Application for Birth Certificate

Full birth certificates are issued upon request to persons who are South African citizens and whose births were duly registered in South
Africa. These persons have obtained their citizenship as follows:

• birth in South Africa to South African citizens (by birth or naturalization);

• foreigners who have valid permanent residence or work permits in South Africa;

• birth registration for those who were born abroad to South African citizens.

This document, once issued, includes the parents particulars of the applicant.

The requirements for your application are as follows:

• A duly completed Form BI 154 (accessed on www.LawyersEzyFind.co.za),
which serves as an application for the Birth Certificate. (This form must be completed in black ink).

• Once you have fully and accurately filled out the Form BI-154 and submitted it to the Department of Home Affairs you will be required
to pay a fee of R75.00 for each application you submit.

Full birth certificates are issued in South Africa and requires a processing period of 6 months.

First time application for a Birth Certificate

If a child has never had a birth certificate, the process to obtain a birth certificate is as follows:

All children born in South Africa must be registered within 30 days of their birth in terms of the Births and Deaths Registration Act of 1992.
The parents are then issued with an unabridged birth certificate which contains the full details of the child and his/her parents.

If a child is registered after 30 days of their birth but before 1 year, you are required to complete and submit Form B1-24 to Home Affairs along
with written reasons why the birth was not registered. This Form will be sent to the Home Affairs Head Office to get an ID number and to keep a
record of it.

If a child is registered after 1 year of their birth but before 15 years you will need to complete and submit Form BI-24/1 along with written
reasons why the birth was not notified in the 30 day period. Furthermore, you will be required to submit as many of the following documents as applicable to confirm the child’s identity and status:

• a certificate from the hospital or maternity home where the child was born. The certificate must be signed by the person in charge
and contain the institution’s official stamp;

• official confirmation of the child’s personal details taken from the register of the first school attended by the child. The confirmation
must be on the school’s official letterhead, signed by the principal with the official school stamp on it;

• the child’s baptismal certificate;

• sworn affidavits by you (the mother/applicant) and the child’s father;

• A clinic card;

• school reports and any other documents that help to prove your child’s identity.

The Department will call you and/or the child’s father for an interview. Thereafter, your identity and your fingerprints will be verified against the
national database. If successful, the application will be forwarded to the Home Affairs Head office to allocate an ID number and keep a record of it.

If a child is over the age of 15 years, you will need to apply for an Identity Document by completing Form BI-9 as well Form BI-154 for their
Birth Certificate application.

The following Forms: DHA-24, DHA-24/A x 2 and DHA -288 must be completed to register the birth. You will once again be required to submit
supporting documents (as listed above) as well as written reasons for not registering the birth within 30 days.