Service New Brunswick Minister Greg Byrne says the certificates and designed to be difficult to reproduce or copy. The document, containing more than 20 security features, is made by the same company that prints Canadian currency.

Newborns will automatically get the new document, but anyone born in the province can apply for the state-of-the-art certificate.

Byrne notes the current birth certificates are still valid, but people can buy a new one for between $20 and $30.

The minister says frequent travellers who cross international borders may want to consider the new one.