Why Is Birth Registration Necessary?

Every year In India, an estimated 26.5 million children are born. Out of these, 10 million goes unregistered. Birth registration is an official document of a child’s existence issued by government authorities. It is a pivotal document since it is the first official document of a child. It acts as a tool for both the parents and the government authorities of a country. Its relevance cannot be disputed.

Reasons to get your child’s birth certificate issued

• Official and permanent- Birth certificate marks the existence of a child. Since it is issued by the government agencies, it acts as the first official document of the child. It is permanent and no alterations can be made to it. So, birth certificate online is a mandatory document to live in a country.

• Legal document – Since, a birth certificate is a legal document, it is used for the rest of a child’s life whenever one has to show up for any government registration work. 

• Ensures a child’s identity – Birth registration ensures a child’s identity. Information such as birthplace, time of birth, guardian’s name helps to verify a child’s identity.                  

• Dictates the age of a child – Birth certificate as a document helps to know the age of a child. Since the document is official and permanent, it acts as a lifetime identity proof.

• Evidence of nationality- Since a birth certificate is the first-ever official document of the child, it acts as a proof or the nationality of a child.

• Protection of rights – birth certificate helps protect a child’s right in case of any legal dispute. Other than this, it also helps avail government services for a child. But in the absence of the same, a child can be devoid of basic life facilities. Child labour, human trafficking is common.

• Legal identity is a right – International organization like the UN enforces a birth certificate to mark as a legal identity tool for a child.  

Situations where a birth certificate online is required: 

Various situations in life can demand a birth certificate- 

• Registration for the School – Birth certificate is the foremost document asked for at the time of registration. It serves as a tool of proof of identity and age. This is used to ensure that the child is of adequate age to join the school.    

• To get Aadhar issued – Aadhar is another document important in India. For the issue of the same, the government agencies ask for the birth certificate of a child to verify the details of the child.     

• Obtaining a Driver’s License – To procure a driving license, a birth certificate is very important. This is to verify the legal age for the issue of the license along and acts as a tool to check the identity of a person.             

• Marriage – For a marriage certificate, birth certificate acts as a tool to verify the ages of the people involved. To ensure that the girl is of the legal age to get married in case of child marriage, which is an offence in India. Also, after marriage, the marriage certificate is used as an identifying tool as well. 

• Travel purposes – A passport cannot be issued without a birth certificate. It ensures the age and nationality of a person. Overseas, if one happens to lose their passport, then the birth certificate can act as a document of identity. 

• For various competitions- Competitions such as sports, a dance where age is a barrier, requires the proof of a birth certificate. The age requirement is necessary to ensure the proper carrying out of such activities. 

• To get PAN card issued- To get a PAN card issued, one can be asked to bring along the birth certificate. Since it is an age restrictive card.  

• Others – For a bank, job and property-related issues as well, one can be asked to furnish a birth certificate.

All these reasons highlight the importance of a birth certificate online. Its role and importance cannot be denied.

Government and Birth certificate 

• In 1969, a law was passed for registration of births under the provisions of the Registration of Births & Deaths Act.         

• Government of India issues the birth certificate.  

• There are different rules and regulations of local governments to procure a birth certificate. For instance, in most states, the application part should be done within 21 days of birth.

• For the government, birth certificate acts as a tool to access the population in terms of demographic data and as a key indicator of development.

• This data also serves to create policies, as per the demographics of a country. This is to ensure proper targeting of the population for a country’s growth and development.

How to apply for a birth certificate?

Manual procurement of a birth certificate can be done by- 

• Filling out the form issued by the municipality within 21 days of the birth of the child.
• Documents such as parent’s birth certificates, marriage certificate of the parents, proof of birth letter by the hospital and proof of parent’s identification are necessary when obtaining a child’s birth certificate.
• After the verification is completed, the birth certificate is issued within 10-14 days of the application.

The importance of a birth certificate cannot be denied. It ensures the rights to protect the child from various socio-cultural issues. Its requirement as an identification tool cannot be disputed. Therefore, it becomes imperative that one positively gets a birth certificate issued for their child. With MyAdvo, getting a birth certificate online is very easy and it’s also a hassle-free process. Apply Here to get the whole information.