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Civil Registration System
Colombia
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Colombia
Civil Registration System
Local Civil Registrations
Local Civil Registrations
Powers and Responsibilities of Local Civil Registrars
Is the local civil registrar empowered by law to register vital events? If yes, do they have the power to issue certificates of registration?
Civil registrar empowered to register vital events but not to issue certificates
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
Legislation should clearly state the duties and powers of local registrars (the civil registrar responsible for the primary registration area), which include recording and registering vital events in compliance with registration laws, and issuing certificates or copies of vital records upon request, without needing approval from the central level.
Yes, local civil registrars are empowered by law to register (record and keep) vital events. Decree 1260 of 1970, Art. 118 designates the local officers in charge of recording and maintaining the civil register within the country (including notaries, and in municipalities without a notary, municipal civil status registrars or, if unavailable, the mayor, with possible exceptional authorizations for delegates/corregidores/police inspectors). However, the power of local registrars to issue certificates/copies is not clearly stated in the law. The authority to issue copies of civil registration records is expressly assigned at the national level to the National Civil Registry Office (RNEC) (Decree 1010 of 2000, Art. 5(3)).
Does the registrar (local or other level) have the authority to correct minor errors (such as data entry errors and typographical errors)? If yes, are such changes free of charge?
Yes, a registrar can correct minor errors free of charge
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
Legislation should authorize the local civil registrar to make minor corrections such as typographical and data entry errors in civil registration records. Such corrections should be free of charge.
Decree 1260 of 1970 provides that, once a civil registration record is authorized, it may generally only be changed by a final court decision or by the person concerned following the decree’s procedures (Art. 89). However, the registrar may correct typographical/spelling errors and other errors that are clearly verifiable from supporting documents or the record itself, upon the person’s written request (Arts. 91, 97).
Does the registrar (local or other level) have the power to add omitted information (such as name of baby, in the case of late naming, and paternity information)?
No, a registrar does not have the power to add omitted information
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
Legislation should authorize the local civil registrar to add uncontested information such as uncontested paternity information, and add omitted information such as adding or amending the name of a child within a defined time period.
Decree 1260 of 1970 provides that, once a civil registration record is authorized, it may generally only be changed by a final court decision or by the person concerned following the decree’s procedures (Art. 89). Non-clerical corrections or alterations generally require a public deed (escritura pública) with supporting documents (Arts. 90–91, 97). The person may also substitute/rectify/correct/add to their name by public deed to fix their personal identity (Art. 94).
Does the law require the local civil registration office to transmit registration records to the national civil registration authority on a regular and timely basis?
Yes
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
The legislation should set time frames for transfer of information from the local register to the centralized register. The time frames may vary based on policymakers' discretion, depending on whether the system is computerized or non-computerized.
Yes. Decree 1260 of 1970 requires each civil registration to be made in duplicate, keeping one copy locally and sending the other to the “central office archive” (the National Civil Registration Office, Dirección Nacional de Registro Civil, within the National Civil Registry, Registraduría Nacional del Estado Civil). The Single Circular of Civil Registry and Identification (Version 9, 7 November 2025) operationalizes this duty and sets a monthly transmission schedule: authorized notaries/police inspectors/corregimientos send “first copies” to the municipal registrar within the first 3 business days of each month; municipal registrars forward them to the Departmental Delegation within the first 5 business days; and the Departmental Delegation sends them to the National Civil Registration Office, ensuring records are captured in the Civil Registration Information System (SIRC), within the first 10 business days. This reflects a hybrid system: paper “first copies” are transmitted on a schedule, while registration is also managed in the computerized SIRC system.
Does the law provide the criteria or required qualifications for appointing, designating, or selecting local registrars?
To some extent
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
It is important that the law provide clear requirements governing fitness and qualifications of local civil registrars. To prevent corruption, the law should provide that registrars be full-time public service officials, with defined terms of employment and adequate salary level.
Decree 1260 of 1970 identifies who may act as the local civil registration authority, but it does not set specific professional qualifications or selection criteria. Article 118 assigns the civil registration function to notaries and, in municipalities without a notary, to the municipal civil status registrar or, if none, the mayor; abroad, it assigns the role to consular officers. It also allows the Superintendence of Notaries and Registry to authorize (exceptionally and with justification) delegates of municipal civil registrars, corregidores, and police inspectors to keep the civil status register. Decree 1010 of 2000 describes municipal and special registrar offices as territorial units that represent the National Civil Registry Office (Registraduría Nacional del Estado Civil) in their jurisdiction, but it does not add appointment/qualification criteria.
