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.
[Top]
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.
[Top]
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)
[Top]
Service standard
Applications may take 8 to 12
weeks.
[Top]
Cost
This service is
free.
[Top]
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.
[Top]
Contact details
|