The birth certificate is the first right of the child, and it is the first step towards establishing its identity. The birth certificates are normally needed for below reasons:
- For admission to school
- As proof of age for employment.
- For proof of age at marriage
- To establish parentage
- To establish age for purpose of enrolment in Electoral Rolls
- To establish age for insurance purposes
- For registering in National Population Register (NPR)
- For Green card processing (USA)
- For Sponsoring parents’ visitor visa
- For Employment visa to work abroad
Registration of Birth
The registration of births is compulsory all over India, under the provisions of Registration of Births and Deaths (RBD) Act, 1969. The normal period of 21 days (from the date of birth) has been prescribed as the limit for reporting the birth. The Registrar / Sub-Registrar of Births and Deaths is the appropriate authority for recording and issuance of birth certificates and the powers may be vested with different people in different locations.
Who are vested with the powers of Registrar / Sub-Registrar of Births and Deaths?
1.Urban Areas: The Municipal Health Officer, Health officer or Equivalent Officers are appointed as Registrar of births and deaths.
2. Rural Areas– Panchayat Secretaries/Karmi/Gram Sevak in 15 States and 3 UTs. (Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Daman & Diu, D & N Haveli and Puducherry.)
3. Medical Officer In-charge or equivalent in 7 States and 3 UTs– (Assam, Haryana, Meghalaya, Orissa, and Punjab, Sikkim, Manipur (Partly), A & N Island, Delhi and Lakshadweep)
4. Village Accountants / Village Administrative Officers in 2 States – Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
5. SHO/Police Officials in Jammu & Kashmir and Chandigarh UT (Rural).
6. School Teachers in Mizoram and Nagaland. Circle Officer/Village Level Workers in Arunachal Pradesh.
Can a Birth certificate be obtained without the child’s name?
Yes, one can obtain a birth certificate without the child’s name. It is a general practice in India that the parents would take some time to name the child. So, many parents would register the birth certificate without the name of the child, and it is allowed under the provision of Section 14 of the Act. Some parents may soon take immediate efforts to include the name once they finalize it. But many others are simply not bothered to do the name inclusion in the birth certificate.
Is there a deadline to include the child’s name in birth records?
With a view to regularize the birth registration process and to avoid issues due to certificates with no name, the Indian Government issued a guideline to all the states through REGISTRATION OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS RULES, 1999. Section 10(1) explains about the limitation in including the name of the child as given below:
The child name can be entered by the concerned registration authority without any charge within 12 months and by charging the prescribed fee up to 15 years (from the date of enactment of rules i.e. 01-Jan-2000).
The aforesaid period expired on 31-Dec-2014. But the state governments were unable to enrol the names in all the birth certificates within that period and the public faced lot of issues due to this rule.
Despite various state governments extending the deadline multiple times to enable people to enrol, the objective was not fully achieved even until Dec.2019. In view of continued requests received from the various states and to address the problems faced by the public, The Office of the Registrar General (ORGI), India issued a letter dated 10-Nov-2020 to all the States and Union Territories to extend the date by 5 years to 31-Dec-2024. It is clearly called out by the ORGI office that this should be treated as the last time extension and it would not grant such extension again.
As a result, many state governments are now stepping up their efforts to ensure that every birth record has a name. For instance, the Tamilnadu Government issued a press release to the public on 10-Dec-2020 in this regard informing them that this is their last chance to update the records.
So, what’s the deadline again?
It is 31-Dec-2024. And if anyone in your family has a birth certificate without the name, then this is the time to correct it, before it is too late.
How can we help?
YourManinIndia, a TTK Service has been assisting many NRI clients for the last 20 years in updating their name in Birth certificates. We gather the basic information from the applicants, check the feasibility and guide the applicants on the process as per the place of their birth. The entire process takes 4-12 weeks depending upon the documentation the applicant needs to submit with the authorities. Once the request is processed the Birth certificate will be uploaded online with digital signatures and the hardcopy will be sent to the clients in person or through courier. We also help with name corrections if there has been an error, provided it can be supported through proper evidence.
A Birth Certificate is mandatory document that will come in handy all through your life and it is your right to have accurate and valid information on it. So what are you waiting for?