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Birth Registration
Uganda
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Uganda
Birth Registration
Procedure and Certificates
Procedure and Certificates
Place
Where must births be reported?
Place of occurrence
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
Registration may be place of occurrence of place of residence. The civil registration law should clearly state the place where births must be reported. Reporting in the place of occurrence usually makes the registration process faster and easier for the informant. The determination of the place of usual residence may be in fact complicated for some people who have more than one residence or often move. In addition, reporting at place of occurrence facilitates declaration or notification by a health facility.
Countries with electronic systems for civil registration may allow more flexibility and allow reporting from anywhere the civil registration system can be accessed.
What are the reporting periods for birth registration specified in law?
30 days/2 months
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
A clear deadline for reporting a birth, especially a short one, reduces the risk of misreporting or underreporting. The deadline is typically between 14 and 30 days.
A late birth registration occurs when a birth is reported after the legally specified time period, but within a grace period, usually one year after the vital event.
Delayed birth registration is the registration that occurs after the grace period has expired. Delayed birth registration may occur many years after the event, and may require additional evidence.
The Act imposes a duty to report births immediately after they occur (on in the case of a foundling, immediately after the child is found). Births that are not notified immediately will be registered only if the registrar is satisfied about the truth of the particulars provided, and only after approval by the Executive Director of the National Identification and Registration Authority. According to the regulations, if a birth occurs in any place other than a medical facility (including a birth in a prison, orphanage, barracks or quarantine station) – or where a person finds a child whose parents are unknown - the birth must be notified within 30 days. This appears to contradict the Act’s requirement for immediate notification of births and discovery of foundlings. The regulations also state that, after the prescribed period for the registration of a birth has expired (prescribed period in the regulations is 30 days for on-time birth registration), there is a one-month grace period during which the birth may still be registered.
Are there any fees or fine for late or delayed birth registration?
Yes
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
Fees are not effective in preventing late or delayed registration and may act as a disincentive for registration. If fees are charged for delayed or late registration, policymakers should consider having a fee-waiver process for those for whom fees are a hardship. More effective results to increase registration rates are observed through educational programmes aimed at the public. Some countries have opted to impose a penalty for failure to register or, more precisely, refusal to register, rather than impose a fee for late registration.
The regulations make provision for a prescribed fee to be imposed where birth notification does not take place immediately, but no such fee appears to have been enacted. Failure to comply with the duty to register a birth within the prescribed period (30 days in the Regulations) is a criminal offence punishable by a fine or imprisonment for up to three months. The maximum fine is six currency points. (Currency points can be amended by the Minister responsible for finance with the approval of Cabinet. As of December 2023, one currency point was valued at 20 000 shillings, making six currency points equivalent to 120 000 shillings.) There is a sliding scale of fees for the issue of a birth certificate that is tied to the time of birth registration. A birth certificate for citizens is free for a child registered up to the age of 6 months, increases to 10,000 shillings where the child is registered between 7 months and 6 years of age, increases again to 20,000 shillings where the child is registered between 7 years and 18 years of age, and is highest at 50,000 shillings for persons above age 18. There are different fees for foreigners, but no fee is charged at any stage for the birth certificate of a child born to a refugee.
What is the minimum information required for birth registration?
Minimum information required goes beyond UN guidance and registrar has no discretion to register without all required information
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
The information required for legal purposes is minimal, and usually consists of: given name; surname; date of birth; birthplace; sex; and names of both the parents. It is preferable that information on both parents is provided but registration should not be denied if the mother cannot or will not name the father. Registrars should be authorized to complete registration with the available information to strive for universal registration. Failure to provide statistical data elements such as the weight of the child, should also not prevent birth registration.
The minimum information required goes beyond UN Guidance, including the child’s birth weight and whether the child has any disability, as well as the nationality, residential and postal address, marital status, level of education and profession or occupation of both parents. The Act, the regulations and the form for notification of birth are not in complete agreement about the particulars required, and the discrepancies could lead to confusion for persons notifying births, as well as for registrars. The law provides no discretion to register births when the information is incomplete; in fact, the Act states that the registration officer must ensure that a person notifying a birth has provided the listed particulars before entering any information in the register. Refusal to state any of the required particulars is a criminal offence punishable by a fine or imprisonment for up to three months – but this would apply only where the particulars were known to the informant. In cases where paterntity is constested, there is a specific procedure in the law. The law requires a joint action by the father and mother of the child appearing physically before the registration officer, or the production of DNA test results or a court order establishing paternity before the father can be entered in the register of births.
What evidence is required for on-time birth registration?
Birth Notification Record, Proof of payment of any applicable birth certificate fees, photocopy of atleast one parent's national ID (Ugandan citizens) or passport/other travel document (non-citizens)
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
Registrars should require proof as to the veracity of the information to be registered. Proof or evidence required for registration must be sufficiently stringent to provide assurance of the accuracy of the information without being so burdensome so burdensome as to discourage or prevent registration. Documentary evidence is always preferred. For birth registration, the most common form of documentary evidence is the notification of birth (from health sector or local leader), but if this is not available, testimony or affidavits of witnesses may be substituted.
The law is silent on what evidence is required to notify births occurring inside Uganda to Ugandan citizen parents. Where a parent of a child born inside Uganda is a non-citizen, the register of births must contain the details of that parent’s passport or other travel document – suggesting that the passport or travel document may be required upon notification. Where a parent of a child is a recognized refugee, the register of births must contain the details of the refugee – suggesting that the documentation of refugee status may be required upon notification. NIRA Guidance issued in 2022 directs all persons to provide a Birth Notification Record issued by the medical facility, sub-county, town council or division where the birth occurred, proof of payment of any applicable birth certificate fees and unspecified other information as may be required. Ugandan nationals are directed to provide a photocopy of the national ID of at least one of the parents, while foreigners are directed to provide a photocopy of the passport of at least one of the parents
Are there additional or alternative documents required for late or delayed birth registration?
Unclear
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
While late and delayed reporting should be discouraged, the procedures should not be so restrictive as to prevent late and delayed reporting of events. Laws that require a court order for late or delayed registration present a significant barrier to registration. For late registration (within 1-year grace period), the provision of a notification of birth, or other evidence required for on-time registration, should be sufficient. For delayed registration (after 1 year), the law may require additional evidence such as a witness statement.
Births that are not notified immediately will be registered only if the registrar is satisfied about the truth of the particulars provided after approval by the Executive Director of the National Identification and Registration Authority. However, neither the Act nor the regulations specifies what evidence may be required for this purpose.
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?
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
The civil registration agency should have authority to correct errors such as obvious spelling, date or typographical errors.Providing the registration agency with authority to make these types of corrections relieves the applicant of having to spend time and money applying to courts. No fee should be charged for minor clerical errors.
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Law Source
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)? If yes, are such changes free of charge?
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
The civil registration agency should have authority to add information omitted in the original record, such as the late addition of a baby name within the time frame for late naming, or adding uncontested paternity information. Providing the registration agency with authority to make these types of amendments elieves the applicant of having to spend time and money applying to courts. No fee should be charged for adding omitted information
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Law Source
Birth Certificate
Is the original birth certificate provided free of charge?
Yes
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
Legislation should require the registrar, upon completion of registration, to issue an original birth certificate to the parents of the child free of charge. Ideally, the local registrar has the power to issue a birth certificate, as this will shorten the time frame for certificate issuance.
The birth certificate is issued on application by the National Identification and Registration Authority; no specific official is specified in the law. There is a sliding scale of fees for the issue of a birth certificate that is tied to the time of birth registration. A birth certificate is free for a child registered up to the age of 6 months, but there are graduallly increasing fees for birth certificates issued in respect of later birth registration. There are differing fees for citizens and foreigners, but no fee is charged at any stage for a child born to a refugee.
