Our staff is undertaking analysis for this metric. Please check back later.
Disclaimer / Limitations
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
Uganda
Responsive Image
Uganda
Birth Registration
Procedure
Procedure
Place
Where must births be reported?
Place of occurrence
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
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.
Where should a birth that occurred in a transit vehicle be reported?
The law is silent on births in transit vehicles.
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
A birth taking place in a ship, aircraft, train or car in transit can create uncertainty with respect to the place of occurrence for the purposes of registration. This can be particularly complicated for vehicles travelling internationally. The legislation should address these questions and state the presumption for “place of birth” for births that occur in or on moving vehicles, both domestically and internationally. In accordance with international law, these provisions must not result in rendering a child stateless. For ships and airplanes, the captain or pilot is usually the informant.
The law does not address place of registration for births occurring on ships, airplanes, trains or any other moving vehicles.
Law Source
Time
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 should always be allowed.
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.
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.
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
Proof of evidence should not be burdensome enough to discourage registration. Documentary evidence is always preferred, but if this is not available, testimony or affidavits of witnesses may be substituted. Regulations should allow for alternative evidence if the mother or father does not possess such documentation.
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
If the birth took place in a health facility or with an attendant, the provision of a notification of birth should be sufficient. If, however, the birth took place outside a health facility and without an attendant, 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.
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 in notification of birth form, like weight of child born at home, 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.
Can amendments be made by the registrar to correct minor errors or add omitted information, and are they free of charge?
Minor corrections and adding ommitted information can be made by the registration agency and are 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. The late addition of a baby name within the time frame for late naming or adding uncontested paternity information should also be permitted. Providing the registration agency with authority to make these types of amendments relieves the applicant of having to spend time and money applying to courts. No fee should be charged for minor clerical errors or adding omitted information
The Executive Director of the National Identification and Registration Authority may give written authorization to staff members to correct any errors in the birth register or in a birth certificate, without charge. This provision appears to be aimed at clerical errors and omissions. The law on birth registration sets out four situations where amendment is allowed in respect of children’s birth records, which include contested paternity situations, amendments to name of the child, amendments to sex markers, and particulars in the case of adoptions. In the case of contested paternity, there is provision for adding the particulars of a father via a joint request by both parents, a DNA test result or a court order establishing paternity. No fee is mentioned for the addition of the father to the register of births. However, a person contesting parentage is responsible for the costs of the DNA test. There is also a fee for applications for proof of parentage, although it can be excused for persons who cannot afford to pay. In the case of amending name of child, the parents or guardian of a child under age 18 may apply to change the name of the child. There is no fee for such a name change for Ugandan citizens if the child is under 6 years of age, but non-citizens must pay a fee regardless of the child’s age. There are more general (and in some respects contradictory) provisions on errors and changes of particulars in the National Identification Register, which encompasses the register of births. The person affected by an error must notify the Authority within 90 days of becoming aware of it. The Authority must rectify the register accordingly if satisfied that an error occurred. Fees may be charged only where the error was the fault of the person to whom the information relates. Where there is a change of particulars, the person affected is required to notify the Authority within 90 days of the change and to provide supporting documents including a deed poll. Fees may be charged only if the change requires the issue of a new identification card (change of name, date of birth, place of birth or sex) – noting that ID cards are issued only to person who have reached age 16.
