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This country’s legal measures were reviewed by our legal staff in consultation with in-country lawyers and/or CRVS legal experts. All efforts were made to ensure the accuracy of the legal analysis, however, if you consider there to be any discrepancies or if there have been changes in the law of the country since our staff last updated the legal analysis, we welcome any additional information or insights. Please contact us via this form.
Birth Registration
Bolivia
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Bolivia
Birth Registration
Declaration and Notification
Declaration and Notification
Informants
Who is designated the primary informant for births occurring in health facilities?
Either parent
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
The law should establish clearly and unequivocally one person primarily responsible for providing the information needed for the registration. Moreover, the law may designate alternative informants and establish the order in which each of them must assume his or her responsibilities. The head of the health facility should be the primary informant for live births occurring in a health facility. The law should also explicitly state what type of facility is considered a “health facility” for purposes of birth registration.
Under Resolution No. 616 of December 29, 2004, the parents or legal guardian are designated as the primary informants for birth registration. In their absence, relatives up to the third degree of kinship may submit the registration, and if no relatives are available, municipal, ecclesiastical, administrative, or judicial authorities may do so. The regulation does not distinguish between births occurring inside or outside health facilities, nor does it assign a specific role to health personnel in the registration process.
Who is designated the primary informant for births occurring outside health facilities?
Either parent
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
It is recommended that the law establish clearly and unequivocally one person primarily responsible for providing the information needed for the registration. If a live birth occurs outside a health facility, the birth attendant (such as a midwife, nurse, doctor or other medical professional), the UN Guidance recommends that the birth attendant be the primary informant designated by law. Moreover, the law may designate alternative informants and establish the order in which each of them must assume his or her responsibilities.
Bolivian legal documents do not make a difference between births happening in or outside of health facilities. Under Resolution No. 616 of December 29, 2004, the parents or legal guardian are designated as the primary informants for birth registration. In their absence, relatives up to the third degree of kinship may submit the registration, and if no relatives are available, municipal, ecclesiastical, administrative, or judicial authorities may do so.
What is the role of the health sector in birth registration for births occurring in health facilities?
None
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
For births occurring in health facilities, the most effective approach is to designate the head of the institution (or designee) as informant. Some countries follow a two-step process where the health sector notifies the registrar of the birth, but the registration must be completed by the parents. This approach is considered less effective in ensuring high registration rates.
Bolivian legal documents do not designate the head of the health facility (or their designees) as informant.
Law Source
What is the role of the health sector in birth registration for births occurring outside health facilities?
Unclear
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
For births occurring outside a health facility and without a birth attendant, an effective approach for birth registraton would be if the law designated health workers (including vaccination workers, nurses, doctors and other health professionals who see newborns for paediatric visits) as informants to register the birth of children that are unregistered and visited by them.
Bolivian legal documents do not state what the role of the health facility, or its head (or their designees) is, in cases of births occurring outside of health facilities.
Law Source
Role of local leaders and other institutions
Does the law provide a process for the registration of births occurring in custody or other detention facility?
Unclear
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
For births in custody, it is recommended that the legislation assign responsibility to a specified person, such as head of detention facility or head of health services within detention facility, to notify the civil registrar of births. The particulars of the process of notifying the registrar may be spelled out in regulations or instructions.
The law is silent on the role of detention facilities in birth registration of newborns.
Law Source
What role do local leaders or local authorities have in the registration process for births that occur in the community?
Informant
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
For births occurring outside a health facility, local leaders or local authorities may have a role in providing parents with proof of the event (such as a birth notification record), notifying the birth to the local registrar, or acting as the informant. It can be good practice to Integrate civil registration functions with the duties and responsibilities of established local authorities who have close direct links to communities
Law Source
Bolivia
Legal Analysis
Local leaders and authorities have a limited role as an informant in the case of births. In the absence of parents, guardians or family members up to third degree of consanguinity, municipal, ecclesiastical, administrative and judicial authorities are designated as informants.
Community organizations and Directors of public or private shelters are designated as informants in the case of children who have been abandoned.
