In South Africa, any birth that is not registered after thirty days is considered a Late Registration of Birth. As stated in section 2 of this article, the Department of Home Affairs has set up ‘offices’ at major hospitals and clinics where birth certificates can be issued directly. However, this is not always accessible to parents – especially those parents who are not South African. A Notice of Birth is required to gain a birth certificate, and to be issued a Notice of Birth, valid documentation must be held by both parents. This has resulted in many children not being issued a birth certificate in South Africa.
There are two categories of Late Registration of Birth applications: children who are registered after 30 days, but before 1 year and, children who are registered after 1 year. The requirements for a Late Registration of Birth differ depending on whether a child was born to South African parents, permanent residents, refugees, or other non-nationals.
If you are planning to apply for a Late Registration of Birth, we recommend that you look at the Regulations and contact your local Department of Home Affairs office to find out more. If you need further information, see Section 8, below, for people to contact.
The minimum requirements for a Late Registration of birth are listed below:
- A proof of birth, completed by a medical practitioner who attended to the birth of examined the mother after birth
- An affidavit by a South African citizen who witnessed the birth
- Biometrics of the child
- Fingerprints of the parents or adoptive parents
- Certified copies of the parents’ ID documents (and, in cases where one or both parents are non-South African, certified copies of valid passports, visas, or asylum documents are required)
- Where applicable, a marriage certificate of the parents
- Where applicable, a death certificate of any deceased parent
- Where applicable, a certified copy of the ID document of the next-of-kin
- Proof of payment of a fee.
In some cases, a panel will interview and discuss certain late registration of birth applications. In some cases, where one parent is a non-national and unmarried, Home Affairs can request a DNA test.
(Although, the Naki and Others v Director General: Department of Home Affairs and Another Naki judgement, as mentioned in Question 5, also found that, even if you cannot provide all these documents, your application for Late Registration for Birth, your application must still be accepted and considered.)
If you are planning to apply for a Late Registration of Birth, we recommend that you look at the Regulations and contact your local Department of Home Affairs office to find out more. If you need further information, see Section 8, below, for people to contact.
