How can I apply for the late registration of a birth certificate?

The long answer

First, if the baby was born during level 5 of the lockdown when births could not be registered, the parents will not have to provide the additional documents that are required for late registration of birth. Home Affairs spokesman Siya Qoza said, “Parents whose children were born from February 26 2020 are allowed to register their children without the requirements of additional documents. We are not penalising parents whose children were born during the lockdown.”

Under Level 3 lockdown, a person had to make an appointment with Home Affairs to apply for late registration of birth. As no new announcement has been made by Home Affairs since Level 2 started, it is likely that you still have to make an appointment.

All birth registration is regulated by the Births and Deaths Registration Act of 1992. Late birth registration is split into 3 categories, according to the Home Affairs website:

1. After 30 days but before 1 year.

2. After 1 year but before 7 years.

3. After 7 years.

1. After 30 days up to One Year

Apply at designated offices with the following requirements: 

• DHA 24/LRB (notice of birth)

• Children born at a health facility: DHA 24/PB (Proof of birth) / Children born at home: DHA 24PBA (Proof of Birth Affidavit)

• DHA 288 /A (Affidavit giving reasons for LRB)

• Biometrics (palm, foot or fingerprint) of the child to be registered

• Fingerprints of parent/s

• ID/Passport of parent/s

2. One Year up to Seven Years

Apply at designated offices with the following requirements:

• DHA 24/LRB (notice of birth)

• Children born at a health facility: DHA 24/PB (Proof of birth) / Children born at home: DHA 24PBA (Proof of Birth Affidavit)

• DHA 288/A (Affidavit giving reasons for LRB)

• DHA 288

• Biometrics (palm, foot or fingerprint) of the child to be registered

• Fingerprints of parent/s

• ID/Passport of parent/s

3. Seven Years and Above

Apply at designated offices with the following requirements: 

• DHA 24/LRB (notice of birth)

• Children born at health facilities: DHA 24/PB (Proof of birth) / Children born at home: DHA 24PBA (Proof of Birth Affidavit)

• DHA 288/A (Affidavit giving reasons for LRB)

• DHA 288

• Biometrics (ID-size photo and fingerprint) of the person to be registered

• Fingerprints of parent/s

• ID/Passport of parent/s

Home Affairs may decide that the parents must be interviewed by a panel, and if one of the parents is not South African and not married, they may ask for a DNA test.

Home Affairs says that both parents must do the notification of birth. But in 2018 in the Naki case, the Eastern Cape High Court ruled that if one parent did not have the required legal documents to be in South Africa, the Births and Deaths Registration Act should be read to mean that both parents’ documents must be presented “where possible.” This means that even if you can’t produce all these documents and one parent cannot be there, your application must still be accepted and considered by Home Affairs.

One of the problems with Home Affairs is that officials are not always aware of court rulings and may not always comply with them. If you have difficulties dealing with Home Affairs, the following organisations have had a lot of experience with them and may be able to assist you: 

• The Scalabrini Centre of Cape Town, info@scalabrini.org.za, tel: 021 465 6433;

• Lawyers for Human Rights, Musina: 015 534 2203, Durban: 031 301 0531, Pretoria: 012 3202943, Johannesburg: 011 339 1960, Cape Town: 021 424 8561;

• Legal Resources Centre, info@lrc.org.za, Johannesburg: 011 836 9831, Cape Town: 021 481 3000.

Update [28 February 2023]: Categories and required documents for late registration of birth certificates were updated according to the current information on the DHA website.