Apply for a birth certificate — citizen guide 2026

A hospital birth slip is not the birth certificate. The event must be registered by the registrar for the area where the birth occurred. Hospital and home births have different reporting routes, but both should end in an official entry and a certificate under the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969.

Birth registration records the event in the Civil Registration System for the place of occurrence. The hospital reports an institutional birth under the legal reporting framework; the family should verify registration and obtain the certificate. A home birth is reported to the local registrar by the prescribed household informant with supporting evidence required under local rules.

Do not register the same event twice because two portals show different statuses. First ask the registrar to search the entry using the child's date/place of birth and parent details.

The Office of the Registrar General's official FAQ states that the normal reporting period is 21 days from the event and no fee is charged for registration reported within that period.

The current consolidated Registration of Births and Deaths Act provides:

• Section 12: after registration is completed, the registrar must give the certificate—electronically or otherwise—to the informant free of charge, as soon as possible and no later than seven days.
• Section 13(1): a birth reported after the normal period but within 30 days may be registered on payment of the prescribed late fee.
• Section 13(2): after 30 days but within one year, registration requires written permission of the District Registrar or other prescribed authority, the prescribed fee and a self-attested document in the prescribed form and manner.
• Section 13(3): after one year, registration requires an order of the District Magistrate, Sub-Divisional Magistrate or an Executive Magistrate authorised by the District Magistrate, after verification and on payment of the prescribed fee.

The exact application form, evidence, local office and fee come from the applicable state rules. Do not rely on a tout's claim that an affidavit alone guarantees late registration.

1. Identify the place-of-occurrence registrar. This may be a municipal corporation, municipality, panchayat or other local registration unit.
2. Confirm whether the event is already registered. Ask the hospital for its reporting reference and search the official CRS/state/local system where available.
3. Check every spelling before finalisation. Match parent names, date, sex, place and address details against the report and accepted evidence.
4. Submit the proper route. For an unreported event, use the current form and evidence required by the registrar; delayed cases need the section 13 stage that matches the elapsed time.
5. Save the acknowledgement. Keep application/report number, submission date, document list and payment receipt for any prescribed fee.
6. Download or collect the certificate. Verify the registration number, date, child details, parent details and place of birth.
7. Correct an error through the prescribed process. Do not create a second registration to fix a spelling or data problem.

The registrar's current checklist controls. Depending on the event and timing, it may include:

• facility birth report or discharge record;
• date, time and exact place of birth;
• parent names in the spelling to be registered;
• informant's identity/address proof accepted by the authority;
• marriage or other supporting record if required under local rules;
• home-birth supporting evidence required by the registrar;
• delayed-registration self-attested document or magistrate order under the applicable section 13 stage; and
• prescribed fee receipt for a delayed report.

A hospital document supports the application but is not the statutory certificate. Give identity documents only to the official registrar or portal. Check the domain carefully and never share an OTP with an agent.

Ask the hospital for the date of report, reference number, reporting unit and copy or particulars of the submitted record. Give those to the local registrar with a written search/status request.

To: Registrar of Births and Deaths, [local unit]

Subject: Search and status request for birth reported by [institution]

Birth details: [date/time], [institution and place]
Parent details: [names]
Hospital reporting reference/date: [details]

The institution states that it reported this birth, but no certificate/entry is
visible through [official service] as of [date]. Please search the register,
communicate the registration status and identify any recorded deficiency. Please
avoid creating a duplicate entry if the event is already registered.

Enclosures: hospital record, reporting reference, acknowledgement and masked
status screenshot.

If the registrar finds the entry, seek the section 12 certificate. If it was never reported, follow the correct section 13 stage based on the date—not a fresh newborn workflow.

The Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Act, 2023 commenced on 1 October 2023. The amended Act makes the birth certificate the document used to prove date and place of birth for people born on or after commencement for the listed statutory purposes, including educational admission, driving licence, electoral roll, marriage registration, specified public employment, passport and Aadhaar.

This does not mean every older person suddenly loses other accepted evidence. It means parents should ensure that a post-commencement birth is accurately registered and the certificate preserved. A wrong entry should be corrected through the registrar's lawful correction process, not informally altered in a PDF.

Use RTI with the public authority controlling the registrar when ordinary status and grievance channels fail. Ask for:

• the inward record and date of the hospital or informant's report;
• date-wise movement of application/report no. [number];
• copies of scrutiny notes, recorded deficiencies and decision;
• the current written procedure and checklist for the applicable section 13 stage;
• the register-search result or non-availability record, as lawfully disclosable; and
• the name and designation of the office presently responsible.

RTI does not register the birth, correct the entry or replace the magistrate permission required by section 13. Pursue the registration remedy in parallel.

Under section 6(1) of the RTI Act, please provide records concerning birth
registration application/report no. [number]:

1. Copy of the inward/report record and date received.
2. Date-wise movement and present status.
3. Copies of recorded deficiencies, scrutiny notes and decision.
4. Copy of the current procedure/checklist applied under section [13(1),
   13(2) or 13(3)] of the Registration of Births and Deaths Act.
5. Name and designation of the office presently holding the matter.

• Treating the hospital slip as the certificate. Verify the registrar's official entry.
• Applying where the parents now live. Registration is tied to the place where the birth occurred.
• Creating a duplicate registration. Search first when the hospital says it reported the event.
• Guessing the delayed-registration route. Sections 13(1), 13(2) and 13(3) apply at different stages.
• Paying an unofficial “fixed fee.” Use the prescribed state fee and obtain an official receipt.
• Ignoring spelling before issue. Check every field and use the lawful correction route for errors.

No. It is supporting evidence or proof of reporting. The legal certificate comes from the registrar after the birth is entered in the official register.

The Office of the Registrar General's official FAQ states 21 days from the event, with no registration fee when reported within that period.

Section 12 requires it free, electronically or otherwise, as soon as registration is completed and no later than seven days.

With the registrar for the area where the birth occurred, not simply where the parents later reside.

Section 13(2) requires written permission from the District Registrar or other prescribed authority, the prescribed fee and the prescribed self-attested document.

Section 13(3) requires an order from the DM, SDM or authorised Executive Magistrate after verification, plus the prescribed fee.

CRS supports civil registration, but the available online workflow and local registrar arrangements vary by state and area. Start with the official registrar or linked government service.

No. RTI can obtain the report, file movement, deficiency and procedure. The registrar and prescribed authorities handle registration and correction.

• Ministry of Home Affairs — Registration of Births and Deaths Act
• Civil Registration System — Office of the Registrar General
• Ministry of Home Affairs annual report 2025–26 — amendment implementation

• RTI Wiki home
• Birth-certificate status check
• Birth-certificate correction process
• Apply for a death certificate
• Birth-certificate document guide
• The RTI Playbook