Full Birth Certificate

All children born in South Africa must be registered within 30 days of their birth. 

Parents, guardians or other persons legally responsible for the child must complete Form BI-24 (with black ink only) and submit it to the nearest office of the Department of Home Affairs if you are in South Africa, or the nearest South African embassy, mission or consulate if you are overseas. 

Once the child’s birth has been registered, an unabridged birth certificate is issued free of charge.

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

This document, once issued, includes the parent’s particulars of applicant.

Requirements:

  • A duly completed Form BI 154, Application for Birth Certificate
    (this form must be completed in black ink)
  • The form BI-529/DHA-529 must be fully completed by the applicant;
    The purpose of this form is to locate records at the Department of Home Affairs in Pretoria; therefore, all applicants must complete this form and ensure that the information furnished is correct and complete.
    Questions that are not applicable should be marked as ‘n/a’; if answers to certain questions are not known, they should be marked as ‘Do not know
    Questions 9, 10, 11 of Part A are of particular importance.
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