Can You Register As A Native American At Any Time

How to utilise for Indian status

Find out if you're entitled to exist registered under the Indian Act and how to utilize.

COVID-nineteen-related updates

To find out if information technology's possible to utilise for registration in person, visit Telephone call ahead for in-person services.

To observe out how to utilize for COVID-nineteen-related benefits, visit Coronavirus (COVID-19) and Indigenous communities.

Recent changes

As of December 10, 2020, you can select a non-binary gender identifier on the application form when applying for registration or a status card: Grand (male), F (female) or 10 (some other gender).
On July 31, 2020, the Quebec Superior Courtroom issued its decision in the case of Hele c. Attorney General of Canada (Hele decision), ruling that unmarried women could not be enfranchised nether the 1951 Indian Act.
- If yous were unmarried or your mother or grandmother was unmarried and enfranchised by application as an adult between September 4, 1951, and April 17, 1985, you may be affected by that decision.
- To notice out more about enfranchisement and the steps the Government of Canada is taking to address the Quebec Superior Court's determination, visit Addressing enfranchisement of unmarried women in registration.

Update on eliminating known sex-based inequities

As of August 15, 2019, Bill S-three amendments addressed all known sexual practice-based inequities in the registration provisions of the Indian Act. On Dec 11, 2020, the tertiary and final report to Parliament on the review of Neb Due south-3 was tabled.

To find out what the Government of Canada is doing to ensure disinterestedness between the sexes in registration, visit Pecker S-iii: Eliminating known sexual activity-based inequities in registration.

On this folio

Are yous entitled to exist registered under the Indian Human activity
Have known sex-based inequities in the Indian Act affected your entitlement to registration
How do y'all apply for registration
What practise you need to submit with the awarding for registration
- for an adult (16 or older)
- for a child (xv or younger) or dependent adult
Are you lot entitled to be registered through a parent not listed on your proof of birth certificate
What other documents practise you lot need to submit if you lot're adopted
Tin can you use for someone else
Where can y'all submit the application
How are original documents returned
How long does it take to be registered
What is the x-digit registration number
When practise you lot become eligible for the Non-Insured Health Services programme
Can you protest the Registrar's decision

Are you lot entitled to be registered nether the Indian Act

Entitlement to registration under the Indian Act is based on the degree of descent from ancestors who are registered or entitled to be registered.

To discover out if you're entitled to be registered, ask yourself:

Are either or both of my parents registered or entitled to be registered?
Are whatsoever of my grandparents registered or entitled to be registered?
Is anyone in my immediate or extended family registered or entitled to be registered?

Yous may exist entitled to be registered if:

at to the lowest degree one of your parents is registered or entitled to be registered under subsection 6(1) of the Indian Act

both of your parents are registered or entitled to be registered under subsection 6(1) or half-dozen(ii) of the Indian Act

Have known sex-based inequities in the Indian Deed afflicted your entitlement to registration

Your or your ancestors' date of nascence and life events, such equally marriages and divorces, may have afflicted your entitlement to registration.

Between 1985 and 2019, the Indian Human action was amended to address sex-based inequities and comply with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms:

Bill C-31 restored entitlement to women who had lost entitlement due to matrimony to a non-entitled man, entitling their children to registration equally well
Bill C-3 granted entitlement to grandchildren of certain women who regained entitlement under Nib C‑31
Bill Due south-three eliminated all known sex-based inequities non addressed by Nib C-31 or Nib C-iii, entitling all descendants built-in earlier Apr 17, 1985, or from a marriage that occurred before that date, of women who had lost their entitlement due to spousal relationship to a non-entitled man

If your entitlement to registration has been afflicted by known sexual activity-based inequities in the Indian Act, you may at present have the correct to be registered if:

your mother, grandmother or peachy-grandmother lost her entitlement through matrimony to a non-entitled human before April 17, 1985

your mother, grandmother or great-grandmother was born outside of wedlock to an entitled begetter and a not-entitled mother between September iv, 1951, and April 16, 1985

your parent, grandparent or peachy-grandparent lost their entitlement because of their mother's wedlock to a non-entitled man before Apr 17, 1985

your parent's, grandparent's or keen-grandparent's name was omitted or deleted from the Indian Annals or from a First Nation membership listing considering of their not-entitled father

To find out more than, visit:

Beak S-3: Eliminating known-sex activity based inequities in registration
Removal of the 1951 cutting-off
How do you apply for registration

call 1-844-280-5011

If you applied for registration earlier the Indian Act was amended

If you practical for registration earlier the Indian Act was amended and your awarding is waiting to be processed, it will automatically be processed based on the amended Indian Deed. You don't demand to reapply.

If you practical for registration before the Indian Human action was amended and your application was denied, you need to reapply.

If yous take questions about your application for registration, contact Public enquiries.

Amending your registration category

If known sex-based inequities in the Indian Act accept affected your entitlement to registration, your registration category may be amended.

To request a category amendment, you must submit a copy of valid adequate identification as well as a signed and dated written request with your name, registration number and mailing address:

in person at
- whatever regional office
- any Get-go Nation function, if applicable
by mail to
- Application Processing Unit
  Indigenous Services Canada
  Box 6700
  Winnipeg MB R3C 5R5

How do yous utilise for registration

Step 1: Get the awarding class

online
by mail, by calling Public enquiries
in person, at any regional part
in person, at any Commencement Nation office, if applicative

Step ii: Find a guarantor, if necessary

Yous must find a guarantor if:

applying past mail
submitting identification that doesn't encounter all of the requirements for valid acceptable identification
submitting an application in person on behalf of an adult or on behalf of a parent or legal guardian applying for a child or dependent adult
submitting a photo using the SCIS Photo App

Find out who can act as a guarantor.

Pace three: Fill out the awarding

Detailed instructions on filling out the application for adults (16 or older) and for children (15 or younger) or dependent adults are available online.

You must provide information about yourself, or the child or dependent developed, and ancestors, such as parents or grandparents, including :

legal name
date of birth
First Nation name
registration number, if applicable
contact information
adoption information, if applicable

If your parents are entitled to membership or citizenship with different First Nations, you may have a selection of First Nation amalgamation. You may choose which Outset Nation on the awarding grade or submit a separate First Nation choice statement.

If your First Nation controls its own membership or citizenship, you may need to apply to the Start Nation separately to become a member or citizen.

To help make up one's mind entitlement to registration, it'south also helpful to provide:

the names of any relatives, such as brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles or cousins, who are registered or entitled to be registered
whatever relevant information that may assist identify them in records at Ethnic Services Canada (ISC) and link them to you, the child or dependent adult

If your or the kid or dependent adult'south parents or grandparents aren't registered, provide as much information as possible about your Outset Nation ancestors or those of the kid or dependent adult. ISC volition research its records to determine entitlement to registration. Any relevant information provided will help speed upwardly that enquiry. In complex cases, ISC may contact yous for more data.

To research family unit genealogy, visit Indigenous genealogy.

Point if you lot wish to receive a Secure Document of Indian Status, or secure status card, when filling out the application.

If yous don't submit photos with the application, you or the child or dependent adult will exist registered if entitled, only a secure condition card won't be issued. You can always utilize for a status card afterwards.

Pace 4: Sign and date the application

Before submitting the application, make sure you've:

filled out all relevant sections, including the checklist
signed and dated the form
included all necessary documents
included photos if too applying for a secure status card
included a guarantor annunciation, if necessary

If the application is for a child or dependent adult, all parents listed on the proof of birth document, or all custodial parents or legal guardians listed on the legal documents, must sign the form.

Step five: Submit the application

To avoid delays in processing the application, you must submit all necessary documents, including the checklist, with the complete application course.

What practise you need to submit with the application for registration

For an adult (16 or older)

You must submit:

a complete awarding for registration for adults (16 or older)
an original proof of birth certificate with parental data
- to go an original proof of birth certificate, visit the Vital Statistics website from the province or territory where you were built-in
original valid acceptable identification or a re-create of the front and of the back of the identification, each re-create signed and dated by a guarantor
a guarantor announcement, if necessary
if also applying for a secure status card, a digital photo using the SCIS Photo App or ii printed photos that run into the photograph requirements

If the proper noun on the awarding class is different from the name on whatsoever of the other necessary documents, you must also submit:

an original legal name-linking document, such as a change of name certificate, a wedlock document or a divorce order, that links the previous name with the current name

a copy of a legal name-linking document and a copy of valid adequate identification with the name that is on the application form

For a child (fifteen or younger) or dependent adult

If applying for a child (15 or younger) or dependent adult

The applying parent, custodial parent or legal guardian must have the authority to act for the child or dependent adult in legal and financial matters.

You must submit:

a complete application for registration for children (15 or younger) or dependent adults
an original proof of birth document with parental information
- to get an original proof of birth document, visit the Vital Statistics website from the province or territory where the child or dependent adult was born
original valid acceptable identification of the applying parent, custodial parent or legal guardian or a re-create of the front and of the back of the identification, each re-create signed and dated by a guarantor
for a kid (15 or younger), any legal documents granting custody or guardianship of the child to the applying parent or legal guardian, if applicative
for a dependent adult, the guardianship society
a guarantor proclamation, if necessary
if also applying for a secure status bill of fare, a digital photo using the SCIS Photo App or 2 printed photos that meet the photo requirements

If the child or dependent adult'due south name on the application form is different from the name on the proof of birth document or legal documents, yous must also submit:

an original legal name-linking document, such as a change of name document, that links the previous name with the current name

a copy of a legal proper noun-linking document and valid acceptable identification with the proper noun that is on the application form

If the proper noun of the applying parent, custodial parent or legal guardian is different from the name on any of the other necessary documents, y'all must too submit:

a re-create of a legal name-linking document, such as a change of name certificate, marriage certificate or divorce lodge, that links the previous name with the current name

Are yous entitled to exist registered through a parent not listed on your proof of birth document

A proof of nascence document listing the names of the parents is the main document needed to support entitlement to registration.

If 1 of the biological parents isn't listed on the proof of birth certificate simply is registered or entitled to be registered, you tin submit:

an original amended proof of nascency certificate list the unstated parent'due south name

statutory declarations, i from the parent listed on the proof of nascency document naming the unstated parent and 1 from the unstated parent acknowledging parentage

a court social club declaring parentage

original DNA testing results evaluated by a laboratory accredited by the Standards Council of Canada demonstrating a conclusive parent-child relationship

If you tin't submit any of those documents, you may submit:

statutory declarations from family members, shut relatives, Elders or community members
demography records
church records
infirmary records
school records
band council resolutions
First Nation membership or citizenship list
any other credible prove

Response to the Gehl conclusion

In response to the Gehl decision, the Government of Canada amended the Indian Human action to include a new provision that addresses situations of unknown or unstated parentage.

What other documents do you need to submit if yous're adopted

Applicants who were adopted every bit minors by registered or entitled to be registered parents through a legal or custom adoption may exist entitled to exist registered.

A legal adoption is handled by the courtroom and includes legal documents and an adoption order. If you or the child or dependent adult have or has been legally adopted, you must submit a complete awarding for registration and:

a copy of the adoption order or a copy of a letter from the social services authorities confirming the details of the adoption
a consent form signed and dated by the adopted applicant or, in the example of a kid or dependent adult, by the adoptive parents or legal guardians, then ISC can get information nigh biological beginnings from social services authorities involved in the adoption

You can also submit a copy of the pre-adoption birth certificate list the biological parents' names, if available.

If adopted in British Columbia, you'll need to fill out a consent form specific to that province.

A custom adoption is carried out following the Beginning Nation'due south practices. Applicants need to submit additional documents to confirm the custom adoption.

To find out what documents you need to submit if you lot or the kid or dependent adult were or was adopted through a custom adoption, contact ISC.

Contact ISC if adopted

To find out more nearly what other documents yous need to submit if you lot're adopted and to become a consent form:

contact Public enquiries

write to
- Adoption Unit
  Indigenous Services Canada
  10 rue Wellington
  Gatineau QC K1A 0H4

Any information provided to ISC by social services authorities is received in confidence and exempt from disclosure under the provisions of the Privacy Human activity. ISC doesn't release any identifying data virtually biological parents or ancestors.

Can you apply for someone else

A third-party awarding is an application submitted in person by someone other than the applicant. For a kid or dependent adult, a third person is whatever person other than the parent, custodial parent or legal guardian.

When submitting a third-party application, you must submit:

a complete awarding for registration, signed by the applicant
a copy of the forepart and of the back of valid acceptable identification of the applicant, each copy signed and dated by a guarantor
a guarantor announcement confirming the identity of the applicant
a signed statement from the applicant providing consent to submit the application through the tertiary party
original valid acceptable identification of the tertiary party
if also applying for a secure status carte, a digital photo of the applicant using the SCIS Photo App or ii printed photos that see the photo requirements

Where can y'all submit the application

Y'all tin submit the application, including the checklist and all necessary documents:

at any regional function
at any First Nation office, if applicative

by mail service to
- National Processing Unit
  Indigenous Services Canada
  10 rue Wellington
  Gatineau QC K1A 0H4

If you've been affected by known sex-based inequities in the Indian Act, you can submit the application, including the checklist and all necessary documents:

at whatsoever regional function
at any First Nation office, if applicable

by postal service to:
- Awarding Processing Unit
  Indigenous Services Canada
  Box 6700
  Winnipeg MB R3C 5R5

Before you go to any regional office or Kickoff Nation function

Telephone call alee to:

notice out if the office almost you is open up
make an date
confirm what documents you need to bring
find out what safety measures are in place to help foreclose the spread of COVID-19

How are original documents returned

Original documents submitted, except for guarantor and statutory declarations, will exist mailed to you within one month later receiving the application.

Change of address

Inform ISC of whatever change of address past contacting Public enquiries.

How long does information technology take to be registered

If you or the child or dependent adult are or is entitled to be registered, yous'll receive a letter confirming registration in vi to 8 months.

In complex cases

ISC may contact you for more data. Processing time for a circuitous case tin can accept upwardly to two years.

If y'all've also practical for a secure status carte, you should receive it 8 to 12 weeks subsequently receiving the letter of confirmation.

What is the 10-digit registration number

The x-digit registration number is a unique number used to ostend registration. The first iii digits of the number identify the First Nation you are affiliated with:

If your Kickoff Nation'south membership is maintained by ISC, you automatically become a fellow member of that Outset Nation
If your Outset Nation controls its own membership or citizenship, you need to contact the First Nation to employ for membership or citizenship

The x-digit registration number on the letter of confirmation is besides on the front end of the status carte.

If y'all demand to confirm your registration number, you tin become it from:

any regional role
your First Nation office
Public enquiries

Yous may be asked for a piece of valid acceptable identification or to respond questions to verify your identity.

When do y'all get eligible for the Non-Insured Health Benefits plan

The letter of the alphabet of confirmation establishing that you or the kid or dependent adult are or is registered also confirms eligibility for certain benefits and rights.

Benefits for non-insured health services are bachelor on registration. Services received earlier can't be reimbursed.

Children less than 18 months whose parent is registered are eligible for the Non-Insured Wellness Benefits programme.

Tin you protest the Registrar's determination

If the Registrar determines that you or the child or dependent adult aren't or isn't entitled to exist registered, you lot'll receive a letter explaining why.

If you disagree with the Registrar's decision and wish to protest, visit If you lot disagree with the Registrar'southward determination.