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Aboriginal Status

Department of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada

Tel: 1-800-567-9604

Website: http://www.inac.gc.ca

Registration application process:

Forms that you will need for registration can be picked up at:

• Department of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (address below)
• First Nations or Aboriginal associations
• Aboriginal Friendship Centres

If you were born on or after April 17, 1985:

Obtain a certified copy of the child’s birth certificate indicating parents’ names. This document can be obtained from the Provinces’ Vital Statistics Division. Write a letter which states that you want to register the child as an Indian. Give the names of the parent with whom the child should be registered (children are registered with only one parent). Both parents must sign the letter.

Send the copy of the birth certificate and the letter to your First Nations office or to the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs (address below).

If you were born before April 17, 1985:

Obtain and fill out the following forms:

• "Application for Registration of an Adult under the Indian Act": for a person who is 18 or older;
• "Application for Registration of Children under the Indian Act": for a person who is under 18 or for a person who is intellectually impaired.

Include as much information as you can about the applicant’s Aboriginal background and the name or location of the First Nation or First Nations to which the applicant’s ancestors belonged. If you know the names of relatives who have been registered, you should include these also.

Send the completed form to:

You will be contacted by telephone or mail if further information is needed.

National office:

Regional office: