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Birth Registration
Zambia
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Zambia
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?
1 month/12 months/after 12 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.
Persons with a duty to notify a birth are required to do this within one month of the birth. However, registration can be made within 12 months of the birth, at the discretion of the Registrar-General, Deputy Registrar-General, Registrar or Assistant Registrar. Registration after 12 months requires a statement of reasons for the delay from the informant and additional evidence to confirm the particulars of the birth. An Assistant Registrar can register a birth after 12 months only with written authorization from the Registrar of the district.
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.
No fees are imposed for late or delayed birth registration.
It is a criminal offence for any person with a duty to give notice of a child’s birth to fail to do so within the prescribed period. The penalty is a fine of up to two hundred penalty units or imprisonment for up to one month with or without hard labor, or both. (The value of penalty units is adjusted from time to time; as of 2024 one penalty point was equivalent to 40 ngwee, making the maximum fine 80 kwacha.) However, no one is to be charged with this offence if it was not reasonably practicable in the circumstances to give notice of the birth, or where timely notice could not be given without causing unnecessary hardship or expense. In addition, no one is to be charged with this offence if that person could not reasonably be expected to have known of his or her notice obligations, having regard to the person’s education, knowledge and understanding, and social environment.
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 particulars to be provided are evident from the form for notice of birth (Form VIII). Details of birth: Place of birth (including name of health facility or address for births outside health facility), sex, names and surname, birth weight. For each parent (as at the date of the birth): Names and surname, date of birth, national identity number, occupation, social security number (where relevant), village of origin, chief, tribe, district, nationality residential address and contact number. The mother is additionally asked to indicate her usual place of residence, her level of education and the category of health professional who attended at the birth. The parents’ marital status must be indicated. If the child was born outside marriage, no person is to be registered as the child’s father except on the joint request of the mother and the father, where the father has also acknowledged paternity in writing in the presence of the Registrar. Details of the informant: Names and surname, National Identity Number, nationality, relationship to child, residential address, postal address and contact number. The informant must provide these particulars to the best of his or her knowledge.
The Births and Deaths Registration Act contains no indication that there is discretion to register a birth without all of the required particulars; in fact, under Section 9 of the Act, refusing or neglecting to state any of the particulars required by the form for notification of birth (Form VIII) is a criminal offence punishable by a fine and/or imprisonment for up to one month with or without hard labor.
What evidence is required for on-time birth registration?
Original Birth Record, Copies of parents’ National Identity Documents
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 form for notification of a birth (Form VIII) asks informants to attach the Original Birth Record and copies of the parents’ National Identity Documents. The Original Birth Record is a document obtained from the hospital or clinic where the child was born. The law does not otherwise make reference to documentary proof for on-time birth registration.
In practice, Under-Five Clinic Cards appear to be accepted in lieu of Original Birth Records.
Are there additional or alternative documents required for late or delayed birth registration?
Yes
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.
Registration of a birth that occurred more than 12 months previously requires additional documentation, regardless of the informant. The notification must include either a baptism certificate or a certificate from the health facility where the child was born naming the mother and the date of birth. Where the child was not born in a health facility, affidavits from two reliable witnesses to the birth must be submitted to the Registrar.
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?
Approval by head of agency required, 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.
The Registrar-General has the authority to correct any clerical error in any register (without erasing the original entry). There appears to be no charge for such corrections.
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?
Approval by head of agency required, and for a fee
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
In terms of Section 17 of the Births and Deaths Registration Act, the parent or guardian of a child may add or alter a child’s name within two years of the initial birth registration upon providing any evidence for the name change that the Registrar-General may think necessary. The fee for a name change on a birth certificate is 15 fee units. (The value of fee units is adjusted from time to time; as of 2024 one fee point was equivalent to 40 ngwee, making the fee for name changes on birth certificates 6 kwacha.)
Where a child was born outside marriage, a person can be registered as the child’s father in terms of Section 15 of the Act on the joint request of the mother and the father, accompanied by a written acknowledgement of paternity made in the presence of the Registrar – but it is not clear if this can take place only at the time of initial registration or in the form of later supplementation of the birth register. The Children’s Code Act includes procedures for proof of paternity (including orders for paternity tests) in various contexts, including the child’s right to establish the identity of his or her biological parents, but there is no legal direction for entering this information into the birth register or amending birth certificates to reflect this information.
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.
Birth certificates are not issued automatically upon the completion of birth registration, but only on application. Rule 5 of the Births and Deaths Registration (General) Rules empowers officials at every level to issue birth and death certificates on application; this includes the Registrar-General, Deputy Registrar-General, Registrar and Assistant Registrar. Applicants may request a long form or short form birth certificate. (The short form lists only name, sex, date of birth and place of birth.) The Births and Deaths Registration (General) Rules list fees only for the replacement of lost or damaged birth certificates, with no fee for the original issue of a birth certificate.
