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 > Home  > Services for people  > Birth  > Birth documents  > Register birth
    
Register birth
    

Description | Steps to follow | Legal framework | Service standard | Cost | Forms to complete | Contact details

Description

The Birth and Death Registration Amendment Act, 1997 stipulates that the birth of a child born alive must be reported within 30 days after birth.

Notice of birth must be given by one of the parents or the legal guardian and if neither of the parents or the legal guardian is able to do so, a person requested by one of the parents or the legal guardian may give notice on their behalf. This person must have their written permission. If the parents are married, the child’s birth will be registered in the father’s surname.

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Steps to follow

  • Complete application form BI-24 (Notice of birth) at any Home Affairs office.
  • A person requested to give notice must have a written mandate to do so which must also include the reasons why the parents cannot give notice themselves.
  • If a child is born outside South Africa and one of the parents is a South African citizen at the time of its birth, the birth may be notified at the South African embassy, mission or at any Home Affairs office in South Africa.
  • For a birth notice made after 30 days of birth but before a year after birth, the parents or the legal guardian must give reasons why the birth was not registered within 30 days as required by the law.
  • If the parents are not married and they wish to register the child under the father’s surname, the father must acknowledge paternity in the space provided in the application form BI-24. The father should be present when the birth is registered.

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Legal framework

(Documents are provided in PDF format. To open PDF documents, you need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader 4 or higher installed on your computer.)

Births and Deaths Registration Amendment Act, 1997 (Act 67 of 1997)

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Service standard

Applications may take 8 to 12 weeks.

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Cost

This service is free.

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Forms to complete

(Forms are provided in PDF format. To open PDF documents, you need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader 4 or higher installed on your computer.)

Note: *Special specifications and requirements regarding the processing of this form apply and it may therefore not be downloaded for use as an application or registration form. All forms are available at any regional or district office of the Department.

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Contact details

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Last reviewed:15 January 2010
    
 
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