** Canada Post Service Disruption **


In preparation for possible delivery delays or postal strike, the Vital Statistics Branch is not mailing any regular service certificates within Canada at this time. Delivery to international destinations is still being sent.

The following options are currently available to receive your certificate:
  • Pick up your certificate in Winnipeg at 254 Portage Avenue or click here for a list of Distribution Centres and the areas they service
    • Please call the Vital Statistics Branch to make pick up arrangements
  • Courier your certificate for a $13.00 fee
    • Please fax the Vital Statistics Branch with your request. Include your name, file number (if known) or address, authorization to charge your credit card $13.00, credit card number, expiry date and signature
  • Mail your certificate through Canada Post
    • Please be advised that if a strike occurs and your document is delayed you will have to wait until Canada Post resumes delivery to receive your certificate
    • Please email or fax the Vital Statistics Branch advising you would like to have your certificate mailed out

Phone: 204-945-3701
Toll Free: 1-866-949-9296
Fax: 204-948-3128
Email: vitalstats@gov.mb.ca

If you do not contact us to make arrangements, your certificate will be mailed out as soon as we can.



Online Certificate Application




Average Service Times (Turnaround Times) for processing ONLINE applications for Birth, Death and Marriage Certificates:


IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT SERVICE TIMES:

Regular Service Online Applications for Certificates (birth, death, marriage)
  • The average service times shown below are for REGULAR SERVICE ONLINE APPLICATIONS for certificates, where:
    • The application is complete (there are no errors or missing information)
    • The application relates to a fully registered event (the birth, death, or marriage event has been fully registered in the provincial registry).

Rush Service Applications for Certificates (birth, death, marriage)
  • RUSH service for applications for birth, death and marriage certificates remains at 3 business days, for applications that are:
    • Complete (there are no errors or missing information)
    • Relate to a fully registered event.
    Delivery time is additional to the 3-day turnaround service.

Registration of a Life Event (birth, death, marriage)
  • The life event must be fully registered in the provincial registry at Vital Statistics Branch, before a certificate can be issued.
  • If there is an error on a registration, that error must be corrected before a certificate can be issued.
  • If there is missing information on a registration, the missing information must be provided before a certificate can be issued.


Week Average Turnaround Time (weeks)
2025-05-19 to 2025-05-25 0.9
2025-05-26 to 2025-06-01 0.7
2025-06-02 to 2025-06-08 0.5
2025-06-09 to 2025-06-15 0.5
2025-06-16 to 2025-06-22 0.6
2025-06-23 to 2025-06-29 0.6




What we do


The Vital Statistics Branch is responsible for administering and enforcing The Vital Statistics Act, The Marriage Act, The Change of Name Act and processing disinterments under The Public Health Act.

The Branch registers vital events (birth, death, marriage, stillbirth and change of name) in Manitoba and provides documents as proof of those events. Legislation protecting privacy governs who can access records held by the Branch.

Our database contains information from vital event records from 1882 to present for the Province of Manitoba. All of our records are held in perpetuity for all Manitoba events.


Hours of Operation


The Vital Statistics Branch is open Monday to Friday, from 8:30 A.M. to 4:30 P.M. (Central Time).

The hours of operation are subject to any government-wide office closures (e.g. statutory holidays).

Address: Vital Statistics Branch
254 Portage Avenue
Winnipeg MB   R3C 0B6


Contact us


Phone: 204-945-3701
Toll Free: 1-866-949-9296
Fax: 204-948-3128
Email: vitalstats@gov.mb.ca

Calls to the Vital Statistics Branch are routed through an interactive voice response system (IVR), a computer automated switchboard that callers navigate using touch-tone key-presses provided by a vendor. Touch-tone presses connect callers with different phone lines, from which callers hear auto-messages upon connection or interact with the Branch's live staff.

The vendor has been experiencing challenges with the system, which may be affecting the ability of callers to connect with the Vital Statistics Branch and/or auto-responses within the system. The vendor is working to resolve this.

If you receive a message between 8:30am and 4:30pm (and it is not a statutory holiday), that we are experiencing above average call volumes - please be advised that we are answering calls - you are unable to hold because our queue of callers is full. Please hang up and call back later.


Responsibilities




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