Ancestry Find My Past , MyHeritage  and The Genealogist . Many family notices can be found in historic niupepa online – Papers Past  for New Zealand and Trove  for Australia. We also offer access to BDM microfiche indexes and district keys.


Access to resources

  • Ancestry  and The Genealogist  are only available at a library. 
  • Find My Past  provides full access from libraries only.
  • 1921 Census of England and Wales  has 38 million records available for access only within a library at this time. Watch out for updates on remote access.
  • MyHeritage  provides full access to information whilst signed in from home or at a library.
  • BDM microfiche indexes are accessible in all Auckland Libraries research centres and selected community libraries. These fiche cover 1840 - 1990.
  • District keys are accessible at Auckland Libraries research centres, although years covered may vary across locations, from 1848 - 1955 only. These can help identify the district in which a birth or death was  registered. 
  • BDM indexes for 1991 - 1997 can be accessed via a unique database at Auckland Research Centre only, located in Central City Library.

For New Zealand records, start your BDM index search on the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) website  for:


  • births more than 100 years ago

  • marriages more than 80 years ago

  • deaths where the person was over 80 years, or died more than 50 years ago.

Tip

Don’t rely on indexes as your only source. We recommend that you request a printout, as these will have more complete information.


A number of other BDM resources like parish records or church registers can also be found in our catalogue by searching with the reference 2 NZL BDM.


Requesting BDM documents

You can track down New Zealand BDM documents from the DIA. Printouts are available for the following years:


  • births and deaths - 1848 to 1997

  • marriages - 1854 to 1997

Visit the DIA birth, death and marriage historical records website 



Information listed on New Zealand BDM documents



Auckland Council Libraries:Births, deaths and marriages Researching births, deaths and marriages