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Civil Registration System
Uganda
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Uganda
Civil Registration System
Local Civil Registrations
Local Civil Registrations
Powers and Responsibilities of Local Civil Registrars
Is the local civil registrar empowered by law to register vital events? If yes, do they have the power to issue certificates of registration?
Yes local civil registrar empowered to register vital events and issue certificates
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
Legislation should clearly state the duties and powers of local registrars (the civil registrar responsible for the primary registration area), which include recording and registering vital events in compliance with registration laws, and issuing certificates or copies of vital records upon request, without needing approval from the central level.
Registration officers at the various local registration centers have responsibility for registering births and deaths under the Registration of Persons Act. In terms of Section 60 of that Act, registration officers have the responsibility to ensure the accurate recording of civil event information; to exercise control over the registration processes at a registration center; to have custody of registration forms, equipment and other materials assigned to the registration center; to report any difficulty that is encountered at the registration center; and to forward regular returns of birth and death registrations to their supervising officer in the National Identification and Registration Authority.
The law gives responsibility for issuing birth and death certificates to “the Authority”, without specifying a specific individual. Similarly, the provisions in the Act and regulations on requests for searches of the registers and certified copies of entries refer to “the Authority" rather than to specific officials. It appears that birth certificates are issued in practice at district, regional and national levels.
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?
Yes, a registrar can correct minor errors free of charge
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
Legislation should authorize the local civil registrar to make minor corrections such as typographical and data entry errors in civil registration records. Such corrections should be free of charge.
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. Such corrections must be done without erasure, and they must be authenticated by the Executive Director or other staff of the Authority authorized by the Executive Director for this purpose.
Fees are charged only where the correction requires the issue of a new national ID, where the error was not the fault of the Authority.
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)?
Yes, a registrar can add certain omitted information, with fees being charged in some instances.
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
Legislation should authorize the local civil registrar to add uncontested information such as uncontested paternity information, and add omitted information such as adding or amending the name of a child within a defined time period.
Local registration officers are specifically authorized by the law to deal with changes to the name of a child, changes to the sex marker of an intersex child (referred to in the law as a “hermaphrodite”) and entry of details about paternity upon presentation of specified evidence. In each case, the local registration officer must ensure that the legal requirements for such changes have been followed. In the case of contested paternity, Section 35 of the Registration of Persons Act makes 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.
Fees are charged to citizens for changing the name of a child only after the child has reached the age of six, but non-citizens (“foreigners”) must pay for such name changes regardless of the child’s age. The Act mentions a prescribed fee for changing the sex marker of an intersex child, but none has been imposed. No fee is required for adding the father to the register of births but a person contesting parentage is responsible for the costs of any DNA test. There is also a fee for court applications for proof of parentage under the Children Act and the Children (Family and Children Court) Rules, but the fee can be waived for persons who cannot afford to pay.
Does the law require the local civil registration office to transmit registration records to the national civil registration authority on a regular and timely basis?
Yes
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
The legislation should set time frames for transfer of information from the local register to the centralized register. The time frames may vary based on policymakers' discretion, depending on whether the system is computerized or non-computerized.
Section 60(1)(e) of the Registration of Persons Act requires local civil registration officers to make monthly returns of all civil registrations made in the previous month, while the Registration of Persons (Births and Deaths) Regulations require weekly returns of birth registrations (regulation 4(3)) and monthly returns of death registrations (regulation 15(3)). In practice, civil registration data from local registration centers is now transmitted electronically to the National Identification and Registration Authority via a Mobile Vital Records System using web and mobile telephone technology.
Does the law provide the criteria or required qualifications for appointing, designating, or selecting local registrars?
No
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
It is important that the law provide clear requirements governing fitness and qualifications of local civil registrars. To prevent corruption, the law should provide that registrars be full-time public service officials, with defined terms of employment and adequate salary level.
The law does not cover the qualifications of registration officers, nor does it require that they be full-time public servants. It states only that registration officers and other officers and staff of the Authority will be appointed by the Board of the National Identification and Registration Authority and hold office on terms and conditions determined by the Board.
