What is an Australian citizenship certificate?

It is the official document that proves a person is an Australian citizen. You use it to apply for an Australian passport, enrol to vote, and confirm your status to government departments and other organisations. If you became a citizen at a ceremony, the certificate is the record of that. It is a legal document, so you must look after it and not write on it or laminate it.

When do I get my citizenship certificate?

If you became a citizen by conferral, you receive your certificate when you make the pledge of commitment at your citizenship ceremony, not before. You are approved first, then invited to a ceremony, and the certificate is handed over there. If you are applying separately for evidence of citizenship using Form 119, the Department posts the certificate to you by registered post once your application is approved.

How do I replace a lost or damaged citizenship certificate?

Apply for evidence of Australian citizenship using Form 119, online in ImmiAccount. You provide proof of your identity from birth to present and a recent photograph, and you surrender the old certificate unless other people are named on it. The fee is $280. If your certificate was lost, destroyed or damaged in a listed natural disaster and you apply within 18 months, no fee is payable.

How much does it cost to get evidence of Australian citizenship?

The fee for an application for evidence of Australian citizenship (Form 119) is $280, per the Department of Home Affairs fees schedule current as at June 2026. There is no fee if you are replacing a certificate lost, destroyed or damaged in a listed natural disaster and you apply within 18 months. Citizenship fees are indexed to the consumer price index on 1 July each year, so confirm the current amount before you apply.

There is an error on my citizenship certificate. What do I do?

Contact the Department as soon as you notice it. If they made the error and you let them know within six weeks of receiving the certificate, you may not need to lodge a separate application to fix it, and they can refund the evidence application fee. If the change is due to your own circumstances, such as a name change, you apply to change your evidence of citizenship and provide official proof of the new details.

Can I use my citizenship certificate to apply for a passport?

Yes. Your citizenship certificate is the evidence of citizenship you need before you can apply for an Australian passport. You cannot apply for a passport until you have received it. Keep the certificate safe and undamaged, because some agencies will not accept a laminated or damaged certificate.

Australian Citizenship Certificate: How to Get or Replace It

Getting your first certificate

For most new citizens the certificate is not something you apply for separately. If you become a citizen by conferral, you receive your certificate at your citizenship ceremony, after you make the pledge of commitment. You are approved first, then sent an invitation to a ceremony, and the certificate is presented there. Until you make the pledge you are approved but not yet a citizen, so there is no certificate to collect before then.

The wait between approval and ceremony is the part people ask about most, because ceremonies are run by local councils and the timing varies. We cover the official figures, including how long approval to ceremony typically takes, in our guide to citizenship processing times. If you applied for citizenship and are still in that process, our step-by-step guide to applying for Australian citizenship walks through every stage up to the ceremony.

Applying for evidence of Australian citizenship

Some people need a citizenship certificate without going through a ceremony, because they are already citizens but have never held the document, or no longer have it. This is called an application for evidence of Australian citizenship, and it uses Form 119. You might need it if you were born in Australia in certain years, became a citizen automatically, or simply never received a certificate.

You apply and pay online in ImmiAccount. The Department will ask you to provide:

a full birth certificate including your parents' names
a passport or travel document, if you have one
proof of any change of name, if applicable
a recent passport-sized photograph
evidence of your identity from birth to the present, which may include an identity declaration signed by an eligible Australian citizen

The fee for evidence of Australian citizenship is $280, per the Department's citizenship application fees schedule (Form 1298i), current as at June 2026 and indexed to the CPI each 1 July. The Department posts your certificate to you by registered post once the application is approved. For the full list of requirements, see the official get a citizenship certificate page.

Replacing a lost, stolen or damaged certificate

If your certificate is lost, stolen or damaged, you do not get a duplicate of the old one: you apply for evidence of Australian citizenship using the same Form 119 process described above, online in ImmiAccount. You prove your identity from birth to present, provide a photograph, and surrender the old certificate if you still have it, unless other people are named on it (for example if you appear on a parent's certificate).

The standard fee is $280 (see all citizenship fees for 2026). There is an important exception: if your certificate was lost, destroyed or damaged in a natural disaster listed by the Department, and you apply within 18 months of the date listed for that event, no fee is payable. The official replace evidence after a natural disaster page lists the qualifying events and the documents to lodge.

Certificates for citizenship by descent and adoption

If a person became a citizen by descent (born overseas to an Australian parent) or through adoption, the certificate is issued as part of that separate application rather than through Form 119. If you are applying for your child born overseas, you generally lodge an application for citizenship by descent rather than an application for evidence. The Department explains the descent and adoption pathways on its citizenship by descent pages, and the fees for those applications are listed in the same fees schedule.

What the certificate is used for

Your citizenship certificate is your proof of citizenship. The two things people reach for it first are:

Applying for an Australian passport. You cannot apply for a passport until you have received evidence of your citizenship, so the certificate is the document the passport office needs.
Enrolling to vote. Enrolment is compulsory for Australian citizens aged 18 and over. The Australian Electoral Commission has a dedicated new citizens page for getting on the electoral roll.

You will also use it to confirm your status to employers, banks and other government agencies. Keep it somewhere safe: it is a legal document, you must not write on it or change any details, and some organisations refuse laminated or damaged certificates.

Common problems: name changes and errors

Two issues come up often. The first is a name change after the certificate was issued, for example through marriage. You do not have to change the certificate itself, but if you want it updated you apply to change your evidence of citizenship and provide official proof of the new name. The second is an error on the certificate. If the Department made the mistake and you tell them within six weeks of receiving it, you may not need to lodge a separate application, and they can refund the evidence application fee. If you spot any error, contact them as soon as possible rather than waiting. The official evidence of citizenship section sets out how to fix an incorrect certificate.