Release of data from the population register

When entering the population register, a certificate of a family event is given in Estonian free of charge. If necessary, it is possible on payment of a state fee, to request a new certificate of a family event registered in Estonia after 1.07.1926, as well as a certificate in a foreign language or a certificate on an international form for submission in a foreign country.

You have the right to receive a certificate for yourself, your minor child, ward or deceased spouse, or registered partner and, if there is a legitimate interest, also for other people’s family events (births, deaths, marriage, divorce, gender change, name change). The official handling the request for a certificate will assess the existence of a legitimate interest.

If the data about a family event have been entered in the population register, you do not need to submit a certificate to the Estonian state or local government authority. State and local government institutions and other authorities performing public tasks must be guided by the data entered in the population register.

In addition to a certificate of a family event, Estonian citizens and residents can request, on payment of a state fee, a certificate of marital capacity in order to marry abroad, which is valid for six months from the date of issue, if the country to which the certificate is submitted does not require a shorter period of validity.

Ways to request a certificate

It is possible to request a certificate:

• in the e-population register (only birth certificates and name change certificates for yourself, your minor child and ward, and your marriage certificate and divorce certificate) or 
• by submitting a request
  -    to your preferred local government of the county centre or 
  -    to the Estonian foreign mission in whose consular area the certificate will be used. 

A written request can be submitted in person, through an authorised representative, or by mail or electronically confirmed with a digital signature.

Request forms are available on the website of the Ministry of the Interior, in the Riigi Teataja and in institutions that issue the certificates.

If a divorce was confirmed in court after 1 January 1995, you must apply to the court to obtain a document certifying the divorce.

Ways of issuing a certificate

Certificates of a family event can be issued on paper or electronically.

• The paper certificate is certified with a seal and the signature of the vital statistics officer and is issued to the applicant personally or through an authorised representative from the vital statistics office or foreign mission indicated when requesting the certificate.
• The electronic certificate requested in the institution is digitally signed. It does not bear the handwritten signature or seal of the official. The certificate will be sent to the e-mail address specified in the request.
  
  The electronic certificate requested in the e-population register is issued automatically, it is confirmed with a digital stamp and is available in the e-population register immediately after paying the state fee.
  
  It is possible to submit an electronic certificate in digital procedures. For example, it can be sent by e-mail. The electronic certificate is not intended for printed use.

For submission in a foreign country, it is safer to request a paper certificate because electronic certificates may not be accepted by foreign authorities. If possible, before requesting a certificate, it is worth asking the foreign authority whether they recognise an electronic certificate.

Languages and forms of a certificate

If a certificate is needed for submission to a foreign country, you should first find out what requirements the certificate must meet in order to be accepted. You can also ask for advice from the local government of the county centre or the Estonian mission abroad.

• The family event certificate can be issued in Estonian, English, German or French.
  
  A certificate in English, German or French can be used in countries where documents in these languages are accepted. If these language options are not suitable, a sworn translator must be contacted to order the necessary official translation.
  
  In addition to translation, it may be necessary to officially confirm the authenticity of the certificate. This means adding an apostille or legalising the certificate. In Estonia, documents are certified with an apostille by notaries, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs deals with legalisation.
  
  In order to submit a certificate to another member state of the European Union, it is not necessary to confirm it with an apostille or legalise it.
  
  In Finland, we recommend submitting an extract from the population register in English instead of a certificate to prove a vital statistics event (birth, marriage, divorce, name change). This is especially important in cases where it is necessary to formalise the birth of a child who is still a minor. The birth certificate does not contain information about the rights of guardianship of the minor's parents and this certificate cannot be used in Finland. An extract from the population register can be applied for at the local government of the county centre, the Estonian Embassy in Helsinki or via the e-service. When ordering an extract in the e-service, select the data that you want to verify with the extract.
   
• The certificate can also be issued on forms created by international legislation for use in countries that also apply such legislation. If the certificate is issued on an international form, it does not need to be translated, apostilled or legalised.
  
  Certificates on international forms are issued by the local governments of the county centre. Estonian foreign missions cannot issue certificates on international forms, but they can be ordered from Estonia through the foreign mission while you are staying in a foreign country.
  
  -    Multilingual certificates of birth, marriage or death can be issued on a CIEC form based on the Convention on the Issue of Multilingual Extracts from Civil Status Records.

Certificates issued on a CIEC form can be used in Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cape Verde, Netherlands, Spain, Croatia, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Moldova, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Portugal, France, Romania, Germany, Serbia, Slovenia, Switzerland and Turkey.

-The standard multilingual form of the European Union can be added to the birth, death or marriage certificate in Estonian and to the certificate of marital capacity. A certificate with a standard multilingual form should be requested if the European Union country where the certificate is to be presented does not accept a certificate in English, German or French or a certificate issued on the CIEC form.

The certificate in Estonian with the standard multilingual form can be used in all member states of the European Union: in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Greece, Finland, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia, Netherlands, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, and in Hungary.

A certificate issued for one member state of the European Union with a standard multilingual form can also be used in all other member states.

-    Certificates issued on the basis of Art. 39 of the Brussels IIa Regulation and Brussels IIb Regulation of the European Union can be used together with the divorce certificate in Estonian in the member states of the European Union, with the exception of Denmark. A certificate on the basis of the Brussels II regulations can be issued in the language of the European Union country where the certificate is to be submitted.

The issue of a certificate based on the Brussels II regulations cannot be requested in the e-population register.

The certificate issued under the Brussels II regulations is not issued electronically, but only on paper. Also, the divorce certificate in Estonian submitted with it must be on paper.

-    If the divorce took place before 01.08.2022, it is necessary according to the Brussels IIa regulation to add a certificate to the divorce certificate in Estonian. It can be issued by the local government of the county centre or the notary where the divorce was formalised. If the divorce was formalised at a notary, but the requester for a Brussels IIa certificate does not have a divorce certificate in Estonian, he/she must first contact the local government of the county centre of their choice to obtain a repeat Estonian divorce certificate, and then contact the notary who formalised the divorce to add the Brussels IIa certificate.
-    If the divorce took place after 01.08.2022, according to the Brussels IIb regulation it is necessary to add a certificate to the divorce certificate in Estonian. It can be issued by all local governments of the county centre or the notary, regardless of where the divorce took place, but if the requester does not have the divorce certificate in Estonian, he/she must still contact the local government of the county centre of his/her choice, since notaries do not issue duplicate certificates in Estonian along with the Brussels IIb certificate.

If the divorce was formalised in court, you must apply to that court to obtain Brussels IIa and Brussels IIb certificates.

State fee for the issue of a family event certificate

If the certificate is issued by the local government of the county centre, a state fee must be paid:

• for an electronic or paper certificate in Estonian, English, German or French or on a CIEC form – 20 EUR
• for an electronic certificate in Estonian, English, German or French or CIEC form with a digital stamp if an application is submitted in the e-population register- 5 EUR
• for an electronic or paper certificate in Estonian issued along with a standard multilingual form – 40 EUR
• for a divorce certificate issued on the basis of the Brussels II regulations, with a divorce certificate in Estonian – 40 EUR and without a certificate in Estonian – 20 EUR (if a paper certificate in Estonian is already available). The certificate is also issued by a notary public.

Regarding the state fee and fees for the certificate issued by the Estonian foreign mission, more detailed information is provided by the foreign missions. 

Every adult person has the right to receive information about him/herself, his/her minor children, wards and deceased spouse's or registered partner  entered in the population register, and to receive extracts from the data. The easiest way to get acquainted with the data on yourself, your minor children or ward and to order an extract from the data is through the self-service portal of the e-population register that consolidates the services of the population register.

Extracts from the data entered in the population register may be available on payment of a fee depending on which data extract is requested and which institution issues the extract.

The following extracts from the population register data are issued:

• Extract from the population register – the extract contains the person's name, personal identification code, date and place of birth, gender and citizenship. In addition, other data entered in the population register can be selected to be included in the extract. A state fee of 20 euros is applied for the issue of an extract from the population register in the local government of the county centre, 5 e uros at a notary (the notary's fee is added) and 30 euros at Estonian foreign missions.
• Residence data extract (residence certificate)– the person's name, personal identification code, date of birth, gender and valid residential address are entered on the extract. Issuing an extract of residence data in the local municipality of the place of residence is free, 20 euros in the local government of the county centre, 5 euros at a notary (the notary's fee is added) and 30 euros at Estonian foreign missions.
• List of residents for the owner of the premises – the address of the premises and the names and personal identification codes of the persons who have registered it as their place of residence are entered on the extract. The list of residents is issued free of charge by the local authorities of the location of the premises, but a state fee of 20 euros must be paid if issued by the local government of the county centre. Notaries and Estonian foreign missions do not issue lists of residents.

In addition, a standard multilingual form can be ordered with an extract from the population register to prove marital status, residence or living status in another member state of the European Union. The standard multilingual form is a translation aid issued on the basis of the European Union Regulation EU) 2016/1191, which is added to the extract from the population register in Estonian and cannot be used as an independent document. 
The extract from the population register together with the multilingual standard form is issued by the local government of a county centre or Estonian foreign missions, and a state fee of 40 euros must be paid in the local government of a county centre and 50 euros in an Estonian foreign mission.

In Finland, it is sufficient to submit an extract from the population register in English and it is not necessary to attach a multilingual standard form. In Finland, an extract in English can be used to verify both vital statistics events and other circumstances and data entered in the population register (e.g., place of residence, marital status, proof of life, rights of guardianship).

Information about family events (birth, death, marriage, divorce, name change, gender change) can also be obtained as a notice in Estonian or as a certified copy of the vital statistics document.

• It is possible to request the issue of data on a family event registered in Estonia before 01.07.1926 from the National Archives. These data come from church records, not from the population register
• Family letters in Tallinn and Nõmme have been kept in the Tallinn City Archives since 01.07.1926. To obtain a notice or a copy of a vital registration record prepared during the registration of family events in Tallinn (including Nõmme and Mustamäe) between 01.07.1926 and 31.12.2005 you must contact the Tallinn Vital Statistics Office.
• Regarding the remaining family letters in Estonia since 01.07.1926 and vital registration records prepared during the registration of family events between 01.07.1926 and 31.12.2005, it is possible to request the issue of data in the form of a notice or a copy from the National Archives. 

You have the right to obtain a notice and a certified copy of the vital statistics document about the family event involving yourself, your minor child, ward or deceased spouse or registered partner , and, if there is a legitimate interest, also relating to other persons. The official handling the request will assess the existence of a legitimate interest.

A state fee of 20 euros must be paid for the issue of a notice or a certified copy of a vital statistics document from the Tallinn Vital Statistics Office.

Regarding the fee for the issue of a notice or a certified copy of a vital statistics document from the National Archives and the Tallinn City Archives, more detailed information can be obtained from the National Archives and the Tallinn City Archives.