Law for all Series - 1. Registration of Births and Deaths

Law for All is a series aimed at making laws accessible and understandable for all the non-lawyers. Follow this series to get more informed and educated about various important laws and to gain basic legal awareness. 

REGISTRATION OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS

Registration of Births & Deaths is compulsory as per provisions of Registration of Births & Deaths Act, 1969 (RDB ACT, 1969).

In India it is mandatory under the law as per the Registration of Births & Deaths Act, 1969 to register every birth/stillbirth and death with the concerned state/UT Government within 21 days of its occurrence.

A register of all the births and deaths within a particular jurisdiction is maintained by the Registrars. This data is in the public domain and is used for statistics purposes. It is pertinent to note that the details with respect to the cause of death are not disclosed. Anyone can apply for Certified copies of birth and death certificates as these are public documents.  

Birth certificates and Death Certificates are essential documents. The former is required for school admissions, passport application; the latter is essential for transferring bank deposits, inheritance of property, insurance and widow pensions etc. 

Obtaining the birth/death certificate

If a birth/death has taken place in a Government hospital/private hospital/nursing home/medical institution, they must be reported by the institutions within 21 days of the occurrence to the concerned Registrar (births & deaths). At the hospital, the person applying for a certificate should fill a form (In Bangalore this is Form-1 for births, Form-2 for deaths), which the hospital will then send to the local municipality/corporation. 

If a birth/death has taken place at home, it is the responsibility of the head of the family/any other family member to report the event within 21 days to the sub Registrars (births & deaths).

Birth or death certificate can be obtained after the registration by the submitting an application on plain paper to the concerned area Registrar/Sub-Registrar giving following details:

  • Date of Birth/Death
  • Sex i.e. Male or Female
  • Place of Birth/Death
  • Father’s Name
  • Mother’s Name
  • Name of hospital/nursing home/medical institutions
  • Residential address 

Birth Certificates

The name of the child can be specified in the initial application, if not, the parents can add the name later at the municipal/corporation office before they collect the actual certificate, or they can collect the certificate and then apply for name inclusion any time before the child turns 14, and an updated certificate can be obtained. Kindly check the procedure with respect to your state. 


Death certificates

  • If a death occurs at a hospital, a relative should fill the appropriate form prescribed by the local authorities (Form 2 in Bangalore), which the hospital will then send to the local authorities.
  • The hospital issues a medical certificate to the nearest relative of the deceased person.  This Cause of Death Certificate should be handed over at the time of burial/cremation to the officer in charge of the cremation or burial centre. 
  •  The crematorium/burial centre forwards the conformation of cremation or burial in the form to the jurisdictional ward office of the municipality/corporation.
  • Thereafter, on payment of a nominal fees, the municipality or municipal corporation issues the death certificate to the Applicant. 
  • If death occurs at home, a medical certificate must be issued by the family physician or consulting doctor and the above procedure must be followed. This certificate must be witnessed and the death must be confirmed by two people residing in the neighbourhood.