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Civil Registration System
Papua New Guinea
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Papua New Guinea
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?
No power to register vital event (without national approval)
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.
The Registrar-General is empowered under Section 9 of the Civil and Identity Registration Act to delegate functions to Senior Registry Officials, including the power to register civil events and issue civil event certificates.
Section 73 states that any notification, certificate, form, application or other document about an event required to be received by the Registrar-General may be given to any office of the Registry. In practice, Registry offices are located at provincial and district levels.
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.
The Registrar-General is empowered under Section 9 of the Civil and Identity Registration Act to delegate functions to Senior Registry Officials, including the power to correct clerical errors. Section 71 makes it clear that this applies only to clerical errors or errors that are apparent upon examination of a document; only the Registrar-General may order the amendment, cancellation or voiding of entries in the Register.
Section 79 of the Act allows for fees to be imposed for the correction of errors, but no fees for this have been prescribed as of January 2026.
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)?
Yes, a registrar can add omitted information, free of charge.
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.
Section 71(6) of the Civil and Identity Registration Act provides that only the Registrar-General may order the amendment, cancellation or voiding of entries in the Register. Section 33 of the Act makes provision for birth registration of a newborn child to take place without a name or under a temporary name. In such a case, the Registrar-General will issue a unique identity number for the child, and the parents or guardian of the child must provide the name of the child to the Registrar-General within 28 days. Section 79(1)(e) states that adding the name of a child in this manner is free.
In terms of Section 28 of the Act, where the birth of a child born outside marriage is already registered without anyone being named as the father, a father can be added if the Registrar-General is satisfied by a letter or other satisfactory evidence that both the mother and the person acknowledging himself as the father agree that his name or other particulars should be added to the birth registration.
Section 79 of the Act allows for fees to be imposed for the addition of paternity information, but no fees for this have been prescribed as of January 2026.
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?
No
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.
The Civil and Identity Registration Act is silent on this issue.
Law Source
Qualifications
Does the law provide the criteria or required qualifications for appointing, designating, or selecting local registrars?
No
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.
The Civil and Identity Registration Act is silent on the qualifications for local registrars. However, the legal framework provides a merit-based appointment process for the Registrar-General, who must have at least five years of management experience and be “suitably qualified”. The terms and conditions of service of the Registrar-General are determined by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission pursuant to Section 216A of the Constitution, and the Registrar-General is subject to the “Leadership Code” set out in Division III.2 of the Constitution and the Organic Law on the Duties and Responsibilities of Leadership, which are aimed at preventing conflicts of interest.
