Birth Certificate - How to checks its status online?

Birth registration, as the UN defines it, is a continuous, permanent and universal recording, within the civil registry, of the occurrence and characteristics of births in accordance with the legal requirements of a country. Issuance of Birth Certificate, which is a vital legal record that documents a person’s birth, normally follows Birth Registration. The right to be registered is every newborn child’s birthright as per the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and other international conventions, since this is an essential part of the right to a name and nationality, as enshrined therein. The Birth Certificate serves primarily as an indicator of age and also serves as a tool for statistics, which is important for policy formulation. This article unfolds the process of checking Birth Certificates online.

What is the procedure to check the Birth Certificate online?

The Birth Certificates status can be checked online in 4 simple steps:

STEP 1: Local Self-Government Department websites of your respective locality could be searched online. These websites have portals to check birth certificates online.

STEP 2: Finding your Birth Certificate from the website is the next step. When you reach your local self-government website, find the link to find Birth Certificates.

STEP 3: Enter the relevant details on at least the mandatory fields and search. The details needed are the name, date of birth, mother’s name and gender.

STEP 4: If the Birth Certificate is registered online, you can easily access the Birth Certificate. Nonetheless, details of birth certificates that are registered and recorded in writing will not be available in these sites unless that are digitized and ported in the electronic register as qualified records after verification of the local body officials.

This feature enables you to find, access, view, verify or even download and print your Birth Certificates. While looking up your Birth Certificate online, you could verify the respective details and find your Birth Certificate number if required. This service could be accessed free of cost. You can even check your Father’s name, registered as birth parent at the time of issue of the certificate; entering Mother’s name at the time of the query is, nonetheless, a mandatory field that has to be filled. 

The Legal Mechanism in India

Births are registered under the Registration of Births and Deaths Act (RBD Act), 1969, which was enforced in most parts of the country in 1970. The Act provides a uniform law for compulsory registration of births and deaths across the country. However, keeping in view the diversity of the country, it allows State Governments to formulate rules for its implementation and appointment of various functionaries.

"The implementation of the law is the responsibility of the State Governments. Lack of awareness is a bottleneck when it comes to ensuring registration; nonetheless, the government has been initiating schemes and targets to achieve cent percent registration," says Advocate Ankit Sharma. 

Sample Affidavit for Obtaining a Birth Certificate:

What is the process of applying for the Birth Certificate?

The local-level authorities have been entrusted with the duty of registering births and deaths.

STEP 1: The process begins with the collection of a registration form from the Registrar’s office; if the child is born at a hospital, the form is provided by the medical officer in charge.

STEP 2: The form has to be filed within 21 days along with a fee of 20 INR if you are registering within the specified time; post expiration of the said time, the registration will only be done after police verification and the payment of late fees.

STEP 3: The birth certificate will be ready within around 7 days to three weeks post-application.

What are the documents required for the Birth Certificate?

The documents required for the birth certificate application are:

• Parents’ birth certificates
• Parents’ marriage certificate
• Proof of birth
• Identity proof of parents

Who to contact for the Birth Certificate?

Note: Medical officer in charge or equivalent is responsible for the birth and death certificate in Government Hospitals, Primary Healthcare Centers and Community Health Centers.

When to register the Birth Certificate?

There are certain norms to follow while registering for the Birth Certificate, such as:

• Fill the prescribed form by the Registrar to notify the birth of a child to the concerned authorities within the 21 days of the birth.
• Birth Certificate is issued post verification with the actual records of the respective hospital.
• If the registration is not done in the said time then it requires police verification.
• If the registration has not been done in the said time, and within one year after that, then a late fee is charged.
• Registration after one year of the birth requires submission of an affidavit before a first-class magistrate or executive magistrate. The magistrate then verifies the details of the affidavit and if found satisfactory, then he/ she issues the order to Registrar to enter the entries of birth in the birth register.

What are the benefits of the Birth certificate?

• Establishing your child’s identity
• Establishing age for insurance purposes, enrolment in Electoral Rolls, during employment and education institutions.
• Registering in National Population Register (NPR).
• Claiming social security benefits (e.g. health schemes).
• Passport Application.
• Immigration needs like applying for Green Card.
• Obtaining certified documents such as Voter’s ID, Driving License, Passport, Marriage Certificate, etc.

Filing an Online Application

Albeit e-governance initiatives have brought digitalization to the registration of births and the issue of Birth Certificate, the system remains sluggish with very few metropolitan cities able to avail this facility. Hence, before proceeding to register births online you have to check if the facility is available in your city on at crsorgi.gov.in. Sign up on the website with personal details and if the Registration portal is active, then the provision is available in your city. If so, then proceed to register, print out the form and get it attested by either the registrar or the sub-registrar. 

Local Self-Government Department

"The mechanism for checking Birth Certificates online is facilitated by the e-governance, an initiative of the department of local self-government. With the aim to empower democracy at the grassroots level with the emergence of the digital landscape, these services have been incorporated by the department of local self-government Panchayats, Municipalities and Corporations within the e-governance," says Advocate Ankit Sharma.

Bottom Line

It could be observed that the E-governance initiatives of the government have eventually expanded to different government services, unlocking an unprecedented proportion of access, transparency, and operation sans logistical hassles. This feature put into play by the e-governance initiative of the local self-government department has enabled us to check Birth Certificates online and access the same for different purposes. As per the government of Kerala order from 2012, online birth certificates are permitted as valid for all governmental purposes; similar orders could have been enacted by the respective State Governments of other states as well. 

Frequently Asked Questions:

Can I get a certificate without registration?

For a child whose birth has not been registered by any authority, a ‘Non-Availability of Birth Certificate’ document is issued.

For you to obtain a birth certificate, your birth has not been registered. In case your birth was never registered by any authority, a ‘Non-Availability of Birth Certificate’ document is issued. This ‘Non-Availability of Birth Certificate’ (NABC) can be obtained online or directly via Municipal Corporation.

What is a Long Birth Certificate?

A Long Birth Certificate is an official Birth Certificate that contains the legal information, including signatures from the attending physician or midwife along with the nationality and birth dates of both parents.

Does a birth certificate prove citizenship?

Yes, the birth certificate in India proves the Indian citizenship.</span></span></span></p> <p class="faq-question>How can I get my birth certificate from Uttar Pradesh?

Birth Certificate in Uttar Pradesh can get via https://e-nagarsewaup.gov.in/. You just need to put in your details and you will get your birth certificate.

What are the provisions to register the birth of a child of an Indian Citizen abroad (outside India)?

If a child is born outside India, in this case, his or her birth needs to be registered at the Indian Embassy in the respective country. In case the parents of the child want to settle in India, therein the birth of a child can be registered within the 60 days of the date of arrival of a child. Post 60 days, the birth registration is done under the delayed registration provisions.

Can a birth certificate be obtained without the name of the child?

Yes, the Birth Certificate can be obtained without the name of the child. In this case, the name of the child needs to be registered by the respective registration authority. The name can be registered without any charge within 12 months of the birth, post that you need to pay a prescribed fee for it.

How many copies of Birth or Death Certificates can be obtained?

Any number of copies of the Birth or Death Certificate can be obtained by paying the prescribed fees.