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Civil Registration System
South Africa
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South Africa
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?
Unclear
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 Births and Deaths Registration Act does not use the term local civil registrar or other similar term. At the local level, registration powers are exercised by persons to whom the Director-General has delegated authority under the general delegation provision. While the law does not explicitly state which powers these delegated may undertake, in practice these delegated officials are empowered to receive notices of birth and death, furnish birth certificates or acknowledgements of receipt, issue burial orders, and receive stillbirth certificates. The 2014 Regulations further detail the duties of officials receiving notices, including verification of particulars against the National Population Register.
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?
Unclear
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 Director-General has the power to supplement and rectify particulars - minor or otherwise - where they are not correctly reflected in any document, record, or in the population register, in consultation with the person in question. Any person may also apply to the Director-General for amendment or rectification of their particulars using the prescribed form. It is unclear whether the Director-General has delegated this power to local registrars under his/her general delegation authority. Whether corrections are free of charge is not specified in the legislation, as the Director-General holds a general fee-setting power without specifying which acts attract fees.
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)?
Approval by head of agency required, unclear if 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.
The law provides specific provisions for adding omitted information. Where a birth was registered without a forename or surname, the parent or person concerned may apply to the Director-General for amplification. Any parent of a minor may apply to alter the forename under which birth is registered. An unmarried father may acknowledge paternity and apply to amend the birth registration with the mother's consent; without consent, the father must apply to the High Court. No provision expressly addresses the addition of a baby's name in the case of late naming where the birth was initially registered without a name.
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?
Unclear
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 Births and Deaths Registration Act establishes a centralised registration model in which registration occurs by inclusion of particulars in the National Population Register, implying electronic transmission at the point of registration for online-connected offices. However, no general provision specifies a timeframe for transmission of registration records from local offices to the national register. The only explicit transmission timeframe in the Regulations applies to abroad death registrations, where forms must be forwarded as soon as possible.
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.
No provision in the Births and Deaths Registration Act or the 2014 Regulations prescribes qualifications, selection criteria, or appointment procedures for persons exercising registration functions. The delegation provision authorises the Director-General to delegate to any person without specifying qualifications. The Constitution requires that public administration be governed by democratic values including good human resource management, but no CRVS-specific qualification framework exists in the instruments reviewed.
